from sock hop to snapchat: how generational differences affect product design

From sock hop to Snapchat:How generational differences affect product design

#UTwebinar@UserTesting

Guthrie WeinschenkChief Operating Officer

The Team W

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Story: Driving back from Houston Decided to make a roadtrip, so I went on facebook, made a map, then went city to city, and on my way, called got couches, met up for dinner Talking to someone older, and I asked, how did you do this before cellphones? How did anyone ever do things? Or meet anyone ever And I was told people would call (but not long distance), and then go sit around and wait for someone Point is, I couldn’t even imagine a universe where this was possible without a cell phone, but it happened all the time. Roadtrips happened all the time That’s because I’m in the generation I’m in, and my experiences and expectations are different that different generations

Question 1: Do you know what a sockhop is?

Presenter

Presentation Notes

I recently told a 22 year old I was giving this talk. He had never heard of a sockhop before.

Question 2: Do you know what Snapchat is?

Presenter

Presentation Notes

I recently told my father about snapchat and he had never heard of it.

People have different mental models about how stuff works.

BIG MEME:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

A mental model is “lefty loosy, righty tighty” We spend time designing for differences. People using a smartphone have different expectations than computer users. A lot of effort goes into meeting those expectations. Are you spending enough time and energy on other factors like generational differences?

YOU may not be your target audience.

BIG MEME:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

What you think “feels” natural you assume everyone else feels is natural, and that’s not true Dangerous to just design what you think feels right

Our Theory:1. At puberty brains start “pruning” neuron connections2. Therefore, after puberty anything you learn tends to

attach to what you already know3. This anchors the mental models of a generation to

what technology they had between 0-12 years old4. This results in different expectations about technology

between generations (or age cohorts)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

So not that you can’t form new connections, but it’s not as easy Things are not “hard wired”, but when you learn, you are attaching to what you already know This is why it’s also hard to learn a foreign language after puberty, but easy to relearn if you learned any while you were young

Some Interesting Research:1. Technology generation and Age in using layered user interfaces, Mili

Docampo Rama, PhD, Institute for Gerontechnology, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands (differences in age performance)

2. Adolescent brain development, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Royal Society Research Fellow and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, (grey matter pruning)

https://thinkneuroscience.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/adolescent-brain-development/

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The generation of birth cohorts that grew up with electro-mechanical user interfaces of consumer devices, displays different behaviour than later birth cohorts when handling software style user interfaces with one, two, or three menu layers Technology generation and Age in using layered user interfaces Mili Docampo Rama* PhD, Huib de Ridder** PhD, Herman Bouma*** PhD Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Royal Society Research Fellow and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL One of the main findings is that grey matter, which contains brain cell bodies and connections between cells in the prefrontal cortex, increases in volume during childhood, peaks in early adolescence and then starts to decrease in adolescence, and this decline continues throughout the twenties. So, the prefrontal cortex loses grey matter during adolescence. It has been proposed that this decline in grey matter volume partly reflects an important neurodevelopmental process: the loss of connections between brain cells (synapses) during development. This process, which is known as synaptic pruning, partly depends on the environment in that connections that are used are strengthened; connections that aren’t used are lost – they are pruned away. Synaptic pruning fine tunes brain tissue according partly to the environment. You can think of it as a bit like pruning a rose bush. You prune the weaker branches in order for the remaining branches to grow stronger. This is happening throughout adolescence in several cortical regions, including the prefrontal cortex.

https://thinkneuroscience.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/adolescent-brain-development/

“Greatest”over 90

“Silent”70 to 89

“Baby Boomers”

50 to 69

“Gen X”35 to 50

“Millennial” (Gen 1.0)20 to 34

“Gen Z” (Gen 2.0)

5 to 19

“Gen 3.0” 0 to 4

Here are the US Generations:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Generations are also know as “age cohorts”

Which Generation Are You In?

“Greatest”over 90

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Technically starts in 1910

Presenter

Presentation Notes

In 1920, only 35% of American homes had electricity. This is a kerosene lamp.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

CRANK phonographs, no power needed.

“Silent”70 to 89

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Generation starts in 1927-1947

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Presenter

Presentation Notes

“Baby Boomers”50 to 69

Presenter

Presentation Notes

radio

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Transtor radio (batteries!)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Smaller portable

Presenter

Presentation Notes

For the very rich

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Tapes got small, businessmen used Dictaphones to take notes They didn’t type themselves, because secretaries took dictation, so the secretary would type it up later

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Polaroid, amazing because it came out right away

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Movies at home! (rare)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Mimiograph or Ditto machines, make copies

“Gen X”35 to 50

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Very big deal, the walkman

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Electric typewriters

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Very early computers

“Millennial” (Gen 1.0)20 to 34

“Gen Z” (Gen 2.0)

5 to 19

Presenter

Presentation Notes

This is their expectations

“Gen 3.0” 0 to 4

• 29% of babies under the age of 1 like to use multiple media devices at the same time

• 29 minutes is the average amount of time a 3 year old uses mobile apps per day

• 41 minutes is the average amount of TV a baby under 1 watches per day• 92% of babies under 1 have used a mobile media device• 28% of 2 year olds need no help using mobile media device and another

61% only sometimes need help

Exposure and Use of Mobile Media Devices by Young Children Hilda Kabali, 2015

Presenter

Presentation Notes

And these are not “rich” kids, the median household income was $28k/year

Have you ever seen a child try to swipe or use a touchscreen on something that isn’t a touch screen?

Have you heard someone say they want to go to “the Facebook” or go look something up “on the internet” as if it was a physical space?

This is because the mental models of what a technology is and how the world works are different from one generation to the next at a fundamental level.

Quiz time! Lets Learn About The Different Generations

Presenter

Presentation Notes

You’ll need to jot some answers down

The median age of a person in the US is over 45 years old

Myth Or Truth?

5 20 25 32 47 69 92

Mean or Average: (5+20+25+32+47+69+92)/7=289/7 = 41

Median: Middle Number= 32

Median vs. Average

The median age of a person in the US is over 45 years old

Myth Or Truth?

Myth Or Truth?The median age of a person in the US is over 45 years old…

Median age is 37.3 years oldMyth Or Truth?

Myth Or Truth?There are more Americans over the age of 65 than under the age of 14

Myth Or Truth?There are more Americans over the age of 65 than under the age of 14…

Myth Or Truth?It’s not even close.

• 0-14 make up 20% of the population (~60 million) • 65+ make up 13% of the population (~40 million)

Pick The Number?The median age of a person on the planet is ____ years old.

Pick The Number?The median age of a person on the planet is 29.9 years old

Presenter

Presentation Notes

This is global

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Differences in median age

Myth Or Truth?Baby boomers use Twitter less than younger people

Myth Or Truth?The majority of “rich” people (over $200k/year) are Boomers

Myth Or Truth?The majority of “rich” people (over $200k/year) are Boomers…

Myth Or Truth?Another 30% are Gen X’ers

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2012/introducing-boomers--marketing-s-most-valuable-generation.html

Myth Or Truth?Millennials don’t have any money. Almost half of them are broke.

Myth Or Truth?Millennials don’t have any money. Almost half of them are broke…

Myth Or Truth?It only takes a net worth of $10,000 to be richer than half of everyone under the age of 35http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/09/04/it-only-takes-10400-to-be-richer-than-most-millennials/

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/09/04/it-only-takes-10400-to-be-richer-than-most-millennials/

Myth Or Truth?Millennials are so scatterbrained and bored with life most of them just look at their phone for no reason at all. They just stare at it not doing anything

Myth Or Truth?Millennials are so scatterbrained and bored with life most of them just look at their phone for no reason at all. They just stare at it not doing anything…

Myth Or Truth?76% of cell owners ages 18 to 29 look at their phone at least occasionally in public for no particular reason.http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/26/chapter-2-phone-use-in-public-areas/

Myth Or Truth?Half of Millennials still live with their parents

Myth Or Truth?Half of Millennials still live with their parents…

Myth Or Truth?26% of Millennials still live with their parents (the same percentage as in 2007)http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-millennials-living-with-family-despite-improved-job-market

Myth Or Truth?Half of independent Millennials (not living in dorms or w/parents) live with a roommate who is not a spouse or partner

Myth Or Truth?Half of independent Millennials (not living in dorms or w/parents) live with a roommate who is not a spouse or partner…

Myth Or Truth?48% of independent millennials live in a household where there is an extra adult who is not the spouse or partner http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-millennials-living-with-family-despite-improved-job-market

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The idea of the “American dream” is changing.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-millennials-living-with-family-despite-improved-job-market

Myth Or Truth?Baby boomers use LinkedIn less than Gen Xers

Myth Or Truth?Baby boomers use LinkedIn less than Gen Xers http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/

Presenter

Presentation Notes

It is the only platform where those ages 30-64 are more likely to be users than those ages 18-29.

Myth Or Truth?More than 80% of Internet Gen 2.0 (13-17) is registered on Facebook

Myth Or Truth?More than 80% of Internet Gen 2.0 (13-17) is registered on Facebook…

Myth Or Truth?71% of Gen 2.0 use Facebookhttp://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

Myth Or Truth?Millennials are more liberal than older generations

Myth Or Truth?Millennials are more liberal than older generations…

Myth Or Truth?Millennials lean liberal/democratic by 16 points (51/35). Younger Millennials who turned 18 during the Obama Presidency are an extra 18 points more liberal than even older Millennials http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/30/a-different-look-at-generations-and-

partisanship/

Myth Or Truth?Gen-X’rs are more politically conservative than Boomers

Myth Or Truth?Gen-X’rs are more politically conservative than Boomers…

Myth Or Truth?Boomers lean democratic by 6 points (47/41), X’ers lean democratic by 11 points (49/38)

The reason is late X’ers; X’ers who turned 18 under the Clinton Presidency are 15 points more democratic than older X’ers who turned 18 under Reagan/Bush.

Political cycles seem to run every 10-15 years, and do not align with generational cycles (25 years)

http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/30/a-different-look-at-generations-and-partisanship/

Myth Or Truth?2016 is the first US presidential election in which all Millennials will be old enough to vote

Myth Or Truth?More than 3/4ths of all Gen X’ers never (or almost never) turn their phones off

Myth Or Truth?More than 3/4ths of all Gen X’ers never (or almost never) turn their phones off…

Myth Or Truth?Following younger generations, 77% of Gen X’ers turn their phones off rarely or neverhttp://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/26/chapter-1-always-on-connectivity/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/26/chapter-1-always-on-connectivity/

Myth Or Truth?Millennials read, on average, fewer books than previous generations (includes e-books)

Myth Or Truth?Millennials read fewer books than previous generations (includes e-books)…

Myth Or Truth?While the mean is slightly less, millennials read on average the same number of books per year as older generations (e-book adoption is higher)

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/16/a-snapshot-of-reading-in-america-in-2013

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Amazon has said that Kindle owners purchase 3.3 times as many books as they did before the purchase of the Kindle

Myth Or Truth?More than half of Internet Gen 2.0’rs (13-17) use Instagram

Myth Or Truth?More than half of Internet Gen 2.0’rs (13-17) use Instagram…

Myth Or Truth?52% of Internet Gen 2.0’rs (13-17) use Instagramhttp://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

Myth Or Truth?More Internet Gen 2.0’rs (under 17) use Snapchat than Twitter

Myth Or Truth?More Internet Gen 2.0’rs (under 17) use Snapchat than Twitter…

Myth Or Truth?41% of Internet Gen 2.0’rs (under 17) use Snapchat, only 33% use Twitterhttp://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

Presenter

Presentation Notes

And this is probably growing quickly

More than 25% of all video game players are over 50

Myth Or Truth?

Myth Or Truth?More than 25% of all video game players are over 50…

Myth Or Truth?There are the same number of people over 50 who play games as there are people ages 18-35, or under 18. The Entertainment Association http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ESA-Essential-Facts-2015.pdf

By 2025 40% of all consumers will be Gen 2.0’ers

Myth Or Truth?

Myth Or Truth?By 2025 40% of all consumers will be Gen 2.0’ers

TAKE AWAYMEMES

Presenter

Presentation Notes

We spend time designing for differences. People using a smartphone have different expectations than computer users. A lot of effort goes into meeting those expectations. And age is another big differentiator, but we don’t talk about it much.

There are differences in expectations between generations in their behavior with technology.

BIG MEME:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

If you want to be successful you need to understand these differences in expectations.

BIG MEME:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

YOU may not be your target audience.

BIG MEME:

Presenter

Presentation Notes

What you think “feels” natural you assume everyone else feels is natural, and that’s not true You may not be your target audience Test with your target audience, and understand people are different.

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.”

― Henry David Thoreau

Remember This Used To Be Cool.

courses.theteamw.com

humantech.theteamw.com

Questions?

Learn more about The Team W at TheTeamW.com

Questions about UserTesting? Email adam@usertesting.com

#UTwebinar#UTwebinar

http://www.theteamw.com/

mailto:adam@usertesting.com

from sock hop to snapchat: how generational differences affect product design

Marketing

snapchat marketing

snapchat explained

new snapchat

sensational sock

print - how to make sock puppets - sock puppet patterns ·...

sock tutorial

sock puppets

sock passerine

sock 182 - southampton orienteering club · sock 182...

snapchat advertising

snapchat statistics

diabetic sock

snapchat overview and how to use snapchat

a nice ribbed sock - · pdf filea nice ribbed sock a sock...

snapchat 101

advancing 0&p textiles · a-plus™ prosthetic sock 10–12...

engage and snapchat reach new audiences travel · to use...

snapchat 101 / getting started on snapchat (for adults)

snapchat geofilters - lauren alexis creative · in 2011...

sock rabbit