Half of Young Adults Would Choose Internet over a Car

Well that’s an interesting shift. In a study performed by Gartner Research, 46% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 would choose internet access over a having a car. This isn’t a small survey, either; this study has been ongoing for a decade.

This is a shift away from a half century of dominance by the automobile. Since the 1950’s, cars have been liberators: they can take you to faraway places, let you explore what you haven’t seen, and free you from the constraints of public transportation. They were the very symbol of what America stood for. Apparently that perception is changing.

Internet Access as Freedom

Internet access grants an unprecedented ability to learn about new things, shop, browse, read and play. In many ways, having access to the internet is even more liberating than owning a car. As said Dr. Thilo Koslowski, lead automotive analyst for Gartner during a phone interview for CNN, “The freedom now lies in accessing data online and people are just meeting up on social media sites like Facebook instead.” In other words, you don’t have to meet up with your friends as often, now, because text messages are more convenient and cheaper.

Another shift that Gartner has noticed has been more subtle: young people only care about new technology that can benefit them in their day to day lives. Whereas once the novelty and wow factor played heavily into the desire for a product, today’s youth care more about utility than novelty. Smartphones are great examples of that. “The phone does so much more than just make calls. It’s a way to stay connected now. In the same way, the car will need to be much more than just be a form of transport. While we’ll always need a car to get from one point to another, we’re seeing a change in its function,” said Koslowski, while discussing car manufacturers’ seemingly incessant rehashing of the same base product.

A Future Shift

This could have a major impact on how cars are operated in the future.

Says Koslowski,

“Mobility’s now differently defined. Younger consumers want to use cars without ownership so monthly car subscriptions could be the way forward. By 2016, most consumers in mature markets will consider in-vehicle web access a key criterion in their automobile purchases.”

Combine this with Google’s future driverless cars and we could be entering an era of rented daily taxis. If nothing else, that would do wonders for city parking.

Photo by : San Jose Library