A 15 year old intern at Morgan Stanley wrote a research paper last month describing the media consumption habits of teenagers.
This is an excerpt from his research paper.
If you sell into the teen market, take a look at the complete article.
It includes information about what’s hot, what’s not and devices.
You can access it in full by following the link to How Teenagers Consume Media.
RADIO:
Most teenagers nowadays are occasional listeners, not regular listeners to radio. They prefer to head to online websites that stream music where users can choose songs they wish to listen to, as opposed to listening to what a DJ presents.
TELEVISION:
Most teenagers watch television, but are typically erratic with consumption. Consumption peaks and troughs depending on programming and whatever else is happening with their lives. They may go for weeks without viewing any television. Teenage boys engage in consumption of sport broadcasts, while another segment will consume regular programming such as Home and Away, time permitting. Teenagers don’t like ads, so are more likely to stream television online.
NEWSPAPERS:
Teenagers may read the occasional tabloid or free-sheets (such as MX), but are unlikely to read newspapers. They don’t want to pay for the news and they can’t be bothered reading when they can quickly access news on either the Internet or television. Tabloids are more likely to be successful because their compact size allows them to be read easily on a bus or train.
GAMING.
The most common console is the Wii, then the Xbox 360 followed by the PS3. Most teenagers with a games console tend to game not in short bursts, but in long stints (upwards of an hour).
As consoles are now able to connect to the internet, voice chat is possible between users, which has had an impact on phone usage; one can speak for free over the console and so a teenager would be unwilling to pay to use a phone. PC gaming is not particularly popular.
INTERNET.
Every teenager has some access to the internet, be it at school or home. Home use is mainly used for fun (such as social networking) whilst school (or library) use is for work. Most teenagers are heavily active on a combination of social networking sites. Facebook is the most common, with nearly everyone with an internet connection registered and visiting >4 times a week.
On the other hand, teenagers do not use twitter. Most have signed up to the service, but don’t post regular updates since it exhausts their mobile phone credit.
Other uses of the Internet include a source of information for a variety of topics. They use Google and YouTube (Anime is popular), and some make purchases from eBay although many don’t have credit cards to facilitate purchasing.
DIRECTORIES.
Teenagers never use real directories (hard copy catalogues such as yellow pages). They contain services that teenagers don’t require. It’s easier (and free) to type in your query to Google.
VIRAL/OUTDOOR MEDIA.
Most teenagers enjoy and support viral marketing, as often it creates humorous and interesting content. They don’t like advertising so they ignore it. Outdoor advertising fares a little better, depending on content, although ads that are very different will cause them to stop and think about it.
MUSIC.
Teenagers listen to a lot of music, mostly whilst doing something else (like travelling or using a computer) which makes it hard to get a sense of their time spent listening to it. They prefer to share music and download illegally because of the cost of purchasing it.
CINEMA.
Teenagers visit the cinema quite often, regardless of what is on, for the social experience of getting together with their friends.
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