Are young Internet users less stingy than old ones? That certainly seems to be the case when it comes to paying for online content according to a new survey by paidContent:UK.
In the survey, 1,188 UK adults between the ages 16-64 were asked what they would do if their favorite news site started charging money. The results weren’t exactly what you might expect.
Pay attention to the green column in the chart here below, i.e. the one that shows how likely each age group is to pay for content access.
Willing to pay (sorted by age group):
- 16-24: 13%
- 25-34: 6%
- 35-44: 1%
- 45-54: 2%
- 55-64: 1%
So, at least in the scenario of the survey – paying for access to your favorite news site – young people are much more likely to pay for online content. Thirteen times more likely than those aged 35-44 or 55-64.
It’s interesting that the older generation, having grown up with newspapers (paid content) are not only less likely to pay for content, but more likely to seek out similar free content as an alternative. It’s even more baffling considering the older generation is bound to have more money.
Perhaps it could simply be that those who have grown up with the Internet as a part of their lives from the start are more used to handling money online in general and therefore more likely to pay for content.
This was a UK survey. It would be interesting to see the results of such a survey in more countries to see if these findings hold true internationally as well.
