Magazine reading cuts across generations, regardless of other technologies, study says

Good news for those who believe in the power of magazines -- a study by Deloitte and Touche, reported in Advertising Age, says that both young and old enjoy reading magazines, despite the allure of new forms of media consumption.

The consulting and advisory firm found that every generation -- from young Millennials (ages 13 to 24) to Generation X (25 to 41) to Baby Boomers (42 to 60) and older Matures (61 to 75) -- enjoys reading magazines. Almost three-fourths of all consumers choose to read them even though they can find the same information online. There is also a greater receptivity overall to print ads compared with internet ads, the firm found.

The study of 2,200 people was done online, which might tend to bias it, but Deloitte said it intended to do it on an annual basis.It also found that user-generated content is becoming more important.

The "fascination" with user-generated content potentially "has big impact for a media company and media clients," said Ed Moran, director-product innovation, for Deloitte Services' Technology, Media & Telecommunications group.