Convenience Valued More Than Safety? Millennials Say Yes!

The concept of valuing convenience over safety might be something more prominent in today’s society than ever before.

Through the boom of the sharing economy, more people are taking rides from strangers over public transportation and more are staying at strangers’ homes rather than paying for a hotel. In essence, the sharing economy is opening up a new world of more convenience and less safety.

South by Southwest (SXSW) decided to explore the area of conveniences versus safety at this year’s festival. Over the course of two days, a large portion of millennials were surveyed via a partnership with SureID. Although the survey found 83 percent value convenience over safety, it did however reveal that 96 percent actively take measures to confirm their identity is protected online.

Keeping in theme with the sharing economy, the SXSW survey also found 91 percent of respondents assume a third party has vetted all sharing economy services, like ridesharing or on-demand food delivery.

SureID’s CEO and Founder, Steve Larson, commented on the importance of safety in this burgeoning economy: “Proving identities is the secret ingredient in the successful evolution of the sharing economy. Safety and convenience are not mutually exclusive and must work hand-in-hand. The survey findings highlight that we are on the verge of seeing a transformation of how millennials view their identities and the companies and people they interact with on a daily basis.”

As we hear more reports of either sexual harassment or trashed apartment rentals, the sharing economy undoubtedly has a few kinks to work out. While keeping in mind that not every employee in the sharing economy is a good egg, people are learning that it’s advantageous to leave reviews and pay attention to any negative ratings before participating in any shared product or service.