Today’s fast-paced society makes it hard for a majority of Americans to stick to long-term goals, including financial planning, says a new study by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Around-the-clock Internet connectivity and instant access to information is distracting millions of Americans, according to data from the 2013 Planning and Progress Study conducted by the Milwaukee-based company.
The dizzying flow of information makes it difficult to stick to long-term goals for 69 percent of Americans, according to the study, which included 1,546 people over the age of 25. That is a decrease from the 74 percent who said the same in 2011.
Nearly one-third said the immediacy of e-mail, texting and instant messaging is distracting.
“We’re living at a time of extraordinary progress and transformative change, where the tools we carry around every day allow us to do almost anything from anywhere at any time,” says Greg Oberland, Northwestern Mutual executive vice president. “Still, many of the most important things in life can’t or shouldn’t be done at lightning speed. Having a long-term financial plan is a perfect example. There simply are no shortcuts for that.”
The older the person, the more the fast pace of society creates difficulties, the survey says. Three-fourths of those born before 1946, 74 percent of baby boomers, 63 percent of Gen X and 61 percent of Gen Y find it difficult, according to the survey.
At the same time, 66 percent of Americans find the immediacy of electronic devices to be efficient and 36 percent say their usage of these devices has increased over the last year, One quarter of those surveyed said they are often or always too busy to think about long-term goals and 63 percent said their financial planning needs improvement.