Great news, meeting professional: Your career is safe. That’s a takeaway from a recent poll conducted in the United States by event technology platform Eventbrite. The poll results overwhelmingly indicated most Americans believe events and in-person meetings are more effective than online experiences—and that positive change requires connecting with one another in person.
“As the largest living generation, millennials are at the forefront of this movement as they look to live experiences for solidarity and as a form of expression,” said a summary of the survey, conducted in partnership with Ipsos and Crowd DNA.
In general, Americans are attending more live events than ever before. In the past year, nearly four out of five (78 percent) of Americans attended a live event, from music concerts to cause-related events such as marches and rallies to corporate events.
“Our increased preference for live experiences is being driven by a strong desire to connect with people, the community and the world, and there’s no doubt the current political climate is contributing to this uptick,” Eventbrite concluded.
Other survey findings:
- Seventy percent of American men and women (74 percent of millennials) agree that attending a live event has been more successful at expanding their perspective than reading about a topic online.
- An event doesn’t have to be “political” to inspire positive change: 84 percent of Americans believe all types of live events can inspire positive change.
- Forty-eight percent of millennials say they attend live events to have something to share on social channels and 78 percent enjoy seeing other people’s unique experiences on social media. Nearly three-quarters believe attending a live event is the best way to show other people what they are interested in.
- Among Americans age 35 or older, however, 48 percent don’t look to live events as the primary way to express themselves.
- Three out of four millennials would choose to spend their money on an experience rather than buy something desirable.
