Research firm Kids Insights surveys more than 100,000 children every year about their technology and media habits, so its latest report – ‘Future Forecast’ – is well worth a look.
“This generation of kids are like no other: they are super-informed, constantly connected, and their attitudes, behaviours and consumption choices are not only significantly different from their predecessors but are evolving continually,” is the claim.
The section on music and audio consumption will be of most interest to Music Ally readers. The report says that he number of children in the UK aged 3-18 with access to smart speakers has jumped from 1.4 million in Q1 2018 to three million by Q4 2019, suggesting that this is creating ‘Generation Speak’.
The report also suggests that the crossover of reggaeton and K-pop in recent years is making the tastes of this demographic much more international.
It wouldn’t be a report about young people, technology and music without talking about TikTok in general and ‘Old Town Road’ in particular. Kids Insights says that 9.8 million kids in the US alone are using TikTok, and that the Lil Nas X hit has been used on 2.6m videos on the platform.
The other growth area it highlights is podcasting, suggesting that 40% of teenagers in the UK are regularly listening to them. “A reported three quarters of advertisers were expected to increase their podcast ad spend last year,” it says. “Given the growing reach of podcasts, this represents a new medium to reach young audiences on.” You can download the full report here: it’s free but requires registration.
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