Social media’s influence on driving habits

Young people drive less

Matt Dietrichson, Oct 19, 12.

Emerging social media and internet technologies are having an impact on how often young people use cars, according to Gilbreath Communications’ Newsletter:

Social media and environmental issues have one thing in common; both can impact the number of young people on the road. According to data compiled in a recent National Household Travel Survey, Americans under age 40 are driving dramatically less.

Much of this trend is linked to the recession, which has hit younger workers particularly hard. Driving by unemployed Americans between the ages of 18–40 plummeted by 19–24 percent per person in 2009, compared with 2001. Employed drivers aged 18–40 drove between 15–19 percent less per person in 2009 compared with 2001. But social media is also diminishing interest in vehicles. An analyst for J.D. Power and Associates’ Web intelligence division found that young adults care more about their cell phones than their cars, and the research firm Gartner found 46 percent of drivers aged 18–24 would choose Internet access over owning a car.