The Brooding Savage

Most consumers worldwide still use the Internet mostly for email, according to a Gartner survey.  The study of Web users in 18 countries confirmed that for most users, the Internet remains fundamentally a communications medium.  But divergent usage patterns for younger users could point to future changes.

That Email is #1 is not surprising.  And nobody should be surprised that Search is the other big traffic driver (although I consider search to be a navigational tool rather than a destination -- so it's #2 spot is largely irrelevant. )  What's surprising is that Online Banking placed third, followed by photo, video and data sharing; mapping & directions; and online shopping.

Gartner's findings generally held up across all regions, educational levels and income levels, with one major exception: Teenagers.  For teens, the survey found that music downloading jumped into second place, while instant messaging appeared in fifth place. 

Apparently,  teens have greater interest than other demographics in using the Internet to download music, stream video and play games.  But the younger demo also was more likely to use wider and varied communications features, including instant messaging, file sharing, communicate via social networks, chat rooms, message boards and blogs.

 Gartner's report suggested that teens represent an evolution of future usage on the web -- that teens' interest in video and music is a predictor of future trends.  However, it cold be just as easily suggested that many of these services represent predominately youthful activities.  For example: while slightly interesting, it should not be a surprise that teens are shopping or banking less than their adult counterparts.  Married adults are obviously less likely to use dating services.  I would also argue that watching media on a PC screen is an inherently youth-oriented activity (for us working stiffs, relaxing in front of a TV beats a desktop PC any day!).

What is surprising (for me at least) is the wide variety of communications services that teens seem to be engaged in.  Chat rooms? Message Boards?  Perhaps my generation is simply bored with these age-old utilities, while teens find these relatively new and still useful.

According to the report,  the "greatest opportunities for technology and service providers lie in bringing the full scope of Internet capabilities to mobile devices--the new Internet frontier," and offered the following recommendations for both fixed-line and mobile providers:

To reach the widest spectrum of users, include e-mail and search in all offerings.

• Ensure that your consumers can do financial transactions, such as bill paying and online banking.
• Monitor the teenage market even if it's not your target audience, "for this demographic has become the bellwether for future Internet applications."