Millennials Influencing Boomer's Technology PurchasesMillennials Influencing Boomer's Technology Purchases

It's "like son, like father" as far as Millennials influencing their parents to acquire new broadband and TV technologies, according to research conducted by Motorola.

In studies of American, European, and Middle Eastern younger generations -- 16- to 27-year-olds -- Motorola found that the so-called Millennial generation not only adopt new technologies and services themselves, but they also actively influence their parents' adoption habits.

"Technology is the lifeblood of this generation," said Joe Cozzolino, corporate VP and general manager of Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility EMEA unit, in a statement Wednesday. "It is not surprising therefore to see their influence on technology purchasing for the home."

Motorola said its surveys of more than 2,000 consumers in the various studies help it understand the needs and desires of the Millennial generation, which in turn helps the company design and customize its products and services.

The most recent study -- of European and Middle Eastern youths -- generally tracked the findings of a study of U.S. Millennials released in May.

Not surprisingly, Motorola found that the audience increasingly seeks to interact with what they see on screens, and not just passively digest content. Supporting that theory, about one-third of the audience surveyed prefers to watch video programs on their PCs, where they can share and comment on content, rather than on TV sets.

The audience also voted overwhelmingly in favor of being able to shift to mobile devices to watch TV programs, underscoring the general interest in media mobility. A total of 82% said they favored easy shifting of content to mobile media devices.

And more than half of the Millennials said they favored being able to interact with their TVs so they could access information on the content they watch.

"In order for technology providers and content developers to stay on top of the media game they must keep up with the behaviors of the Millennials," said Cozzolino. "It is the interests, passions and desires of this generation today that are shaping the landscape of tomorrow."

The Motorola surveys found that most respondents say they want an HDTV set. U.K. Millennials had the highest HDTV set penetration -- 54% -- while 46% have HDTV sets in the United States.