When tech firms are finding it hard to persuade the wider public to adopt a technology, they often commission research to ‘prove’ it’s popular among young people. That’s almost certainly the point of Google’s recent survey showing that 40 per cent of ‘Generation Z’ in the US (born 1997 to 2012) now use passkeys.
By contrast, only 26 per cent of ‘Baby Boomers’ (1946-1964) say they use them. Google’s hope is that older people will think, ‘Wow, those kids always seem to know what’s happening – maybe I should ditch passwords too’.
Google’s language makes it clear it thinks no one should be using passwords anymore. It says older people are reluctant to move on from such “legacy” security methods.
That use of ‘legacy’ is telling. Tech firms throw it around to make existing technology feel outdated and clunky, even if it’s still working perfectly fine for millions of people. It’s a passive-aggressive way of making those users feel out of touch.
And yet even Generation Z doesn’t seem ready to give up passwords. Google’s survey shows that half still use them. That rises to 72 per cent for Baby Boomers.