A new survey by Harris Poll shows that today’s young adults — the so-called millennials between ages 18 and 34 — are giving exciting, first-hand experiences higher priority. 78% of those surveyed claimed that they would rather spend money on a desirable experience, such as a music concert or road race, than buy material goods.
This preference is also linked to a widespread “fear of missing out”, or FOMO, perpetuated by the rise of social media. Although the survey has a relatively small sample size and is conducted on behalf of Eventbrite, the event ticket company, the findings do points out a key trend in the evolving consumer behavior of younger generations.
The laptops are arranged in neat rows, seemingly endless black rectangles each glowing with bright blue screens. I point out to my daughter what the numbers on the little signs next to computer mean. I show her how to evaluate the features – Longer battery life, more RAM, bigger hard drive, larger screen, total weight. With each model comes a trade off, and after a few minutes I can tell she is getting confused. “Look, decide what features are most important to you, and then choose based on that,†I tell her. She nods, then proceeds to look at the back of each computer, and to feel the touch pad on each one.