With the help of our international network of offices, we were able to assemble panels of teens and twenty-somethings in seven countries. In a series of posts beginning today, we’ll be bringing you our most noteworthy findings (some expected, some unusual, all good) on the lives of youth around the world.
The survey, conducted between October and December of 2007, comprised 105 young adults ages 14-29 in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and the US. We asked them a lot including their entertainment choices, communications preferences, social media habits, fashion influences, favorite trends, and thoughts on advertising. First up…
The Connected Class
Young people all over the world are leapfrogging over the PC straight to the mobile phone as their “first screen” for entertainment, communications, news, and social interaction. Global mobile usage is growing so rapidly it is outpacing both TV and Web consumption. For tweens, teens and 20-somethings, the “Connected Class,” the phone is becoming an extension of themselves, a part of their identity.
- 68% of survey respondents say that their mobile device is their most essential personal device (followed by Laptop/PC at 40%).
Differences in online behavior emerge during teen years. In general, boys are more transactional, while girls are more social, expressive, and relationship-driven. It may be a cliché , but stats show that girls are the communicators. This was obvious not only by our returned questionnaires (most boys wrote a word when girls wrote sentences) but also by their preference for the phone, which enables them to both talk and stay connected 24/7.
- 65% of females picked their mobile as top device compared to 45% of males, who would rather reach of their laptop or PC.
So how much time are young people spending online or on their mobiles?
- On average, respondents interact digitally for 2.9 hours per day, but it strongly varies by region.
- While respondents in the US spend 2.2 hours, Malaysians spend 4.5 hours a day online and only 3 hours on real-life interactions. Now that’s what we call connected!
Next up: Global Mobile Usage. Stay tuned…
Update: See more Global Youth Survey posts here
PS - Many thanks to our offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and London for making this possible! Special acknowledgment to Hayley Allman, Gaelle de Graaff, Jonathan Tan, Gavin Foo, Kevyn Eng, Louisa Wong, Howard Jeong, and Zack Eidman.
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