"TECHLASH" RISING IN U.S. AND CHINA.

A survey of marketers and consumers in the U.S. and China reveals widespread disillusionment with social media and online marketing in America--and that social media and online gaming usage likely will level off or decline here over the next three years. In contrast, the study finds marketers planning to increase online and social spending to reach consumers. U.S. consumers also are uncertain about many of the new ad technologies marketers are embracing.

While social and online media usage likely will continue to rise in China, Chinese consumers share Americans' concerns over hacking, false information, and loss of privacy. Though they are more-ardent technophiles than Americans, Chinese consumers indicate they are more ambivalent about ad technology than marketers realize.

"Techlash is here," notes Karen McFarlane, president of the American Marketing Association, New York, which conducted the survey in partnership with Charney Research, YouGov, Kadence International, and GreenBook.

"Despite their fast adoption, American and Chinese consumers have profound concerns about their personal data and how it will be used or compromised. When it comes to the growing intersection of the Internet of Things, adtech, and artificial intelligence, marketers must amplify brand trust and become unmatched champions of...