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Technology has changed just about everything from how we stay in touch to how we do our banking, and according to the Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report, Millennials and Generation Z (age 13-17) are outpacing their elders when it comes to integrating technology into their everyday lives. And for the younger generations, tech has become a must have, whether that means using apps to pay their bills, save for college or socialize.
When it comes to dollars and cents, three-quarters of Millennials are actively using mobile banking apps. While they may be using them more than the other generations, the overall number of people using banking apps is up across all generations, with two-thirds of Gen Xers on board with the apps, while 47% of baby boomers and 40% of seniors are using them.
Yet in the study they found that Millennials are more apt to use mobile apps to meet their life goals, including putting money away for college (45% vs. 29%), preparing for retirement (35% vs. 28%) and purchasing a new house (34% vs. 24%).
Tech is a must
What does your digital footprint look like? If you fall in the Millennial age range you might already know the answer, with the study finding that more than half of Millennials and Generation Zers regularly looking themselves up on Google. While 10% of the younger generations look themselves up every day.
Tech is a necessity for Gen Zers, and staying connected to the world via their mobile device trumps everything else, with many willing to give up some must-haves if they have to, including watching television (80%), using their tablet (78%) and gaming (64%). While just about a third are willing to give up friends or money to stay connected.
Having grown up with tech and apps, Gen Zers have become very good at communicating in 140 characters or less. They are more likely than all the other generations, including Millennials, to use emojis, social media, acronyms and selfies to communicate.
Parenting in the age of Gen Z
These new ways of communicating have definitely had an impact on how parents talk with their kids, and for some, it's for the better, with 48% of parents indicating that it has had a good effect on their home life.
That said, parents are also setting boundaries with their kids, including putting the kibosh on texting while driving (66%), using mobile phones while eating dinner (52%) and emailing and texting while chatting (43%).
The Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report was carried out by Convergys, an independent market research company, between May 25 and June 3, 2017. They queried 1,000 people aged 18 and up, as well as 201 people in the 13- to 17-year-old age group.
