July 2009     Australia’s young adults are turning away from excessive consumption, re-examining their hedonistic ways and shifting their spending and lifestyle habits to more authentic pursuits as a backlash to greed, globalisation and the GFC, according to the latest research.

The pre-eminent annual study, Urban Market Research, reveals Australia’s 16-30 year olds are nostalgic for times pre-GFC and climate change when life was perceived as more innocent and uncomplicated. With 50.2% of young adults living in suburbia with their parents, they’re returning to traditional values and bridging the generation gap in search of simplicity and quality: meaningful offline time with friends, shopping at farmers markets, taking up sewing classes, listening to their parents’ vinyl collection and going to garage sales.

The research indicates the GFC has hit the youth market’s collective hip pocket, with total spend across key lifestyle ‘pillars’ including music, entertainment, travel, fashion and sport down more than $5 billion, from $47.5 billion last year to $42.4 billion. The biggest fall was in entertainment, down $7.3 billion to $19.4 billion, while travel spend increased $4.4 billion to $9.3 billion.

The research reveals looking after yourself is in, getting trashed is out. Young adults are taking up jogging, hosting dinner parties and watching home entertainment over going out.

Dion Appel, CEO of Lifelounge Group says the research indicates the youth market is becoming more conservative, cautious and seeking greater control over the lifestyle choices in response to the world around them.

“Due to their living circumstances most young adults are yet to feel the direct effect of the global financial crisis, however economic woes and climate change has led them to re-assess what’s important – saving the planet or destroying it through unfettered consumerism,” Appel says.

“Nostalgia and the simple things in life feeds their occasion, which is influencing the styles they’re adopting, the products they’re purchasing and their entertainment choices,” Appel says. “Buying vintage clothes, listening to older music genres, going camping with your mates and heading out to cabaret and burlesque shows are all seeing a spike in popularity,” he says.

“Everything associated with the word ‘global’ seems bad, so they’re turning inward and focusing more on the immediate world around them – their local community, family and close friends,” Appel says.

The research also shows the youth market is spending slightly less time surfing the internet (down almost half an hour to an average of 8.6 hours a week) as well as in chatrooms and online forums (down one hour a week to an average of 2.5 hours and 1.5 hours respectively).

“As digital natives, the youth market has grown up online but are increasingly seeking to balance their online world with offline contact,” Appel said. “They’re starting to question the authenticity of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. They want technology to assist – rather than dominate – the way they communicate,” he said.

From a media release by Urban Market Research, dated 13th July, 2009.

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