An Article from this month’s Tech Net magazine
New research released today by MTV and MSN reveals that young people in the UK spend 34 hours online each week, almost the equivalent of an average working week, with eight in ten 16-24 year olds (80%) logging on to the internet daily and claiming that they can’t live without their computer, over and above their mobile phone.
However, internet hasn’t killed off the TV star, with findings revealing 73% of young Brits have a TV in their room and tend to multi-task, tuning in to watch their favourite programmes while surfing the net and texting friends.
These are just some of the findings from the largest-ever global study undertaken by MTV and Nickelodeon, in association with MSN, into how kids and young people interact with digital technology.
The Circuits of Cool/Digital Playground technology and lifestyle study reveals that digital communication, including the internet, has revolutionised the way that young people communicate with their peers.
The research discovered that the average 16-24 year old in the UK:
• Has a total of 49 friends, of which 7 are close friends, 26 are acquaintances and 16 are online friends whom they have never met in person
• Has 75 phone numbers in their mobile but only 14% use it to call friends, and tend to text or listen to music on their handset instead
• Has 86 buddies on their instant messenger list
• Is a member of up to three social networks and connected to 86 people (with 56% visiting a social networking site every week)
However, the study revealed that, despite the length of time young Brits spend online, the internet has not displaced face-to-face interaction but has actually enhanced it.
“Friends play an expanded role in the lives of young people. When they come home from school, college or work, socialising does not stop as it used to, it just goes online. Kids and young people are now connected constantly,” explains Andrew Davidson, Vice President of VBS International Insight, MTV Networks International.
Caroline Vogt, Head of International Research, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions adds, “The power of online communication tools, like instant messenger and social networking sites, enables young people to communicate both privately and with multiple friends. Features in IM, like winks and emoticons, add to the fun of chatting and allows them to express themselves more deeply.”
Despite living in a digital age, the research also demonstrated that young people’s interest in technology is purely functional. In fact, only 20% of those young people questioned ‘love technology’, with most simply enjoying the role it can play in their lifestyle, helping them to communicate with friends and be entertained.
Davidson comments, “Young people don’t see tech as a separate entity – it’s an organic part of their lives. Talking to them about the role of technology in their lifestyle would be like talking to kids in the 1980’s about the role the park swing or telephone played in their social lives – it’s invisible. They are completely focused on the functionality and use of devices. They don’t enjoy texting, or emailing for its own sake – what they enjoy is communicating with their friends all the time.”
Regards
Marc Turner