Social and Anti-Social Habits of UK Youth

More than three-quarters (77%) of the UK's 11-14 year olds have a television in their bedroom, almost two thirds (64%) have their own dvd player or video recorder, and a quarter a computer in their own room, according to the latest research from MINTEL.

The report, 'Marketing to 11 - 14 year olds', says that two thirds of 11-14 year olds (66%) play computer games in their rooms, and 33% only ever play computer games on their own. According to MINTEL this means that a significant number of children are not experiencing family life. Three in five (60%) 11 - 14 year olds say that everyone at home is free to get on with their lives and interests. Over half (53%) also say that as long as they study and do well at school they can do what they like and a similar proportion (51%) say that they like spending time on their own.

80% of 11 - 14s own a mobile phone, up from just 58% in 2001. Girls are far more likely than boys to have a mobile, with 85% of girls doing so, compared to 75% of boys. Just over half (54%) of children this age say that their parents pay for all their calls, while just 25% pay the total bill themselves. 78% say they use the mobile to call their parents while only 68% say they call friends. Texting is by far the main use of phones, with almost two in five (37%) having sent more than ten texts in the past week, and 14% having sent more than 25.

Over half (55%) of 11 - 14 year olds are worried about problems at home. One in four (25%) feel that their parents do not understand them and one in three (33%) feel that their parents do not trust them enough. Other sources of worry include school work - as many as 83% of 11-14 year olds say that they are worried about levels of this and a similar proportion (84%) are worried about bullying.

Jenny Catlin, Consumer Analyst at MINTEL, says that over the past few decades families have changed: 'children may now have older parents, fewer siblings and many more live in single-parent families or step families... Sadly, it does seem that in many cases modern technology has now replaced the family unit, so that everyone does whatever they want, when they want, even if it means doing it on their own'.

More details of the report and company can be found at www.mintel.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

• MINTEL
• All news
• MrWeb info