The document summarizes the findings of a global research project on teens and their use of communication technologies. Key findings include:
- Teens are highly engaged with their mobile phones, which they see as central to their social lives and sense of identity.
- They make savvy choices between communication tools like texting, social media, and instant messaging based on convenience and the social situation.
- While computers are important, teens find their mobile phones more reliable and integral to their daily lives.
- Social media use varies between countries due to different platforms being popular or banned in schools.
Digital Transformation in the PLM domain - distrib.pdf
Teens and technology Global Village
1. Teens and technology Global Village Susan Abbott Abbott Research & Consulting For MRIA Conference Winnipeg, Manitoba May 2008
2. What do creative qualitative people do with their free time? They cook up a global pro-bono project and involve their buddies from all over the world to help
5. To learn about teens and communication technologies Current behaviors and habits ? Choice of phone, e-mail, IM, text, etc? Social networks? Hopes, fears, dreams for future communications?
15. My cell-phone is sleek and sexy Safe and protected Someone to help me Frustrated if doesn’t work It gives problems How fingers feel from texting Exciting Like I’m making love Window left open for you Fun! Unites me with family and friends Circle of friends Linked with the crowd Connect with friends Tied together A friend that keeps my secrets
16. Satisfied most of the time Dissatisfied sometimes (slow, dropped calls, can't hear, forget to charge) Functions/features: Clock, camera, wallpaper, old/minimal features Stay connected to friends, people I know Connects me to anyone in the world My cell phone means the world to me. I LOVE MY CELLPHONE!!! Fun to have/use
17. Cell-phone is at the centre of the communications universe – it’s the “myself phone”, and has a big emotional and functional role in daily life
18. “ I was in the 5th grade when I got my own phone - the first call I ever made was to my dad and it worked and my phone was very good to me like I took real good care of it I didn’t let no one hold it - I felt like I was grown up and felt like I was cool”
19. The cell-phone is easily personified. A loyal and powerful servant, working hard while a teen has fun, but also in need of protection from many physical risks (such as being dropped in the toilet)
20. “ 10:52 am-Opens it and checks for any new messages 11:00am to 2:00pm-Receives txt messages from friends and family. Replies back to msgs using phone or telecom home website. 3:00pm to 6:00pm-scrolls through contacts.. 6:00pm till 3:00am-talking to friends After 3:00-sleep”
21. Teens select the right communication method … to meet the needs of the moment. Speed / immediacy, convenience, reliability, socializing characteristics, emotional distance and control
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23. Mobile phone channel choices ( ) = if not at computer, and speed/cost via phone is acceptable
24. Teens make savvy practical choices about devices, service providers
25. Computers are not as reliable a servant as the cell phone
26. Teens often do not have credit cards, which makes online shopping more cumbersome
27. Teens wishes for computers more speed, greater affordability, easier interconnectivity between devices, no need to synch, smaller computers
32. On the benefits of instant messaging… “ Nobody can listen like when you talk at school with a friend“
33. What to do when your school bans a site … “ Last year I only got tdotwire because that's the only networking site my school hadn't banned! So i used it to network with my friends while I was in class.”
34. Why virtual reality isn’t all that compelling… “ I don't tend to go on virtual communities because I don't feel really safe going on them." “ I‘ve been on Neopets and Habbohotel, they are just a waste of time, there's only 'one' thing most the members [of Habbohotel] want do and in my opinion just another predator site.” "[Second Life] is only for the elder generation from 25 upwards... you need a lot of time and that is for people who do not have a real life and need to build up a second"
36. Mobile internet applications will be a critical delivery channel for the Millenials The phone is much more central than the computer as an access device.
37. Focus on fun Teens are acutely aware of this phase of their life as a time they can have fun and evade responsibilities. They are not in any rush to “grow up.”
38. Canadian teens value tolerance and diversity and they are very open to new ideas. The world may be dangerous, but it is also exciting, and technology holds incredible promise for the future. A future they are looking forward to.
39. What we learned about research – moderator styles, coordinating, and multi-lingual projects
40. Individual moderator styles are very different, even on a bulletin board … length of intro … approach to follow-up questions … use of emoticons … use of probes