The belief that young people are most heavily influenced by their friends does not actually ring true, according to new research. Those aged between 18-24 years old are actually still more likely to be influenced by their mum and dad than their best friend, the poll revealed.
All respondents were asked: “Who are you more likely to be influenced by online?” to which the most popular answer of the millennial group, was ‘family members’; almost double those that answered ‘friends’. By comparison, just 3 per cent stated that they were most likely to be influenced by accounts with a ‘high number of followers’, such as celebrities, and just 2 per cent were most influenced by ‘colleagues’.
When considering who the older respondents were most likely to be influenced by, however, the groups aged 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 all specified that ‘friends’ were their biggest influence; with 41 per cent, 38 per cent and 39 per cent of their votes respectively.
UK Managing Director at affilinet, Helen Southgate, said the following: “This research has cast a new light on who Millennials are most influenced by. With parents the most selected category it’s clear that they feel family is still the biggest influence on them.”
