Generation Y´s online habits revealed

A new study has offered some surprising findings about how the younger generation respond to online advertising.

The research, published by Deloitte and carried out by the Harrison Group, found that 58 per cent of Gen Y (people aged between 13 and 24) in the US are still consuming traditional media sources like magazines.

However, it also showed that this demographic does use new technologies on the net that advertisers are currently looking to target. For example, 55 per cent read blogs and 62 per cent look at video content on YouTube.

Just 28 per cent of the consumers questioned said that they would pay for online content to avoid seeing ads, but 76 per cent said they found online ads more intrusive that those in print media.

Finally, the study showed just how important search engine optimisation (SEO) is for websites, as 84 per cent of all users said they found sites though search engines.

"The big issues for the broadcast industry, as well as device manufacturers, are understand how consumer behaviours will impact ad dollars, what devices need to be developed, and how internal operations need to be realigned," explained Tony Kern, a principal with Deloitte & Touche.