Technology bridges the generation gap

(Morgan Lane Photography)

A new survey conducted by mobile manufacturer Motorola reveals that when it comes to technology and the desire to be connected, there is no longer a dividing line that separates older generations from their younger counterparts.

The 2009 Media Engagement Barometer, published on December 3, found that age had little to do with US consumers' desire to engage in media technology or related services.

Instead, there were strong generation-bridging correlations in the ways people integrated technology into their lifestyles, with 66 percent of all surveyed saying they expect to be able to stay connected regardless of where they are.

The Media Engagement Barometer found that consumers of all ages are "equally likely to desire to be constantly connected."

"The barometer findings have demonstrated how networking technologies have had a really powerful impact in integrating the different facets of people's lives, and the "digital generation divide" that we perceived to dictate technology is now shifting toward a usage-based definition," said Dan Moloney, president of Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business.

Motorola's Media Engagement Barometer was based on information given by a sample of 1,000 Americans aged between 16 to 64 years old.

Interesting facts:

- 70 percent of all consumers studied admitted they would like to be connected at all times.

- 70 percent of people studied were excited by the ability to live a connected lifestyle, in spite of the fact that they already use technology every day.

- Baby Boomers (those born between 1940 to 1960), Generation Xers (those born between 1961 and 1981), and Millennials (those born in the 1970s to the late 1990s) were all actively engaged in influencing other's technology choices, with parents saying they influence their children's habits and children saying they influence their parent's habits.