It’s an exciting day for us here at GWI. Why? We’ve added respondents aged 65 and over to our GWI Core survey for the first time ever. It doesn’t just offer better coverage of the global online population, but also delivers some striking insights into culture, history, and aging around the world. We’ve scattered some of our best findings so far in here, but you can check out all the new data right on the platform.
Scroll down to read about Angela Lansbury, Singapore’s dapper Pioneers, and the Bob Dylan-Osaka connection.
Stats to power your week
🕵️ American seniors have a particular love of mystery shows. It ranks as their second favorite TV genre, compared to sixth among younger generations. How much of this is down to the popularity of Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote and Andy Griffith in Matlock? GWI Core
🍕 The number of UK consumers who eat fast food more than once a week has grown by 54% since 2020. Restaurant visits haven’t quite returned to pre-Covid levels, and this is probably why – we’ve got very comfortable with a night in. GWI Core
🏀 Caitlin Clark, the much-hyped basketball player, made her WNBA debut last week. Although she ended up on the losing side, she’s still the new face of one of the fastest-growing US sports competitions, as the number of Americans who follow the league has grown by 56% since 2020. GWI USA
🚘 Ask anyone what the biggest automotive trend is at the moment and they’ll probably say electric vehicles. They’re not wrong, but there’s something else going on at the moment – a rise in consumers buying SUVs. The number in the UK who’d prefer one as their next car is up 23% year-on-year. GWI Automotive
⛓️ Cultural values change around the world, some more than others. So we’ve pored through the numbers to figure out which change the most. The most consistent statement is “social media causes me anxiety”, which between 6% (Kenya) and 25% (Italy) agree with in each market. “I am confident” has the biggest gap, from 9% in humble Japan to 80% in self-assured Ghana. GWI Core
What’s on our radar
Last week OpenAI debuted the new model of ChatGPT and Google’s I/O event brought a slew of big announcements. As well as some potential new capabilities with image generation, one thing grabbing our attention is Google’s Music AI Sandbox, especially as ElevenLabs recently unveiled a new song generator.
Our research shows that counseling and therapy visits have significantly increased over the last few years – but recent opinionpieces suggest it’s not all it’s cracked up to be for some people.
Following its March IPO, Reddit is expanding its monetization efforts by signing a partnership with OpenAI and hiring its first VP of Ads Product.
As electric cars take up a greater share of the automotive market, some interesting second-order effects are kicking in, including a decline in dealership haggling and an uptick in self-serve test drives.
Another historic first took place in Saudi Arabia, in the form of the country’s first-ever swimsuit fashion show.
Whisper it: a new study suggests using ASMR can have good results for well-known brands, but less familiar brands who try it might actually turn consumers off. Startups may be best served by avoiding the lip smacking and light tapping.
After testing 30-minute uploads in January, TikTok is now testing 60-minute uploads on its platform.
Chart of the week
Our perception of generations often has a Western bias. When we talk about defining events or technology, it’s usually about things that resonate more with the English-speaking world, and the US in particular. Think the Civil Rights movement, the Great Recession, or the emergence of smartphones.
In other countries, it’s a little different. Singapore’s “Pioneer Generation” (those born before 1950) not only lived through the end of British rule and helped Singapore develop into the thriving global city it is today, their contributions were also rewarded with a special Budget package in 2014.
Something of that trailblazing spirit appears to have survived into the present day. Singaporean over-64s are unique in wanting brands to be bold or innovative more than their younger counterparts (and every other country besides). This may explain the fabulous threads you can find on the @elderswithstyle Instagram page, dedicated to the country’s strikingly dressed seniors.
Local lowdown
Bob Dylan, big in Japan
Our new 65+ respondents give us a glimpse into a particular window of history, to a time when certain countries were occupied by another. A good example is Japan, which was occupied by the Americans after World War 2 to help establish a stable, peaceful democracy in the country.
During the occupation and afterward, the US had a significant military presence there, with many servicemen tuning into radio stations broadcasting music from back home. Similar to other parts of the world, the American GIs’ music tastes had a lasting influence on the locals.
We see this in Japanese over 64s, who are more likely to enjoy American folk music and singer-songwriters than their younger counterparts. Japan has since formed its own singer-songwriter culture, but part of it is the legacy of artists like Bob Dylan, The Band, and Joni Mitchell. One great example is this cover of a Bob Dylan-written song, performed by a duo that established a venue in Osaka called the Dylan Cafe, whose name was…The Dylan II.
