A groundbreaking new piece of research from Microsoft Advertising and MTV has lifted the lid on teens’ relationships with technology around the world, and exploded much of the accepted wisdom surrounding digital youth.
The qualitative study included focus groups, home visits, diaries, and discussions in eight countries, and drew on the experiences of 230 respondents aged between 10 and 20.
Their responses reveal a generation that is bewildered by the term “technology”, so completely have they integrated digital media into their lives.
However, rather than losing themselves in extended “virtual” social networks or absorbing online “content”, teenagers see digital channels almost wholly as a communication channel: deepening existing friendships, flirting, and exploring their growing identities. As one teen put it, “My mates are my media.”
In almost all countries, digital communication was used to enhance and deepen existing relationships; meeting strangers online was of little interest, and most teens identified it as something their divorced parents would do.
Instant Messenger (IM) services emerged as the natural channel of communication for those under 20, taking on particular significance during the “adolescent” years between 14 and 16. IM services were used from the moment a PC was turned on, often controlling the rest of young users’ online experience as contacts shared links and directed one another to content clips on sites such as YouTube.
In Northern Europe, the PC has replaced TV sets in many young peoples’ bedrooms, but is not used to consume content in a comparable way. Teens have a short attention span for online content and find it interesting only to the extent that it can be shared with friends and used as social currency.
Despite the availability of free music online, most young people do not seem interested in building up libraries of downloaded tracks and have a transient relationship to music generally.
Email was regarded as slow and old fashioned, whilst social networking sites such as
Windows Live Spaces become significant at a later age, usually 17, when they allow young people to maintain relationships with existing friends, despite changing circumstances.
Gaming sites lost popularity as young people entered adolescence and interaction with peers became more important.
The first, qualitative stage of the research program covered teens in the UK, The Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico, Japan, China, India and Italy. The results of the next, quantitative stage, which extends the study to the USA, will be presented this year.
Combining Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Messenger, and
Windows Live Hotmail can create a powerfully, integrated campaign helping bring your consumers together and connect via your brand.
