What drives the youth of today?

Anyone with a foothold in the advertising world will know that a successful campaign has to be based on a profound understanding of the target market. This isn’t always an easy task, especially when you consider how quickly things change and evolve in such a highly dynamic society. Trends are in one day and out the next, especially when it comes to today’s youth who seem to consume information at an incredible rate.

So what is it that young people really care about? Is it checking out the next social scene, investing in the latest Smartphone, or dissecting the latest popular soap on TV? A study called ‘Young Adults Revealed’ suggests that the two things young people care about the most are getting a good career (46%) and their education (45%). Perhaps this points to the fact that the 16-24 year demographic is a lot more pragmatic than we give them credit. They are also disproportionately heavy users of digital media and lead the rest when it comes to their media consumption habits, all this seemingly in a search for real, meaningful human interaction (‘How Teens Use Media’).

Young people have plenty of dreams and fears, perhaps even more pronounced than older audiences and advertising has the ability to either reflect, soothe or build on these personal motivations. According to the ‘Young Adults Revealed’ report, for young people material security is what matters most and this is a reaction against the worrying situation of the job market, especially having just experienced a recession. In fact, the situation now would place the youth of today closer to the experience of their grandparents post-war than their own parents.

What do young people value most in their lives? While assumptions might suggest that it’s friends first, in actual fact it’s family that comes foremost and partners second, according to a ‘Circuits of Cool’ study carried out by MTV. When it comes to how young people spend their time, it turns out that contrary to belief, they aren’t just a bunch of coach potatoes. In fact, they love to socialise, many play sport, go the cinema or gigs, as well as the inevitable pub or club on the weekend. It might surprise you to know that 49% of young people in the survey like to read books while they’re chilling at home.

However, when it comes to the friendships forged by young people, it seems that we are entering an entirely new era of networking. There tends to be a much wider variety of relationships being formed, with a hierarchy of close, trusted friends at one extreme to more internet-based friends met at random on social networking sites. Young people have grown up with technology, they’re comfortable with it and they consume it more than any other demographic. News, health and finance don’t interest them so much as sport, technology and music do. If you’re interested in reaching the student market, click here to find out more about the media solutions available at Youth Media.