According to the latest research from the Circuits of Cool youth project, conducted by Microsoft and MTV, IM is viewed as a tool that enables constant connectivity, allowing young people to feel connected with their friends and keeping them from feeling ‘left out’. IM is the preferred communication method used by young people to catch up with someone they don’t know well, and is seen as being a light-hearted medium to communicate with friends, both individually and as a group.
Globally, young people on average have 78 IM buddies, with Brazil, India and New Zealand having the highest with 136, 135 and 115 respectively. Japanese youths have the lowest number of buddies at only 27 (largely driven by Japanese youths having a stronger relationship with their mobile phone and not owning a PC or laptop), followed by Germany at 41 and China at 50.
IM features driving popularity:
- Free to use
- Private form of communication
- Youths feeling they have more control over the conversation
- Safe method for communication
- Instant but not too instant – allowing them to express themselves better
- Forward – youths can be braver on IM than in face to face communication
Opportunities for Advertisers - Entertainment is Fuelling Conversations
Youths describe their IM conversations as funny, flirty and social (involving lots of people), with the majority of IM conversations centred on gossip (62%), making social arrangements (57%) and flirting (55%), with one youth revealing “Actually we talk about nothing. It’s all about flirting” (Female, 16, Netherlands).
However, entertainment is also fuelling IM conversations. Young people are talking about and sharing content on films, music and TV, links to websites, clips and photos they have found, and sport
