What is YAYA?

YAYA stands for Youth and Young Adult. It is the market of adults 18-26 years old.YAYA is not a generation, but a phase of life. At some point everyone is a YAYA. There are over 29.8 million YAYAs in the United States, which means 10% of the population in the U.S. are considered YAYAs.

Why do we need to research this phase of life?

YAYA communicate very differently than other generations. They are using technology like no other generation before them as their main channel of communication. YAYAs use various forms of instant communication to communication with friends – AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, or Facebook Chat. YAYAs want variety and change; they are not content to stay on one thing too long. We need to understand how YAYAs use technology differently than other generations to connect with peers and obtain information.

What do we need to understand about YAYAs?

The media behaviors of the Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) market are critically important to understand. These “digital natives” are likely to provide important insights into what audiences in the future will prefer. Thus it is important to explore young adults’ preferences for voice and media features when they are looking for information, entertainment, or connecting with others. In this way, we develop the possibility of predicting what media they will use, when, and for what purpose.

How do I get more information on this project?

For more information contact Margaret Duffy at duffym@missouri.edu