Background

๑ As per the 2011 census, 47% Indians are below 20 years of age๑ By 2020, India’s average age would be just 29 years๑ Generation Y are the primary drivers of consumption and spend in India

Those under 25 will account for 54 per cent of the total number of netizens in urban India by 2018, up from 40 per cent in 2013

In terms of digital access, metro youth leads the way

Scope of the research

๑ To study the attitude of teenagers and youth, aged 13-21, towards the internet

๑ Enumerate the usage patterns and peculiarities, basis age and income, if any

๑ Examine the way young people use devices, apps, sites, and what each means to him

๑ Determine reaction to ads on internet and the triggers to click on those ads

๑ Understand their reaction to different media – TV, radio, print etc๑ Elucidate his motivators and influencers – digital and general

Methodology

๑ The primary research was done in Mumbai and Delhi for a duration on one week

๑ The sample size of the research was 50 across both cities๑ Semi-structured, in-depth in-person interviews were conducted in

Mumbai and in-depth telephonic interviews in Delhi๑ The interviews were conducted in malls and colleges in Mumbai๑ Interviews were audio recorded with participant permission, and lasted

between 15-30 minutes

Target Groups

High IncomeMid-Income

13 – 16 year olds High Income

Mid Income

16 – 21 year olds

Findings

Common trends among all 13-16 Year olds

๑ They spend approx. 7 hours with gadgets throughout at day, including phones, TVs, PCs, gaming consoles etc

๑ All of them own a mobile phone๑ All of them use WhatsApp and Facebook on their mobile phones๑ Many of them spend approx. 1 hour on FB, and 3-4 hours on Whatsapp, Snapchat etc๑ Most of them are not compelled to check their phones in the morning๑ Most of them use Snapchat and Hike, and also sometimes prefer them over WhatApp ๑ Prefer watching YT videos that are funny or interests them (AIB, TopGear)

I use FB during late evenings after tuitions. That is the time when most of my friends are active.

A 13-year old girl (8th class student)

Trends among 13-16 year olds (High Income)

Most of them possess multiple gadgets – phones, laptops, tabs, Ipads

All of them own high end smart phones like Iphone 5S, 6 or Samsung Galaxy, and choose brand name over specifications

Will post their own pictures or selfies on SM only when they meet a famous personality or while on a

international vacation

Most are comfortable shopping online. Frequently purchase SPs, gaming consoles, mobile accessories, movie

DVDs, books

Price is never a concern as long as the product is something they need

Will watch movies at multiplexes or will buy original movie DVDs

Hangout in malls in afternoons almost everyday during vacations with a bunch of 4-5 friends

Trends among 13-16 year olds (Mid Income)

All of them own a mobile phone, which is mostly either a low-end smart phone or a feature phone

Will shop online only on special occasions like Birthdays, exam results

Will hangout in malls 2-3 times a month, and would prefer to hangout at a friend’s place instead

Watch movie trailers, videos or sports videos on YouTube

Parents keep a strict tab on mobile usage especially during the night

Common Trends among all 16-21 year olds

๑ Uses mobile phones throughout the day and consider it an integral part of their lives

๑ Most of them have their phones password protected๑ WhatsApp, FB and Instagram are some of the apps they use

everyday๑ Spend 7-8 hours on Internet through mobile and 1-2 through

PCs, with approx 2 hours on FB and rest on apps like Whatsapp, and Instagram

๑ Are most active on social media after dinner

๑ Prefer content on humour, DIYs, movies, music and sports videos on YouTube

๑ Online shopping is subject to getting better deals and trust on the site๑ Regularly use apps like BookMyShow, Zomato, Jabong, Freecharge, TOI๑ Prefer watching movies either by streaming online or downloading

through torrents๑ Regularly follow websites like websites like Scoopwhoop and Quora๑ Girls change DPs on Whatsapp more often as compared to Facebook

Trends among 16-21 year olds (High Income)

Are willing to use brands other than Apple and Samsung and might go for specifications over brand

Boys are slowly turning to Twitter over Facebook, whereas girls prefer Instagram to post pictures as they get

to follow “interesting people”

Twitter is more informative and updates faster

A 17 year old boy, at Palladium Mall

Will post pictures of exotic places, cuisines as compared to their own pictures

Are willing to give up watching TV in favor of browsing internet on phones

Trends among 16-21 year old (Mid income)

I watch ads on YT that are funny, begins with nice music, or moves me emotionally

A 17 year old girl (Arts student)

Most of them have their own pictures as their phone wallpapers

Many of them like taking selfies or groupfies in malls, colleges whenever they hangout

Use multiple messengers as they have different friends on different messengers

Buy clothes online if they get good deals, else prefer to shop at Bandra, Fashion Street etc

Only hangout at malls when with friends, will shop with parents only during specific occasion

Girls spend more time watching TV as compared to guys, who would rather play games on phones

Let’s see how a brand can use these findings to reach the right consumer!

Examples

Most 13-16 Year olds like to

express themselves through

emojis and stickers while

chatting

Finding Brand How they can target

Lays Potato Chips

Lays emojis on Snapchat with

different emojis suggesting

different flavors of Lays chips

Examples

Most 13-16 year olds visit malls

with friends during the

afternoon during vacations

Finding Brand How they can target

Reebok

In-mall promotion through a

sports-based treasure hunt

competition

Examples

Most 16-21 year olds like

taking selfies whenever they

hang out in malls

Finding Brand How they can target

McDonald’s

A campaign where school /

college students take a selfie

with attendant – get a free

burger / coke after posting

online

Examples

Most 16-21 year girls watch

DIY videos on YouTube and put

keep their phones password

protected

Finding Brand How they can target

British Council

Create an app that locks the

phone and can unlock the

phone after every spelling

difficult words correctly

Examples

Most 16-21 year girls put their

own pictures as wallpapers on

mobiles

Finding Brand How they can target

Ponds

Create an photo-editing app

that allows them to change the

background to exotic

international locations

Examples

Most 16-21 year olds in mid-

income category shop online

only special occasion like exam

results

Finding Brand How they can target

Dominoes

Offer discounts on Pizzas

depending on your percentage

in SSC or HSC

Limitations

๑ The study provides a helicopter view of the field reality and inferences drawn do not provide conclusive evidence to any social characteristic in particular, albiet they aid us in spotting the underlying trend

๑ The findings are based entirely upon the research conducted in Mumbai and Delhi, and the hence may not be directly applicable to other metropolitan cities in India on counts of socio-cultural diversity and contextual factors

๑ Due to constraints in time, the interviews in Mumbai could be limited to only certain malls and colleges and may not be generalizable to other settings in Mumbai

๑ Such a survey should be taken periodically to gauge the exact consumer perceptions as they keep changing over time

References

๑ http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/43028_India-to-have-550-million-Internet-users-by-2018-Report

๑ http://lighthouseinsights.in/indian-social-digital-and-mobile-market-in-2015.html/๑ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fusionprojects.edmodo&hl=en๑ http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/sage-encyc-qualitative-research-methods/n248.xml๑ http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/iwp_2009_05.pdf

Thank You!