The Gist: In the past year, boycotting as a way to express dissatisfaction in media has grown significantly.


A year ago we took a look at how many people are boycotting based on advertising spending. Compared to now, June 2017 seemed like a simpler time. Back then, viewers were merely boycotting brands based on their advertising on news networks. Now, there’s boycotts of prime-time TV, new albums, and even entire platforms.

Funny how things change in a year. Including how many people have turned away from a brand for the first time because of advertising spending.

Take a look:

Back in June 2017, 22% of US adults were currently boycotting a product, and 61% had never engaged in such behavior. Today, 28% of US adults say they’re currently boycotting a product, and 52% have never boycotted.

The significant drop in the “No” camp in just a year goes to show the growth of tribalism we’ve seen in the past year.

What Else Has Changed?

There’s a clear increase of people boycotting, but are their profiles any different than those we discovered in 2017?

Since last year, there’s been a jump in the number of Millennials that are currently boycotting, and a drop in Gen Xers. Here’s the same question asked back in 2017.

In today’s polarized media landscape, boycotting is one way for consumers to feel that their voice is heard. Beyond voting in elections, voting with your dollar (or your eyes) can be a way to express dissatisfaction in the actions of others. Seeing a boost in this behavior over the year only goes to show that the US population is working to have their voices heard, in whatever way they can.