New Global Youth Study Reveals Differences in Technology Use

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 24: According to the results of a
global study on youth and technology, conducted by MTV and Nickelodeon in
association with Microsoft, 59 percent of 8- to 14-year-olds still prefer their
TVs to their PCs and only 20 percent of 14- to 24-year-olds admitted to being
“interested” in technology.

The study, entitled Circuits of Cool/Digital Playground is the largest global study undertaken by MTV and
Nickelodeon, in association with Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. Circuits
of Cool/Digital Playground surveyed 18,000
kids aged 8-14 and young people aged 14-24 in 16 countries: the U.K., Germany,
Holland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico,
China, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. MTV Networks and Microsoft
studied 21 technologies that impact the lives of young people: Internet, email,
PC, TV, mobile, IM, cable and satellite TV, DVD, MP3, stereo/hi-fi, digital
cameras, social networks, on and offline video games, CDs, HD TV, VHS, webcams,
MP4 players, DVR/PVRs and hand-held game consoles.

The study challenges traditional assumptions about their
relationships with digital technology, and examines the impact of culture, age
and gender on technology use. It found that digital communications such as IM,
email, social networking sites and mobile/sms are complementary to, but are not
competitive with TV. Television continues to be a part of young peoples’
digital conversation, with 85 percent of kids stating that they enjoy watching
television the most. At the top of the list of favorite pastimes among
14-24-year-olds was listening to music (70 percent), followed by watching TV or
hanging out with friends, both of which polled at 65 percent.

“The survey revealed a strong dynamic between TV and the Internet,
especially for 14-24s,” said Andrew Davidson, the VP of VBS International
Insight at MTV Networks International. “Young people watch TV for stress
relief—60 percent of the sample said they watched most of their TV lying
down. The Internet, on the other hand, is cognitive and active, especially if
kids are using it for homework or social situations.”

The report also found that technology has enabled young
people to have more and closer friendships thanks to constant connectivity, and
that despite advances in communication technology, almost all young people use
technology to enhance, rather than replace, face-to-face interaction.

The study also found that while many young people have
access to similar digital technologies, they use them in very different ways.
For example, Japanese young people consider the mobile phone as their key
digital device because it offers privacy and portability. Unlike young people
in other countries, Japanese kids and young people have few online friends.
Japanese teens also used IM and email the least out of the 16 countries
surveyed. China has lower mobile usage among young people, a less evolved print
media market and a family life of no siblings with parents and multiple
grandparents. As a result, the Internet provides a rare opportunity for
children to reach out and communicate using social networks, blogs and instant
messaging. In contrast to their Japanese peers, 93 percent of Chinese
respondents 8-14 have more than one friend online they have never met face to face.

Climate also has an impact on digital technology use as
well. In countries with a strong outdoor culture, such as Italy, Brazil and
Australia, young people use mobiles for arranging to meet, flirt and take
pictures of their friends. Northern Europeans take a practical approach to
technology, but are perhaps the most immersed in it of all. Out of all
nationalities surveyed, Danish youth are most likely to say they can’t live
without mobiles (80 percent) or TVs (75 percent), and Dutch youth are most likely
to say they can’t live without e-mail (85 percent).

Despite the plethora of new communicating tools, a majority
in almost every nation expressed a preference for meeting in person, although
Japanese, Chinese, Poles and Germans scored higher than others when it came to
wanting to communicate online. Only Chinese youth expressed a majority
preference for texting over face-to-face meetings. On average, 14-24-year-olds
said they had 20 online friends, with Brazilians claiming the most at 46.
Communicating with their friends is a priority for youth. Nearly 70 percent
said the first thing they did after turning on their computer was to check IM.
Out of all young people surveyed, 14-17-year-old girls spend the least time
online—21 hours per week—while 22-24 males spent the most time
online—31 hours a week online. Of those surveyed, 100 percent of
respondents said they communicate every time they go online. Social networking
has also become a frequent online activity for over half of youth, with 35
percent claiming they now use these sites because all their friends are on
them.

A clear majority of young people surveyed said the majority
of website links (88 percent) they viewed and the viral video content they
downloaded (55 percent), came from friends’ recommendations.

“In an age when young people influence each other as much as
marketers do, friends are becoming as important as brands,” said Davidson.
“Kids have much more power to influence each other. You need to be interesting
enough for kids and young people to bother to talk about you. You need to be
remarkable. If not, you won’t be respected—that’s what some brands get
wrong,”

Audiences also wanted more control of what they watched and
when they wanted it. Young people expect content to be on all platforms;
mobile, computer and TV. They want it to be searchable and increasingly expect
it to be supplied on demand through services such as Joost.

The Circuits of Cool/Digital
Playground survey also found that the
“technology” itself is irrelevant to kids and young people. While kids use
mobile and the Internet constantly, the survey found that only 20 percent of
14-24-year-olds actually loved technology and were concentrated in developing
nations such as Brazil, India and China. The people least interested in
technology were the Danes and the Dutch—despite saying they couldn’t live
without it.

Bill Roedy, the vice chairman of MTV Networks, commented:
“Digital technology is impacting every aspect of content creation across
Nickelodeon and MTV channels. Our groundbreaking report highlights our
commitment to engaging with kids and young people globally. It will help us
build stronger and more innovative alliances with business partners across our
137 TV channels and 260 web and mobile services. We’re delighted to have joined
forces with Microsoft on this major project.”