So, as we chatted yesterday, we’re thinking our target demographic is the young adult, 25-30ish (I’m guessing middle class) who is settling down and looking to establish community ties much like their parents may have done years before.
While this isn’t the “digital native” demo, it’s clear that this age group has a high rate of internet adoption, and is using the internet to gather news. Here’s some research to back up those claims:
This research shows the 18-24 demo and the 25-34 demo both read newspapers significantly less often than older age groups. Both of those younger demos fell to 35 percent in 2006. Readership amongst all age groups is falling, but it seems that the 18-34 group needs the most encouragement!
This newspaper research journal article shows that the Internet is ahead of newspapers in readership for 18-34 year olds. It barely trails television. Interestingly 34-54 year olds used the internet at the highest percentage:
“This is true because many people who use the Internet never use it for news. Internet use is now greater for those 35 to 54 years of age than for those younger than that, and this holds for news as well. This in part probably reflects the increased use of computers in the workplace. It also is probably in part because those who were less than 35 years old 10 or 15 years ago, when that group had the highest Internet use, are now in the 35 to 54 age group. However, use by those more than 55 years old lags far behind use of the newspapers and television news. Many in that age group simply have the habit of getting news that way, and it is still the most convenient way for them to get it. “
And some more pew data showing that 30-49 year olds are almost as likely to use the Internet as 18-29 year olds.
