UK's High-Tech Kids

New research from AOL UK, conducted by Quaestor, finds that the nation's ten-year-olds know all about the Internet, but still prefer playing out, and have not yet succumbed to digital cameras and MP3 players. Meanwhile, VoxPops International's video research reveals kids and teenagers' demands about technology.

The AOL study focuses on the 'first generation to be born in the Internet era'. Despite the fact that 76% of ten-year-olds have access to a PC at home, 'playing outside' and 'watching TV' are their favourite pastimes, both cited by 54%. These are followed by 'playing sports,' which is just as popular as 'playing computer games' (both 41%). Next on the list are 'going to friends' houses' (31%), 'playing on bikes' (27%), and 'going swimming' (25%). Using the Internet does not yet feature in their top five pastimes.

In fact, ten-year-olds are more likely to go online at school than at home, with 80% using the Internet at school, compared with 70% at home. Having broadband at home means more frequent use - 22% of 'broadband kids' go online every day, compared with only 4% of others - but nearly half of all ten-year-olds have the time they spend online restricted by parents. Favourite web sites include Google, CBBC, and football club sites. After Googling, which nearly three-quarters do when online, the most popular web activities are finding information for school projects (68%) and playing games (68%).

Gaming is very popular, with 80% of ten-year-olds having access to a games console at home. By comparison, digital cameras and MP3 players have not made significant in-roads, with only 22% and 13% respectively having access to them.

However, technology is clearly going to their heads, as 37% believe that teachers will be robots in the future, 38% think the homes of the future will float above ground, and 29% imagine we will use jet packs to get around.

Karen Thomson, Chief Executive and Chairman of AOL UK, says the research reveals kids who are 'making the most of technology and the Internet, but not at the expense of more traditional pastimes such as playing outside and going swimming'. However, she believes the children's views of the future make it clear that they expect ever-increasing innovation, and says 'it's up to the industry to deliver this'.

The research, conducted in July 2005, included qualitative interviews with 13 friendship pairs, together with face-to-face interviews with 515 ten year olds. The 515 participants were selected at random and are nationally representative. The full findings are online at www.aol.co.uk/ten

UK Video research specialist Vox Pops International has launched a new monthly video exploring kids' relationships with modern technology. Research involved more than a hundred video interviews with 8-16 year-olds in Uxbridge, Manchester and Kingston.

This group was far more likely than the ten-year-olds to go online every day (67%), and - rather than focusing on school projects - 35% said that 'keeping in touch' was the best thing about the Internet. This survey also found that 44% use MSN messaging and 8% visit chat rooms.

The kids also expected fairly sophisticated technology from their mobile phones: 38% said they wanted phones with cameras and video recording, while 15% said they desired blue tooth and infra-red technology.

VPI's Director Diane Earnshaw, says the footage is an 'excellent and accessible visual aid' that 'allows you to see and understand, first hand, kids' growing relationship to modern technology'.

Kids series is the third topic in VPI's free monthly video series. Previous topics include Retail and Work/Life Balance. Subscribers at www.voxpops.co.uk are entitled to one free video from the series every month..

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

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