The media habits of children are changing with mobile phones moving increasingly towards centre stage, if recent reports are to be believed. This year, it is the mobile phone that will be the one item of technology they can least live without, with the majority using their phones throughout the day.
According to Childwise, kids are spending around an hour and a half a day on average using their phone for texting, games, checking Facebook and using the internet. It has also been shown that when it comes to the forms of technology on their wanted list, smartphones, laptops, and for the younger children, e-readers are all coming higher up the list than a new TV.
The way children use media through the day is also changing. The Childwise survey polled 2,770 five to 16 year olds and found suggestions of a push-button on demand culture which is moving away from scheduled television programming.
When children get home from school, instead of switching on the TV, it has been suggested they are much more likely to reach for the internet. While kids are also more likely to access a book or magazine via a screen than pick up the physical copy, with the most read children’s book being the Hungry Caterpillar (DTL Feb 12).
Source: Mintel Dec 2011 Media activities undertaken regularly
However, TV has still been a major source of inspiration for aspects of children’s lives with many of their favourite toys, magazines and websites connected to what they see on television. This includes the crossing of media frontiers by Moshi Monsters, which has expanded from its online roots to include a line of Moshi soft toys, Moshi music on YouTube in addition to Moshi Monsters on TV.
Mintel have highlighted the popularity of sitting in front of the TV and claim that televised ads are the most effective medium to inform children about new products. For example, 50 per cent of children learn about new products in snacks and sweets for example through television (see Mintel’s table 1,201 internet users aged between seven and 12 and the top seven sources of information for new products from July 2011).
It’s interesting to note however that whilst only 15 per cent of children could least live without their TV, 17 per cent their games console and 23 per cent their computer, as many as 30 per cent say they could least live without their mobile phone. Seven out of ten children between the ages of seven and 16 believe Apple is a cool brand (Youth TGI) and it does appear that a typical youth’s home life is indeed moving towards revolving around the mobile phone!
