We often hear about these new generations, the Millenials (or Gen Y) and the Z (or Gen Z), in terms of digitalization, social networks…
However, these young people have not given up on Print.
Instead, reading is still very popular among young people, in the US 80% of the 18- to 29-year-olds read books, 72% of whom read printed books*.
“The popularity of Print with younger generations means the print will play an important role in the years to come”, said Nicolas Brown
We can identify 3 reasons why young people value print: trustworthiness, effectiveness, and difference. This article discusses the first point: Print trustworthiness.

 

1. Print is trustworthy

 
According to many studies, Print is seen as the most trusted source of information.
The spread of fake news on the internet and its impact in real life has had a strong negative effect on online information credibility.
Kantar showed in a worldwide study of more than 8,000 respondents, that Social networks are the most affected by this loss of trust**.
Meanwhile, Print is a very authoritative source of information. On one hand, newspapers remain very reliable with 60% of respondents saying they trust them the same.
On the other hand, news magazines are the ones with the biggest increase in trust with 23% of respondents saying they trust them more than ever before**.

 

These results are reflected both in the news and in the advertisements. Indeed, in a study made by Mailbox Marchant, 45% of the Americans interviewed said that print ads have more credibility, followed by online ads (26%)***.

 

Although this feeling is common across all age segments, it is particularly strong among Millennials. In fact, paper is seen as more official and more trusted for at least 80% of them****.

 

Part 2. Print is different

 

References