Study: Teenagers find print media irrelevant, consider Sony Ericsson phones "superior"

Some interesting findings according to a Morgan Stanley report on how teenagers consume information & entertainment. My biggest only concern is that the report was compiled by a 15-year-old intern. Apparently the report was published with the caveat that it was not claiming representation or statistical accuracy. Well, as with all research, it's completely up to you on how much info you want to take on as "truth" or simply an interesting observations.

1. Teenagers don't listen to the radio, preferring music web sites that stream music for free and allow them to choose their songs. Newspapers and other print media are "irrelevant."


2. Teenagers are "very reluctant" to pay for music and 80 percent download it illegally. Most have never bought a CD.


3. Teenagers don’t use Twitter, because they realize that their tweets are pointless as no one is viewing their profile.


4. Teenagers go to the movies “quite often” although it’s “not about the film, but the experience and getting together with friends.” Young people will often choose the film once they arrive at the movie theater.


5. About 99 percent of teenagers own a mobile phone and the “general view” is that handsets by Sony Ericsson are “superior” because of their “long lists of features, built-in Walkman capability and value as 100 pounds will buy a mid-range model.


6. According to the Morgan Stanley intern, what's hot include "anything with a touch screen," "mobile phones with large capacities for music," "portable devices that can connect to the Internet such as iPhones" and "really big" television sets.


7. What's not hot? "Anything with wires.”

Download the Morgan Stanley report here.

So I'm way beyond teenager by now and it's no surprise to find that I only agree with a handful of the points raised, namely point 1, 2 and 7. So here's a "study" by a 27-year-old.

1. I don't listen to the radio because I don't own one, nor do I drive but I do subscribe to NPR podcasts and I can't imagine life without free online music streaming sites like Jango. Pandora used to be a favorite until I moved back to Singapore - sigh.


2. While I don't consider print media "irrelevant," I can't remember the last time I read an actual hard copy of a newspaper. I get all my news online, even if it is your "traditional" print media sites such as Straits Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and TIME. I believe that some of best writers are journalists, so I still enjoy reading features from print media, but sometimes I need my news the moment it breaks.


3. I am reluctant to pay for music, but I'm ready to pay for good music, artists that I believe in supporting. The only problem is, not all music is available for sale online. The only place I buy music from is the iTunes store. The last CD I bought was Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow album back in 2003.


4. I love Twitter. I use it as a RSS feed, to share news & opinions with friends, to promote my blog, to check friends' Facebook status updates, to stay updated on the latest movie news and as a "filter" to what's interesting on the web. I can't imagine it took me so long to get on the Twitterwagon.


5. I like Facebook but I check Twitter way more often than my Facebook as I get notifications sent to my email. Which by the way, I'm hooked to email - probably a hazard of my job in public relations. Facebook's a great way to catch up with friends, check out photos and events.


6. I always know what movie I'm watching before heading to the cinema. And since I live in Singapore, I always buy my tickets online (typically a day before or the morning of).


7. These are must-have features for me in a phone - it must include a large touch-screen (buttons are so passe), large capacities, sync with my iTunes, wi-fi and data connection is a must. It must have a seamless internet browser experience, supports emails (HTML!), Facebook, Twitter and more! And yes, I can't wait for the day when wires no longer exist!


8. I do all my product research online before heading out to a physical store to play with the item, then deciding to buy. But I have no qualms about buying online (with or without checking it out first at a physical store) if it offers a better deal.