Youth, Media & Technology: What young people really think…

MediaTel Group’s second Youth, Media & Technology event kicked-off with a panel of fiery teenagers on Tuesday morning.

Jamie, Ella, Bruno, Ashika and Sammy spoke candidly about their media habits, what technology they couldn’t live without, which brands they trust and why they don’t want to pay for content or watch ads.

The lively event at Channel 4 revealed key insights about how young people really interact and engage with media…

Technology

All five teenagers, aged between 15 and 19, said they could not live without their mobile phone. Jamie, a 15 year old Chelsea fan, said his phone “gives him everything he needs”, while A-level student Sammy explained that she used her phone for everything, from listening to the radio, accessing Facebook, to the alarm waking her up in the morning.

The second most popular must-have technology was a laptop or computer. Bruno and Ashika, both students, said they needed their laptops for work but also to watch TV, socialise with their friends and catch up on news and gossip. Ella, meanwhile, said she couldn’t live without Google.

Jamie, a keen gamer and footballer, would not be willing to give up his Xbox. Gaming helps him to relax and have fun, he said.

Television

Online, catch-up TV and PVRs won over live TV, with all five panellists claiming they want control over their TV viewing. Jamie records lots of programmes and watches them in his spare time so that he can fast-forward adverts.

This was a common theme. Sammy also records her favourite programmes, such as 90210, so she “doesn’t have to watch ads”. She loves watching TV and finds it relaxing. It is also very sociable for her, as she watches channels such as E4 in a study room at school.

Sammy is also quite happy to watch TV online because she “can always find something interesting”.

Ella has BT Vision at home, giving her easy access to films and on-demand content. She often forgets weekly programmes so she records series and enjoys watching episodes back to back because she does not like waiting. Ella said she only really watches live TV when she is bored.

Bruno does not watch live TV either, unless it is a sporting event, which he enjoys watching in the pub with friends. Now he is at uni, he watches TV online on his laptop. He avoids ads by switching tabs to check Facebook while he waits. Ashika does the same, though she does watch some live TV with her sisters, such as One Tree Hill.

Social TV/2 screens

The general consensus from the panel was that they’ll almost always have access to two screens, maybe even three, but they only engage with one at a time. “If I am watching TV, that is all I am doing – but I do always have my mobile with me,” Ashika said. “I never have my laptop while watching TV on my main set – I’d rather do one or the other.”

Jamie agreed: “I don’t like two screens – if I am watching TV, I would rather give it my full attention – unless it’s something I am not really bothered about watching. And if I was going to talk about a programme on Facebook, I’d rather do it after it has finished, not during.”

“I can’t multi-task,” added Sammy. “So when I am watching TV, I am just watching it – unless it is during the ads. Television can be social for me though – I often watch The X Factor with my friends.”

Ella normally has her laptop and phone with her while watching TV but she is engaged with the television set. “My phone is always with me, it’s just there… but I am not necessarily doing anything on it,” she said. “I don’t update my status or tweet about a programme I am watching.”

Bruno, meanwhile, thinks two-screening is actually anti-social because it stops people from talking out loud to each other.

Online

Young people are particularly savvy when it comes to online shopping, according to our panel. Bruno often checks price comparison sites when purchasing items such as flights. He spends time researching before buying things and is quite happy to spend money online. “I buy most things online because it’s cheaper,” he said. Bruno also uses barcode scanners to compare prices.

Jamie buy clothes online or looks online and then goes in store to buy items. Ella also likes to research online before going shopping to save time. Sammy, meanwhile, was enthusiastic about a site called bigwardrobe.com, which allows subscribers (£1 membership per month) to swap clothes, bags and shoes. She engages with the ads on the site because they are relevant to her likes and purchasing habits.

Ashika uses eBay and Amazon to buy second hand textbooks for college. She also buys clothes online, or looks before going into town. She said she’d buy online more often if stores offered a free return policy but finds sites like ASOS “annoying” because you have to send items back, rather than return them to a store. Ella agreed that sometimes returning items purchased online can be “an effort”.

However, the panellists were cynical about some websites and were clear that they’d only buy from sites they know and trust. “I don’t trust all the websites – I’ll only go to well-known brands like Amazon and eBay. I am quite happy to buy games online but only from brands I know.”

The five teenagers also enjoy a good bargain. Sammy uses VoucherCloud and enjoys getting discount offers when she likes a brand on Facebook, like Missguided. Bruno, meanwhile, recently signed up to LoveFilm because he was offered “such a good deal on Amazon, he would have been an idiot not to do it”. He signed up again a few months later through another ‘three months for the price of one’ offer and gave his friends vouchers to encourage them to do the same. “I really wonder how they are making any money,” he said.

Newspapers

Jamie reads newspapers. He passes a tube station every morning and picks up a Metro before getting the bus to school. He reads the Metro every day. At the weekend he reads the Sports and Business sections from his Dad’s copy of The Sunday Times. He is advised to read newspapers by his teachers because he is studying Business and Economics.

But he was the only one. The remaining panellists said they do not read newspapers. They do consume news, most of the time, but normally online. Ashika listens to Radio One so she hears news updates. If she finds a story interesting, she’ll read more on BBC News online. This theme continued… Ella has BBC Breakfast on the TV in the background every morning. She also looks at BBC News online if she wants to know more.

Sammy hears news bulletins on Capital radio and sees news updates via her friends on Facebook, saying if a story is important one of her friends is “bound to comment on it”. She might, occasionally, link through to a story posted by her friends. She would like to see more relevant, targeted news in small, easy to digest chunks.

Bruno often checks his BBC News or Sky News apps for headlines. He doesn’t think he needs to read a newspaper because he can get headlines via his phone or online. “I would never go out of my way to buy a newspaper… why would I? Online is quicker, more current and up to date and free,” he said.

Jamie is happy to pick up a paper because it is “easy and accessible”. Others felt that current newspapers were not relevant to them or targeted towards young people. There was also a lack of trust in newspapers and media. “I don’t trust what I read in newspapers,” Ashika said. “And young people are often portrayed badly.”

Although Jamie said: “I like seeing what people have to say, even if I don’t agree with it… I like reading different points of view.”

Speaking from the audience, News International’s Hamish White said young people “are the customers of the future so we have to deal with these issues”. He asked the panel: “If we edited news so it was more relevant to you, on a mobile device, for free (maybe), would you consider reading news and analysis?” He got a unanimous “yes”.

Radio/Music

In terms of radio, BBC Radio One, Capital and Heart were all mentioned by the panellists. Sammy listens to the radio a lot, especially when driving. The radio is also on in her common room. Ashika is a big fan of Radio One, especially for new music and new bands. Most of the panel rely on their friends for recommendations of new music.

However, Jamie, Ella and Bruno prefer to download music from the internet to their iPods. “I don’t like talking on the radio – or ads. I know what music I like so I’d rather get music online, via YouTube,” Jamie said.

Ella also uses the YouTube converter to access free music. She wasn’t sure whether this was legal or not. Bruno uses file-sharing websites. None of the panellists paid for music or were interested in CDs. YouTube was mentioned a lot.

Magazines

The panellists are not active magazine purchasers – unless they are going on holiday that is. Ella and Ashika will buy a magazine if they’re going away to keep them entertained. Ella likes Heat, Look and “real-life story” magazines. If her mum buys a magazine, she’ll read it.

Sammy used to buy Look but now just shares magazines with other girls in her common room.

Bruno and Jamie were not as keen. Jamie called magazines “tacky”, while Bruno said nothing appeals to him. In response to a question from the audience, Jamie said he would not read gaming magazines because he’d rather look online. “They are telling me stuff I already know… If I want to research something, I will look online,” he said.

Gaming

Jamie is a keen gamer. During the week, he spends about two hours a day (max) playing games because he has school work to do. At the weekends, his gaming time increases to two to three hours.

He enjoys gaming because it is fun, it passes the time and it is social. He plays with his friends via the Xbox Live party. He pays £40 a year to access the service, which enables users to play online with other players or against their friends. He said it makes his life easier because his friends are normally on when I am on.

At the moment, his favourite games are Fifa 12 and Modern Warfare. He always wants the new game but noted that “games are getting more expensive”. He often buys games online because it is cheaper and allows you to pre-order.

Bruno used to be more into gaming, particularly when he was under 18. He enjoyed the social aspect of playing with his friends. He still plays with his friends at university every few days and also likes Fifa 12 and Modern Warfare.

In terms of in-game advertising, Jamie said he does not notice ads. “I think I must ignore them… they don’t do anything for me because I am aware that they are just trying to sell to me”. Bruno agreed with Jamie, though both boys said they would be more likely to click on an ad if it gave them rewards for their game. “I would watch a 30 second ad if I got something good back”.

Advertising

Despite claiming to dislike advertising, the panel were quick to talk about their favourite ads when asked. Coming out on top was The Guardian’s Three Little Pigs ad, which all the panel liked – although none of them understood.

Sammy also enjoyed the John Lewis Christmas ad campaign; while Jamie likes the latest Skittles TV ad – as well as the Skittles interactive online ad, which he came across on YouTube. Cadbury’s ads – especially “the eyebrow” one, were also a popular choice.

The panel were not so keen on the GoCompare ad – saying it actually puts them off of the brand. They do, however, like the series of Meerkat ads.

Sammy said she could name all of the sponsors of her favourite TV programmes because that is when she starts paying attention again.

Positively, the teens were interested in targeted ads and said they would be much more likely to click an online ad if it was targeted. “If there is a deal or the ad is for a brand or shop I am looking at, I’d definitely be interested,” Ashika said.

“I prefer relevant online ads, especially clothes ads,” Ella added. “If it makes me laugh or I recognise it, I’ll click on it.”

Jamie said he’d be happy to watch an ad or click on an ad if it was relevant to him, or offering a discount for something he’d be interested in (such as football boots). However, Bruno pointed out that he does not enjoy receiving the same targeted ads over and over, especially if it is badly targeted. He searched for a present for him mum once and now receives ads for her.

The panel all agreed that they like interactive ads because they “feel a part of it”.