Flip phones are making a surprising comeback, with online searches skyrocketing over 15,000% as a new generation embraces their simplicity.
How online searches are evolving in today's digital landscape
I can’t imagine we’ll stop saying “Google it” when referring to finding info online any time soon — but, in reality, the way people search the web is changing. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are part of it, but don’t discount how many use social media to find information.
If you run a business or have anything to do with products, marketing or sales online, consider this required reading.
“How do I ….”
The clever folks over at HubSpot surveyed 600+ consumers, and the results were so interesting I had to share them.
- 31% use social media to find answers to questions. (12% said they use AI like ChatGPT.)
- 15% prefer searching on social over true search engines. (That number is 31% for Gen Z!)
- 86% say search engines are the best way to get info. (A real do as I say, not as I do situation, eh?)
- 54% primarily use their phones to search online. (That number is 80% for Gen Z, 62% for millennials and 66% for Gen X.)
Class, what did we learn?
Brands and sites that rely on search traffic need to make some serious changes. Make your site smartphone-friendly, and consider amping up the time and money you put into social media.
Still have a landline? How to get rid of it (even if you're concerned about emergencies!)
Teens today will probably never understand the world of rotary phones. It would be hard to explain that you had to know a phone number by heart and then dial it by spinning a circle back and forth. Thankfully, those phones are nowhere to be seen now. But the humble landline is still in use.
🍹 Hola, beaches! “Quiet vacationing” is all over the internet. Millennials and Gen Zers are sneaking in time off work without taking PTO. The ruse takes a few fake meetings on the calendar and strategically timed emails to make your boss think you’re working. Yeah, this is also called stealing.
60-plus hours a week
Time millennials spend sitting on their butts between work and their couch potato lifestyle. That’s accelerating their biological clocks and increasing their risk of heart disease. You’ve got to move it, move it!
17 cancers
Are more common in Gen X and millennials. Yep, if you’re born between 1965 and 1996, you’re up to three times more likely than baby boomers to develop colon, pancreatic, liver and other deadly cancers. Doctors think obesity and alcohol are partly to blame, but there’s still a lot we don’t understand.
Millennials, watch out: New data from the FBI shows folks ages 30 to 49 are most likely to lose money to investment fraud. Oops. Social media and ads are some of the biggest ways criminals pass this stuff along. No big surprise: Crypto scams are especially lucrative.
Paws crossed: Yale scientists have a new canine cancer vax that doubles sick pups’ survival rates. It’s adapted from human treatments that use polyclonal antibodies to tackle cancer. It’s helped over 300 dogs in a study, including adorbs golden retriever Hunter, who’s been doing great for two years after his osteosarcoma diagnosis. That boy deserves a treat!