Back in 1979, the Buggles told us that “Video killed the Radio Star” – and after the video for their song became the first ever played on MTV at midnight on August 1, 1981, they turned out to be right. However, it took the ability to download songs directly off the internet to change the way music business operated.
Now, the internet may be a driving force behind a change in U.S. car culture – one which is seeing fewer members of Gen Y take to the roads. According to an article that appeared in both Advertising Age and Automotive News (Crain Publications siblings), the trend has been building for 15 years, but 20-somethings were under-indexing on driving (total highway miles) in 2009, when they were over-indexing as a percentage of the population in 1995.
So, what does the internet have to do with it? Well, if you ask Gen-Y, it doesn’t, not directly, anyway. They’ll tell you their concern for the environment has taken them off the road, so if they are buying via e-commerce and iPhone apps, instead of driving to big box stores, it isn’t because they are yearning to bring back Main Street Mom & Pop stores so they can drive there – it’s because they prefer to shop via the internet.
In terms of commuting, or longer trips that would require a car, if they are in a place where they can do it, they prefer to take the train, because it allows them to use the time to work, connected to the internet , which hasn’t been possible in a car, although systems like Ford’s Sych allow for other kinds of connectivity. Some cars, such as the Audi A8, will offer internet access with this year. However, few 20-somethings will be able to afford – or will want to buy – the A8, even with the internet access. While the car used to symbolize freedom to most Americans – the fact that it can’t offer constant access to the kind of technology many 20-somethings now view as freeing may mean the end of that view for the younger generation.
There is some thought that when the economy picks up and more people go back to work or when Gen Y ages a bit and has children which require things like minivans to take them to soccer games, etc., driving may appeal more to younger people – and that may be true, but it seems like a love affair with the car may have been replaced by a love affair with other technology for a generation.
