® selected findings. compared to last year, increases are seen for monthly discretionary spending,...

STUDENT MONITORLIFESTYLE & MEDIA - Spring 2012

© 2012 STUDENT MONITOR LLC550 North Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450

All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized Use Prohibited

®

SELECTED FINDINGS

Spring 2012 © STUDENT MONITOR LLC – All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized Use Prohibited

DEMOGRAPHICS

Compared to last year, increases are seen for monthly discretionary spending, annual personal earnings and the amount of money students receive from home

Monthly discretionary spending: $225 (+15%) Annual personal earnings: $4,809 (+15%) 54% get money from home averaging $315

monthly (+19%) 9% are employed full-time and 46% are employed

part-time and 6% have an internship during the school year

Average age: 20.7 Family HH income: $88,671


Media Habits:Less than half the time spent watching television is spent watching with a

TV set (40%, down from 45% last year) and 56% are at least “Somewhat interested” in watching television exclusively online

Comedy Central, ABC, ESPN, FOX and MTV are students’ favorite networks (Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, Jersey Shore, The Big Bang Theory, Walking Dead and ESPN SportsCenter are the most watched programs)

Cosmo, People, SI Vogue and ESPN The Magazine are students “best read” titles

41% (43% last year) read the print edition of a national newspaper while online readership is 36% (41% last year)

54%, (compared to 61% last year) read at least 1 of the last 5 issues of their campus newspaper. 30% of those students with an online edition of their campus newspaper have read the online edition in the past month.

SUMMARY FINDINGS: (1 OF 4)


The Impact of Technology:95% own a mobile phone. 64% (up from 54%) of owners own a

Smartphone27%, up from 16% last year own an iPhone). 28% plan to

purchase a new mobile and 43% of these plan to purchase an iPhone

96% own a computer (88% a laptop, 19% a desktop, 10% a tablet and 4% a netbook)

Among computer owners 85% use a laptop most oftenMore students use an Apple computer than any other brand11% (including 15% of Juniors) plan to buy a new computer in

the next 12 months53% of the computers students plan to buy (desktops, laptops

and tablets) are Apple



Attitudes & Behavior:44% of textbook spending is “New”, 40% “Used”, 11% “Rented” and 4%

“eTextbooks”During Summer Break, 35% went on a trip (53% went or stayed home, 35%

worked) Apple iPhones, Facebook, Apple iPads, Texting and Drinking beer top the list

of “What’s In On Campus” 56% (57% last year) report “the economy has had a negative impact on my

family” “U.S. economy” (32%), “Cost of education” (30%) and “Health care (28%) are

the “Top 3 Issues Facing The U.S.”Among the 87% who plan to vote in the Presidential election, nearly 6 times

as many report a preference for President Obama than Gov. Romney



Students As Consumers:82% report “Once I find a brand I like, I don’t try new ones” and more than

four in ten (42%) report “I like to buy the newest/latest version of a productFewer than a third of students (31%) agree with the statement “If I were

purchasing a new vehicle, I would purchase a Chrysler, Ford or GM vehicle”In a typical month at school 34% make a purchase at an off campus

bookstore, 44% at an on campus bookstore, 70% at an off campus convenience store, 54% in a department store, 81% at a fast food restaurant and 71% at a gas station

27% have a credit card in their own name (18% VISA, 8% MasterCard, 3% Discover and 2% American Express).

When asked what they expect to be doing immediately following graduation, 50% expect to be employed full-time following graduation (only 2% expect to be unemployed)



FOX has surpassed CBS and now dominates the programs student watch most often

By a somewhat smaller margin, “Family Guy” remains the program students watch most often

TELEVISION PROGRAMSWATCHED MOST OFTEN

Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring‘08 ‘08 ‘09 ‘09 ‘10 ‘10 ‘11 ‘11 12% % % % % % % % %

FOX Family Guy 26 20 24 26 22 23 25 21 18

CBS How I Met Your Mother 2 2 3 2 3 5 7 11 15

MTV Jersey Shore NA NA NA NA 2 15 21 17 14

ESPN SportsCenter 9 14 10 11 11 12 11 10 9

CBS Big Bang Theory NA 1 1 1 2 3 5 8 9

AMC Walking Dead NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 3 9

Comedy Central South Park 10 9 9 9 8 12 10 14 8

ABC Modern Family NA NA NA 1 4 5 7 10 8

ABC Grey’s Anatomy 8 13 12 12 8 9 7 6 8

NBC The Office 9 11 15 21 15 15 12 13 7

ESPN ESPN 4 1 4 4 3 4 4 7 7

FOX House 11 14 15 19 14 17 13 11 6

FOX Glee NA NA NA 7 3 9 12 7 6


TV set40%

DVR9%On demand

4%

Free file sharing

7%

Paid online9%

Free streaming

17%

DVD14%

SHARE OF TV VIEWING BY METHOD

Less than half (40%) of the time spent watching television is spent watching with a traditional TV set


On-line42%

Off-line58%

ONLINE VERSUS OFFLINE VIEWING

58% of the time students spend watching TV is spent offline (66% among users)

More than half (56%) are at least “Somewhat interested” in watching TV exclusively online


Total%

Male%

Female%

Comedy Central 38 49 26ABC 31 23 40

ESPN 29 50 8FOX 29 30 28

MTV 27 21 32Discovery 26 32 20

HBO 20 23 17CBS 20 18 22

ABC Family 20 7 34NBC 19 17 21

FAVORITE TELEVISION NETWORKS

Comedy Central, ABC, ESPN, FOX and MTV continue to be students’ favorite television networks

For some television networks, significant gender differences are seen


Chicago Tribune

Boston Globe

LA Times

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

USA TODAY

The New York Times

READ ANY

2%

3%

3%

3%

6%

12%

17%

41%

5%

1%

3%

5%

5%

10%

22%

36%

Online Print

READERSHIP OF NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS

Student readership of the online edition of a national newspaper is somewhat less than that of the print edition


No interest in either33%

Prefer print19%

Prefer on-line23%

No prefer-ence16%

Prefer online with mobile device

10%

PREFERRED FORMAT FOR READINGA NATIONAL NEWSPAPER

While somewhat more report reading the print edition, somewhat more report a preference for the online edition

One in ten prefer to read the online edition with a mobile device


CAMPUS NEWSPAPER READERSHIP

54% (compared to 61% last year and 64% two years ago) read at least 1 of the last 5 issues of the print edition

Readership is highest among Juniors at 60% and somewhat higher among females (55%) than males (52%)

Readers spend an average 18 minutes reading a typical issue

Most readers (57%) read their campus newspaper for “Local campus news”

Half prefer the print to online edition and among those with an online edition, 30% read the online edition in the past month


Spring’06%

Fall’06%

Spring’07%

Fall’07%

Spring’08%

Fall’08%

Spring‘09%

Fall’09%

Spring‘10%

Fall’10%

Spring‘11%

Fall’11%

Spring‘12%

Cosmopolitan 23 21 21 19 18 18 22 18 19 18 21 17 19

People 16 15 13 16 19 19 21 18 20 19 19 21 15

Sports Illustrated 16 19 16 15 16 16 16 18 17 11 14 15 11

Vogue 9 10 7 9 9 9 10 9 9 7 9 9 10

ESPN: The Magazine 10 11 12 11 10 10 10 12 11 10 11 9 10

Glamour 9 10 12 9 11 8 10 10 9 9 11 11 9

TIME 18 11 10 14 16 14 17 14 14 9 11 10 8

National Geo 9 6 6 9 12 9 10 10 11 9 8 11 8

Fitness 6 6 5 6 7 7 8 8 8 8 7 7 8

Rolling Stone 10 12 9 13 16 12 13 13 11 11 9 8 8

MAGAZINEREADERSHIP (NET)

http://www.shallownation.com/images/obama-family-people-magazine-cover-august-4-2008.jpg


Don't own

Netbook

Tablet

Desktop

Laptop

4%

4%

10%

19%

88%

COMPUTER OWNERSHIP96% of

students own a computer

88% own a laptop

19% own a desktop

10% own a tablet

4% own a netbook


BRAND OF COMPUTER USED MOST OFTEN

Three in ten (30%) use an Apple computer most often

About one in five (19%) use a Dell most often and about one in six (16%) use an HP most often

Other2%

LG1%

eMachines1%

Samsung1% Gateway

2%Compaq

3%Asus3%Lenovo

3%Sony4%

Acer5%

Toshiba8%

HP16%

Dell19%

Apple30%


COMPUTER PURCHASE INTENDERS

The economy appears to continue to have little impact on student plans to purchase a new computer

Virtually as many plan to purchase a tablet as plan to purchase a desktop

Interest in netbooks continues to decline

11% (13% last year) plan to purchase a new computer in the next 12 months (19% “Don’t know”)

77% of purchase intenders plan to purchase a laptop

13% of purchase intenders plan to purchase a tablet

14% of purchase intenders plan to purchase a desktop

3% of purchase intenders plan to purchase a netbook


None of these

Internship

Club sports

Intramural sports

Gave blood

24%11%11%13%13%15%16%17%20%

29%

ACTIVITIES PARTICIPATED IN DURING SCHOOL YEAR

At least one in seven report participating in one or more of the following;

• Academic group/club• Gave blood• Volunteer group• Intramural sports• Fraternity/sorority


Used a coupon

Ate at restaurant

Drank cofffee

Drank milk

Drank a soft drink

Listened to the radio

Used a credit card

Used mobile to take/send photo

Drank bottled water

Ate fast food off campus

Logged on to social network

Sent text

44%45%47%47%55%56%57%59%63%64%65%70%

PAST WEEK ACTIVITIES

The five most commonly reported past week’s activities include;

1. Sent text

2. Logged onto a social network

3. Ate fast food off campus

4. Drank bottled water

5. Used a mobile phone to take/send a photo


BOOKS NOT REQUIRED FOR CLASS

62% read 1 or more books not required for class in a typical month including 66% of females. Among this 62%, students read an average of 2 books monthly

33% of students buy 1 or more books not required for class including 38% of females. Among this 33%, students buy an average of 1.9 books monthly (represents 5 million books monthly)

45% of these 5 million books are purchased at an off campus bookstore (Barnes & Noble, etc.) and 42% are purchased online (Amazon, Apple, etc.)


Volunteered community service

Went on winter sports trip

Worked at an internship

Researched books for class

Volunteered my time

Worked at a job at school

Stayed at school

Looked for a job

Worked at a job at home

Went on a trip

Went/stayed home

3%4%5%6%

9%12%13%14%

18%35%

53%

SPRING BREAK ACTIVITIES

51% more students “went/stayed home” for Spring Break as “went on a trip” (53% compared to 35%)

18% “worked” at a job at home” during Spring Break


Going to a movie with friends/dateDownloading music to phone

TwitterTaking photos with a phone

Going out to clubs/barsLaptop computers

Android SmartphonesDrinking other alcohol

Working outApple iPod

CoffeeDrinking beer

TextingApple iPad

FacebookApple iPhone

41%41%42%44%45%45%

49%50%

53%57%57%58%

64%66%

76%78%

WHAT’S “IN” ON CAMPUS

Technology related activities and drinking continue to top the list of “What’s IN”


Enough free time

Interesting job

Well paying job

Lots of money

Job contributing to society

Control of own schedule

Undergrad degree

College education for children

Good friends

Graduate degree

Satisfying career

Happy marriage

13%16%16%16%16%17%18%20%26%27%32%34%

TOP 3 INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

Students place virtually equal importance on a “Happy marriage” as a “Satisfying career” as the highest rated indicator of success


3 years8%

4 years67%

5 years21%

More than 5 years4%

YEARS REQUIREDTO COMPLETE UNDERGRAD DEGREE

One in four believe they will need more than four years to complete their undergraduate degree (somewhat less among students attending Private schools)


"I tend to be among the first of my friends to buy new products"

"I like to buy the newest/latest version of a product"

"The brands I buy say a lot about me"

"I often leave a store with things I did not intend to buy"

"Once I find a brand I like I don't try new ones"

30%

42%

45%

45%

82%

AGREEMENT WITH STATEMENTS“AGREE COMPLETELY” OR “AGREE SOMEWHAT”


I have more personal credit card debt than I am comfortable with

I'm not concerned about maintaining my online privacy

If I were purchasing a new vehicle, I would purchase a Chrysler, Ford or GM vehicle

I have more personal student loan debt than I am comfortable with

Renting textbooks is good for the environment

I support the President's commitment to provide universal health care

It is important to pursue alternative energy resources

The cost of textbooks is excessive

17%

19%

31%

37%

49%

51%

69%

74%



I may have to leave school because of the current economy

Time I should be spending on school work, I now spend worrying about money

Compared to this time last year the U.S. economy has improved

I believe that President Obama's plans will continue to improve economic conditions

I'm more likely to work to help offset the cost of my education because of the economy's impact on my family

The current economy has had a negative impact on my family's income

The support of my parents and family are an important resource for me to complete my education

11%

29%

31%

37%

51%

56%

60%



I don't worry about the way I spend or manage my money

I know what my current credit score is

It is difficult to pay off all my bills

My current spending will not impact my future credit report

It is difficult to save money

Credit helps me get the things I want now

I like to buy the things I want, now

I would rather save than spend

I like to save my money before I purchase anything

A good credit history or credit score is important

21%21%28%36%44%45%45%48%51%75%



Quality of education

Environment

Crime

Drugs

Federal deficit

Government corruption

Government dysfunction

Unemployment

Health care

Cost of education

U.S. economy

11%15%16%17%21%24%24%25%28%30%32%

TOP 3 ISSUES FACING THE U.S.

The Top 3 issues facing the U.S. are;

1. U.S. economy

2. Cost of education

3. Health care


Completely agree20%

Somewhat agree25%

Neither agree nor disagree

41%

Somewhat disagree

9%

Strongly disagree5%

“I SUPPORT THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION THAT WOULD WITHHOLD THE PAY OF CONGRESS IF CONGRESS DOES

NOT PASS THE BUDGET”

The largest share of students (45%) at least “Somewhat agree” with this statement

The next largest group (41%) are ambivalent


POLITICAL ATTITUDES

Nearly four times as many (47%) approve of President Obama’s performance as approve of Congress’ performance (13%)

47%, up from Fall 2011’s 38%, approve of President Obama’s performance

13%, similar to Fall 2011’s 14%, down approve of Congress’ performance

Most (42%) are “Democrats” and most (31%) describe themselves as “Middle of the road”


STORES SHOPPED IN THE PAST WEEK

Bookstore off campus

Athletic shoe/apparel

Bookstore on campus

C Store on campus

C Store off campus

Drugstore

15%16%18%22%22%22%24%26%42%47%52%


WHERE MOST TEXTBOOKS WERE PURCHASED OR RENTED THIS SEMESTER

About one in three (32%) purchased most of their textbooks off the shelf from their on campus bookstore

Another one in five (20%) purchased most of their textbooks online from an online seller other than their on campus bookstore

42% (down from 56% last year) purchased or rented most of their textbooks from their on campus bookstore

Rented most of my textbooks online from an online book renter

Purchased mostly printed textbooks online from campus bookstore

Purchased mostly printed textbooks off the shelf at off campus bookstore

Purchased mostly printed textbooks from another student/friend or relative

Purchased mostly printed textbooks online from an online bookseller other than on

campus bookstore

Purchased mostly printed textbooks off the shelf at my campus bookstore

5%

5%

9%

10%

20%

32%


Off-line60%

On-line40%

TEXTBOOKS PURCHASED ONLINE/OFFLINE

Similar to last year, among students who purchased or rented textbooks, 60% were purchased offline and 40% were purchased online


Purchasers%

UserMean

TotalMean

Shareof

Purchases%

New, (Purchased) 57 2.9 1.7 31

Used, (Purchased) 70 3.5 2.5 45

eTextbooks (Purchased) 14 2.2 .3 5

eTextbooks (Rented) 6 2.4 .2 4

Printed (Rented) 27 2.8 .8 15

TOTAL 5.5 100%

NUMBER OF TEXTBOOKS PURCHASED/RENTED

Students purchased or rented an average of 5.5 textbooks (+15% compared to 4.8 last year)

45% of those textbooks were purchased used, 31% purchased new, 19% were rented and the remaining 5% were purchased eTextbooks


TEXTBOOK FORMATS PURCHASED/RENTED

Purchased eTextbook onlyRented print only

Rented eTextbookNEW, USED & purchased eTextbook

NEW & USED & rented printNEW print only

NEW & rented printPurchased eTextbook

USED print onlyUSED & rented print

NEW & USED onlyRented print

NEWUSED

1%4%6%6%

9%10%11%12%

15%17%

23%24%

49%60%

Students are most likely to report purchasing or renting a combination of textbook formats (purchase or rent, new or used, print or eTextbook)

Small numbers of students report purchasing or renting a single format exclusively


SPENDING FOR PRINTED TEXTBOOKS

Spending for purchased, printed textbooks continued to decline due to;

Decline in the number of units purchased

Purchases from less expensive channels

Impact of rentals (print) and to a lesser extent the impact of purchased an rented eTextbooks Fall '07 Spring

'08Fall '08 Spring

'09Fall '09 Spring

'10Fall '10 Spring

'11Fall '11 Spring

'12

$193

$136

$192$170

$182$159 $159

$142$163

$110

$154

$113

$146$157

$131 $125 $123$110

$121$101

$348

$249

$338$327

$313

$283 $282

$252

$284

$211

New Used Total


Purchasers%

UserMean

TotalMean

Share ofPurchases

%

New, (Purchased) 57 $217 $110 44

Used, (Purchased) 70 $163 $101 40

eTextbooks (Purchased) 14 $71 $8 3

eTextbooks (Rented) 6 $71 $3 1

Printed (Rented) 27 $111 $28 11

TOTAL $250 100%

SPENDING FOR PURCHASED/RENTED TEXTBOOKS

Students spent an average of $250 for textbooks

44% of spending was for new textbooks, 40% used, 3% for purchased eTextbooks and the remaining 12% to rent print or eTextbooks


RENTING TEXTBOOKS

Among the 27% of textbook renters . . .

The largest share (70%) rented a textbook for their major

84% report the rental process as “Very” or “Somewhat easy”

“I like to save money” (76%) is the most commonly mentioned reason for renting


WHERE STUDENTS RENTED

Among the 27% of textbook renters, the most commonly reported sources students rented textbooks from are:

1. On campus bookstore (46%)

2. Chegg.com (24%)

3. Off campus bookstore (10%)

Don't knowTextbook publisher

Rent-A-TextCollegeBookRenter.com

BookRenter.comOther

eCampus.comOff campus bookstore

Chegg.comOn campus bookstore

6%2%4%5%6%7%7%

10%24%

46%


TOP OF MIND AWARENESS OFTEXTBOOK RENTAL SOURCES

Students most commonly identify their “On campus bookstore” (27%) or “Chegg.com” (21%) as the source of renting textbooks that comes to mind first

About three in ten are unable to identify any source

Total%

Fresh%

Senior%

On campus bookstore 27 30 25Chegg.com 21 20 23

Off campus bookstore 5 4 5eCampus.com 3 3 3

Rent-A-Text 3 3 4BookRenter.com 3 2 3

CollegeBookRenter.com 3 2 3Textbook publisher 1 1 1None/Don’t know 28 29 26


Very likely26%

Somewhat likely16%

Neither18%

Somewhat unlikely

10%

Very un-likely30%

LIKELIHOOD OF RENTING ONE OR MORE TEXTBOOKS NEXT SEMESTER

Among those who plan to be in school next semester, more than four in ten (42%) are at least “Somewhat likely” to rent 1 or more textbooks next semester


FAMILIARITY WITH ETEXTBOOKS

About six in ten have some level of familiarity with eTextbooks (58%) but nearly one in five (17%) report they have “Never heard of eTextbooks”

As would be expected, Freshmen (24%) are most likely to report they have “Never heard of eTextbooks”

Extremely familiar11%

Very familiar17%

Somewhat familiar

30%

Heard of, not familiar

25%

Never heard of17%


ETEXTBOOKSAwareness of eTextbooks continues to trend up at a rate greater than the number of purchasers and preference for “traditional, printed” textbooks continues to be the most common reason why students have not adopted eTextbooks

About one in five (21% compared to 19% last year) have ever purchased or rented an eTextbook

“My professor required me” (32%) and “Less expensive than a traditional printed textbook” (27%) are the most common reason for purchasing an eTextbook. Another 25% mention “instant access”

19% (13% last year) are at least “Somewhat likely” to purchase an eTextbook next semester

Among those who have not purchased, the largest group 39% “Prefer traditional printed textbooks” and another 34%, up somewhat from 29% mention “I don’t like reading on a screen for a long period of time”


None of theseSony eReader

PlaybookTouchpad

XoomGalaxy

NookKindle

iPad

73%

1%

1%

2%

1%

2%

3%

9%

12%

BRAND OF TABLET OWNED

27% (up from 20% last Fall) own a tablet computer Among this group, 44% own an iPad while about one in three (33%) own a Kindle (skewing somewhat higher among females)


Own a SmartPhone

64%

Own a non SmartPhone mo-

bile31%

Don't own a mobile phone

5%

TYPE OF MOBILE PHONE OWNED

95% of students own a mobile phone

64% (up from 56% last year) own a Smartphone

67% of mobile owners (up from 60% last year) report ownership of a SmartPhone


$50 or less28%

$51 to $7519%

$76 to $10026%

>$100

28%

MONTHLY MOBILE PHONE SPENDING

Monthly spending averages $96 (up from $79 last year) and most students (52%) report their parents pay their bill

69% report their phone is part of a “Family plan”


OtherSanyo

SonyPantech

GoogleT-Mobile

NokiaMotorola Droid

MotorolaBlackBerry

HTCLG

SamsungApple iPhone

2%1%1%1%1%

2%3%

5%5%

8%10%

13%19%

27%

BRAND OF MOBILE OWNED

iPhone (27%, up sharply from 16% last year) is the leading mobile phone owned by students

Samsung’s share remains unchanged while Blackberry’s share has declined sharply from 15% last year to 8% this year


Don't know

Pantech

Motorola

BlackBerry

Samsung

Motorola Droid

20%1%0%1%1%2%3%4%

7%8%10%

43%

BRAND PLAN TO PURCHASE

28% (36% last year) plan to purchase a new phone in the next 12 months

82% (up from 79%) plan to purchase a SmartPhone

43% plan to purchase an Apple iPhone (up from 35% last year)

3% plan to purchase a BlackBerry (down sharply from 11% last year


Search for employmentPay bills

IMingTake videos

Check bank balancesUse calendar

Play gamesSurf web

Listen to musicSocial networking

Check emailTake photos

Text

5%11%

17%26%

31%37%

47%49%50%

54%55%57%

86%

PAST WEEK SMARTPHONE ACTIVITIES

86% report using their mobile for “Texting”

Nearly six in ten (57%) used their Smartphone to “take photos”

More than half used their Smartphone to “check email”


Use browser to research pur-

chase before mak-ing it

Make purchases

16%

29%

MAKING PURCHASES WITH A MOBILE PHONE

29% (up from 20% last year and 13% two years ago) make purchases with their mobile phone

Among this 29%, in a typical month an average of 7 (up from 4 purchases last year) are made

The average amount spent is $23 per transaction (similar to last year’s $26)


APPLYING/EXPERIENCING AN INTERNSHIP 31% have applied for 1 or more paid

internships (user mean of 2.7)

21% have experienced 1 or more paid internships (user mean of 1.6)

23% have applied for 1 or more unpaid internships (user mean of 2.3)

18% have experienced 1 or more unpaid internships (user mean of 1.7)


STUDENTS & THEIR RESUME Two in three have a resume (66%, highest among

Seniors at 79%)

Based on helpfulness, “Online resources (65%), “Parents” (57%) and “Friends” (55%) are the highest rated resources to help students write their resume

42% have posted their resume online (LinkedIn, Monster and CareerBuilder.com are the most common sites where students post their resume)

60% of those without a resume cite “I just haven’t taken the time to write it” and 35% mention “No one has ever asked me for my resume”


Don't knowUnemployed

MilitaryGrad school part-time

InterningTraveling

Employed part-timeGrad school full-time

Employed full-time

11%2%3%

10%11%11%12%

30%50%

EXPECTATIONS AFTER GRADUATION

Exactly half (50%, including 57% of Seniors) expect to be employed at a full-time job following graduation

Three in ten (30%, including 25% of Seniors) expect to be attending graduate school full-time

® selected findings. compared to last year, increases are seen for monthly discretionary spending,...

Documents