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Kids, Teens and Virtual Worlds

The Walt Disney Company's $350 million purchase of Club Penguin signals a new focus of attention for marketers and media companies targeting kids and teens online.

Virtual worlds are becoming more frequent destinations as the percentage of children and teens who use the Internet increases.

"For marketers trying reach kids and teens on social networking sites, there is a new game in town: virtual worlds," said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Kids and Teens: Virtual Worlds Open New Universe.

"Of course, virtual worlds are not new, but the level of development activity, venture capital investment and consumer interest in virtual worlds is unprecedented," she said.

Club Penguin is one of the fastest growing virtual worlds for young children. As of August 2007, it had 12 million registered users and 700,000 paid subscribers, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

According to eMarketer estimates, 41.5% of children ages 3 to 11 will use the Internet at least once a month in 2007. In total, 14.9 million children will go online in 2007, rising to an estimated 16.6 million in 2011.

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Selling TV to Teens

Online is an also-ran for promoting new shows.

A majority of teens learn about new television shows from TV ads and promos, according to an OTX-eCRUSH study.

Word of mouth, video sharing Web sites and blogs were far less influential, the study said.

"For all of the hype surrounding blogs and video sharing sites, it's important for networks and marketers to understand that a majority of teenagers still get information about new programming from TV ads and promos," said Bruce Friend, OTX president of media and entertainment insights, in a statement.

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Internet Keeps Young People Upbeat

Young people age 13 to 24 today are generally very happy and optimistic about the future, according to an MTV-Associated Press study conducted by Knowledge Networks in April 2007.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they were happy with the way things were going in their lives in general, and 62% thought they would be even happier in the future. Only one-fifth said they were unhappy.

"Nearly two-thirds of the young people surveyed said they think that the Internet, instant messaging, cell phones and other technologies make people happier, and 61% said those things make them feel closer to their family," said eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson. "You simply cannot separate young people from technology; it is part of who they are."

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Teen Spending and Web Usage Up

And they consider PCs more important than TV.

Spending on and by teenagers will reach $208.7 billion in 2011, up from $189.7 billion in 2006, according to Packaged Facts' "The Teens Market in the US" report. The spending increase is expected despite an estimated 3% decline in the 12-to-17-year-old population by 2011.

Teen spending will grow 3.5% annually to $91.1 billion in 2011, from $79.7 billion in 2006. Family spending on teens during the same period will grow 7% to $117.6 billion in 2011, from $110 billion in 2006.

The study estimates the current number of teens in the US at 25.6 million.

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Generation Y Multitaskers Boost Media Time

Multitasking is driving up the total amount of time that US teens spend with media, according to a Bridge Ratings study conducted in March to May 2007.

US consumers ages 13 to 17 spend more time with media overall than other age groups do, and their total media time has grown by more than two and a half hours per day since May 2004.

Bridge attributes this change to Generation Y's skill at consuming two or more of types of media simultaneously.

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Teens and Young Adults Spread the Word

Want to promote something? Enlist a Millennial.

Call them Gen Y or Millennials or just "people ages 13-24." Whatever the name, this group spreads the word quickly on things it likes and enjoys user-generated content, according to the "State of the Media Democracy" report commissioned by Deloitte & Touche and conducted by Harrison Group.

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Internet Captures Half of Spare Time

Broadband users make online time a priority.

Broadband users spend almost half their spare time in a typical weekday online, according to Media-Screen's "Netpop|Play" report.

A copy of the study provided to eMarketer stated that the average broadband user spent an hour and 40 minutes of her typical weekday spare time online. Over half of that time online was devoted to entertainment and communication.

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Older Teens Get Tech First

Teens 17 and older are more than twice as likely to adopt new technologies as younger teens, according to JupiterResearch's "Teens and New Technology: Understanding the Adoption Cycle" report.

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L'usage d'Internet par les jeunes européens

Traditionnellement sur-représentés sur Internet, les jeunes de 15 à 24 ans se distinguent souvent de leurs aînés par des comportements spécifiques notamment en matière de consommation des médias.

Mais qu’en est-il sur Internet ? En quoi leurs comportements sont-il si différents de ceux des plus de 25 ans ?

Temps passé en ligne, principales activités et loisirs sur le Web, perception du Web 2.0 et de la publicité en ligne. Le point en chiffres sur le comportement des jeunes européens sur Internet avec la nouvelle édition de l’enquête NetObserver menée par Novatris/ Harris Interactive.

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Teens Bop to Digital Music

Teens are helping drive Apple's digital music market strength, according to Piper Jaffray's "Taking Stock with Teens" report. The study was conducted with the DECA association of marketing students, and it covered different types of student spending.

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