Teenagers around the world are selective in their media use habits
- Global youth study published: over 42,000 participants
HELSINKI, Finland, October 19, 2006 – Sulake Corporation, the creator and developer
of Habbo, one the world's fastest growing online destinations for teenagers, has published the
largest global youth study conducted from Finland to date. The research, which was carried out in
22 countries, consisted of respondents from the Habbo Internet online community. The results
include various findings on, e.g., media usage, music preferences and subcultures. More than 42,000
teenagers took part in the research.
Internet is the most important media; the importance of newspapers grows with age
89 per cent of respondents from around the world stated that the Internet is the most used
media for them; the most important Internet services being instant messaging and e-mail.
According to the research, the main reason for Internet usage in general is socializing;
keeping in touch with friends is important. Instant messaging is most popular among 14 to
18-year-olds, whereas e-mail is growing in popularity among those aged 20 years and above.
Only 66 per cent of the respondents think television is an important media, and less than
half consider radio as such.
54 per cent of all the respondents think magazines are important, but newspapers were only
thought important by less than 40 per cent of the respondents. The importance of newspapers grows
with age and passes magazines and radio among 22-year-olds.
Mobile phones are used for various purposes
85 per cent of the global respondents say they own a mobile phone. The study shows that in
addition to phone calls, nearly everyone owning a mobile phone uses it to send SMS messages. SMSs
are more used in Europe than they are in the USA and Canada. Half of the respondents say they also
use their phones for taking pictures. Nearly a third of the respondents listen to MP3 music with
their mobile phones.
Using a mobile phone as a camera and MP3 player was considered extremely popular in Great
Britain and Italy. Surfing the web with your mobile is still fairly uncommon among the respondents,
apart from Japan, where 43 per cent of the respondents state they use it for this purpose. So far,
only 6 per cent of the respondents watch television with their mobile.
Green Day and Eminem the most popular bands globally
88 per cent of the respondents are particularly interested in listening to music. Music is
considered an important element of youths' lives because they are able to express their identity
through music. The three most popular music genres are pop, rock and hip hop.
Rock is enormously popular in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Portugal. In France the
number one spot is held by R&B, soul and funk, whereas in Great Britain the most popular genre
is hip hop.
According to the research, the most popular bands globally in May 2006 were Green Day and
Eminem.
Heterogenic youth belong to various subcultures
A variety of subcultures exist, some of them only in certain countries.
Although youth around the world have similar values, beliefs and attitudes, they are
nonetheless an extremely heterogenic group. Even the largest subcultures identified in the study
consisted of barely half of the respondents. The study shows that, in general, the respondents have
a positive self-image and think of themselves as successful and popular. Over half of the
respondents consider themselves adventurers. This reflects the importance of gaining new
experiences and having fun for teenagers all over the world.
Only in Norway and Japan the number of adventurers was smaller than the other countries, but
even there over 40 per cent say they belong to this group. Half of the respondents regard
themselves as sporty. According to the study, 46 per cent of the participants think of themselves
as trendy, 40 per cent as artists and 36 per cent state they are interested in the environment.
Over a third of the respondents identify themselves as technology freaks and 16 per cent say they
are nerds. A minority of 14 per cent of the respondents classify themselves as hippies or goths.
The global Habbo youth study was conducted by 15/30 Research in May 2006. The participants
consisted of 42,000 Habbo users in 22 countries. The majority of the respondents were 12 to 16
years old. The average age of the respondents was 15 years, and the gender distribution was very
even. 75 per cent of the respondents live in urban areas, often with their parents. Those under 14
years old needed permission from their parents to take part in the survey. The study was arranged
by Sulake Corporation and it will have a follow up.
For more information, please contact:
Juhani Lassila, Communications Manager, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 9 681 22 70,
juhani.lassila@sulake.com
Emmi Kuusikko, Director, User Insight, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 9 681 22 70,
emmi.kuusikko@sulake.com