In its new study titled ‘the
Rise of Generation C: Implications for the world of 2020’ it said that in the
course of the next 10 years, a new generation—Generation C—will emerge (the C
stands for connect, communicate, change).
“Following the lull that took
place during the recent worldwide recession, we expect to see some form of
economic growth, with globalisation picking up speed again,” said Richard
Shediac, the Booz & Company partner leading the firm’s Middle East Public Sector
practice. That will reestablish an international environment of global
migration of talent and labour as well as capital. With ageing Western
populations, new consumer segments will be created, including a relatively
wealthy retirement segment and a new young middle class, and the BRIC countries
(Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will continue to grow rapidly. The pace of
innovation will create an ever more digital world, even as wireless devices
confirm their emerging role as the dominant tool for trade, entrepreneurship,
and Internet access for the masses. Finally, concern for the environment and
for energy security will remain at a high level.
“The trends outlined will
have a wide range of effects on how people use communications technology, on
how they gather and consume information and entertainment, and on how they
interact,” said Ramez Shehadi, the Booz & Company partner leading the
firm’s Middle East Information Technology practice. The latest consumer
behaviour studies confirm that these trends are real, and they are reshaping
the mass market.
“The Internet’s power will
develop through its online economic might and also offline as a cultural and
political influence. At the same time, personal and business activities will
mingle seamlessly, as the day fragments into a flexible mix of personal and
business activities—work, commuting, shopping, communications, entertainment,”
the study added.
“The average person in 2020
will live in a web of 200 to 300 contacts, maintained daily through a variety
of channels.
People will dramatically
increase their consumption of digital information. The vast pool of available
information will allow consumers to pick and choose the information they want
and how they want to consume it. “Nonlinear” information consumption will
become the norm and the supply of digital information itself will explode,” it
said.
“Growing use of social
networking increasingly determines consumption patterns. Viral marketing and
positive peer reviews become essential to success, which in turn erodes the
concept of brand value, traditional marketing, and bricks-and-mortar outlets,”
added Shehadi.
The upper limit of the
digitally literate grows older, as the 50-plus-age bracket broadly migrates
online. At present, 65-year-olds spend just two to three hours online in a
typical week, yet the 65-year-olds of 2020 will spend closer to eight hours
online weekly. Generation C will distance itself, particularly in the
development of its own pervasive culture of communication. That culture has led
observers to dub this group “the Silent Generation,” as digital communication
channels have replaced the physical interaction so dear to prior generations.
“Skilled and innovative
digital entrepreneurs will emerge throughout the developing world in massive numbers.
These have the potential to significantly disrupt traditional Western business
models and have a highly connected audience that can benefit from their new
ideas,” the report added.
“These will have major
implications for the telecommunications and technology industries, which must
begin now to develop complex webs of interacting technologies and business
models,” added Shehadi.
“The trends outlined above
will pose real challenges for every player in the global telecom industry over
the next decade. We expect there to be real opportunities for growth,
especially in specific areas,” said Shehadi.
The advent of Generation C
will drive fundamental change in most industries—and create substantial
opportunities and threats for all involved. Booz & Company predicts a
series of “eras” triggered by the sequential rise of critical new technologies.
The year 2020 will be a different world. The general outlines, and a great deal
of the particulars, are clear. As such, it is incumbent on the technology and
communication industries to prepare to help lead us into this world, and to
benefit from the technological, social, and cultural changes that will take
place.
