mccann youth study highlights

philippine copyright, june 2006 by mccann-erickson philippines

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youth study highlights

. what it’s about .

the study was designed to provide a holistic understanding of the generations of adult filipino consumers through an extensive exploration of the different dimensions of people’s lives, covering

general lifestyle, mindsets, values and belief systems, personality traits and archetypes.

it was deep dive that involved a combination of exhaustive qualitative and quantitative techniques.

a similar base-questionnaire design utilized in earlier mccann youth study undertakings (1992 and 2000) was used so that we may compare results of these previous studies with the youth generation

of today.

. respondents and sampling .

n=2,000 from urban areas nation-wide chosen randomly using multi-stage random sampling

aged 12 to 60 years from class abcd homes

youth-specific sample: n=500


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highlights . . .

. say hello to the teen pinoy “mouse potato”

while top leisure activities for teens after school remain to be traditional media - watching tv and listening to the radio,

there is an emergence and prominence of technology-related activities like usage of cellphone and internet. on weekends, the figures go higher indicating

greater interest and participation in a technocentric life.

usual activities done after school (2005)

. weekdays .


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. weekends .

. red indicates significant difference between weekends and weekdays. a comparison of 2000 versus 2005 figures on activities that teens engaged show increased popularity of activities relating to virtual connectivity.


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noteworthy too is the double-digit increase in those who use the computer for games and internet.


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such technocentric activities posted a higher share across the broad socio-economic class spectrum and on a nation-wide basis.


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the internet café has democratized access to internet and gaming.

while traditional means of entertainment and mass media remain popular, the new ways of connecting are so highly-involving for today’s’ teens that it is eating into the share of traditional activities.


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virtual connectivity is making its impact felt in how teens socialize with the important people in their lives …

it has made an impact on their lifestyle such that involvement in physical activities like sports posted a significant decline in 2005.


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rise of the “new necessities”

the highly virtual interaction of teens has made an impact on the complexion of the marketing environment. an assessment of their list of expenditures reveals that they have changed their spending

patterns to reflect their new priorities which are hinged on technology and connectivity. they spent more on internet café, prepaid phone cards and postpaid cellphone and scrimped on food, beverage, personal

care, transportation, clothes and reading materials.


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good news: they are making more time for studies!

despite the strong pull of the internet and the cellphone, teens today are devoting more time on school-related requirements compared to five years ago. teens today realize the importance of studies

and are, in fact, more determined than ever to use it as a passport to a better life.


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hot academic courses: then versus now among class ab teens

among class c teens

among class d teens


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what drives them to study? . pragmatism is the new idealism .

they are willing to dream of a better future for themselves and their family, and will go wherever this dream takes them. they will do whatever it takes – including the pursuit of alternative career paths to

make this dream come true. the ofw job-path encourages them that a good future is indeed possible. not only are teens aware of it, they are also inspired and motivated by it. early in their lives, our teens are

already planning their immediate futures around it.

. learning = earning .


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teen.home.parents.life

now how are parents keeping up with the changes happening to youth given their shifting value systems, early awakening to a

breadth of life experiences and changing social landscape?

for one thing, a number of teens are deprived of the company of their parents. parental absenteeism

is a growing reality among the lives of teens. almost half do not have either one (or both) parents around most of the time with them.


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it must be pointed out too that “teen migration” contributes to the fragmented family dynamics as

they leave their family and home to pursue studies. the major reason for absence of the mother has always been that the teen respondent himself/herself had to leave home (example - to pursue studies). in

2005, however, more teens are separating from their parents to pursue their education. the same pattern can be seen for the father’s absence.

reason for mother’s absence (%)

reason for parent’s absence (father, in %)

it is interesting to note that the percentage of ofw parents in 2005 is the same as in 2000.


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between the two parents, it is the mother who appears to be more visible in the lives of the children. among a given list of activities, it is in “watching sports” when the father’s presence is more felt than

moms.


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among those whose parents are present …

parents are more immersive in the lives of teens. in 2000 (metro manila), more teens were benefiting from more time with parents versus 1992. in 2005, there have been

increases in the time spent with parents on a nationwide scale.


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parents purposely work on spending “quality time” (and not just quantity) with their teenagers. what is most significant is that parents are going beyond usual activities - eating dinner, breakfast …

they are also doing a better job at imbibing the interests of the youth - tv shows, music - as well as taking

a more hands-on approach when it comes to school work.

it seems that parents are getting more successful. our new batch of teens are giving due recognition to the efforts of their parents. parents reign as the most significant role models in the lives of teens. it is noteworthy too that the rating of the mom remains higher than that of dad.


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the admiration ratings on parents are a marked improvement compared to the 2000 figures!

. youth value systems . using the ‘sealed envelope technique,” respondents were shown a battery of different activities that were conventionally labeled as wrong, and were asked 3 things: their personal view on 1) which ones do they consider right; 2) which ones do they consider are wrong; and society’s view or 3) which ones are acceptable to society?


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so what’s wrong and what’s right?

• across all activities covered in the study, only the use of illegal drugs and, to a

certain extent, cheating on one’s boyfriend or girlfriend are considered outright wrong.

• for many other things, only about 6 out of 10 consider these wrong:

taking something without paying, use of violence, drugs, drunk driving, suicide, marital infidelity, and casual sex.

• about half think that pre-marital sex, sex on tv, phone/internet sex, porn, and sexually explicit language is wrong.

• less than half think that abortion, divorce/separation, violence on tv, paying for sex, and gay relationships are wrong.


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youth’s value systems

what has changed since 2000?

• in general, the youth’s personal moral standards have not deviated much from five years ago. when it comes to a few specific activities, however, we see some further “loosening” of moral

standards…

• teens today seem to have become more tolerant of marital divorce and separation.

• they likewise are more open than ever of homosexual relationships.

• on the other hand, they became more strict when it comes to one action... using a prostitute. however, the change is not too drastic – remaining in the “somewhat wrong”

dimension.

their perception of a strict society • while teens’ personal moral definitions have become less constricted… they believe that society,

on the other hand has become stricter.


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. so, what now? where we stand and where do we go from here

it is the time of the youth and the ones who do not belong to the “20 and below” box

have reason to feel marginalized. they enjoy exponential exposure and access to information and digest it more easily and quickly. is it no wonder then that the heart-pounding electronica mp3 tracks loaded in their pods are measured in beats per minute? here’s another thing – the youth of today has

become so inured to technology that it has faded into the fabric of their everyday lives – it is imprinted in their language, interests, identities and worlds.

there is a sentiment of a great divide and for good reason – the older ones are right in feeling

that today’s youth is so different from how they were growing up. this is a different breed. catch them if you can.

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mccann youth study highlights

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