UK 16-24 year olds research

"According to recent research from the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), the average 16-24-year-old has a total of 146 friends on the social network they use most. In the same study, these 16-24-year-olds revealed that they texted an average of 34 people but met up with only 11 in the last month.Men have the higher number of friends on their most-used social network, with 161 on average, versus 129 for females. It's the 16-19-year-olds who have more social network friends: 184 versus 131 for 20-24-year-olds. Women are more likely to have spoken to more friends and family on their mobile in the past month, with 14 people on average, compared to only nine for men.The research revealed mobiles and text dominate when making social arrangements, used by 68% and 61% of 16-24-year-olds respectively. And over half stay in touch with friends through social networks and instant messaging - all factors that can influence marketing communications.But digital doesn't dominate all communication among this age group. Over 70% of 16-24-year-olds claim to meet face to face when splitting up with a partner, for instance. When complaining to a company, 58% do so by letter and 55% via their home phone.BMRB's latest TGI survey also highlights the complexity of the current media environment, where old media still rubs alongside newer forms of communication. 96% of 16-24-year-olds now have a mobile, and while 55% have email on their mobile phone, only 7% use this feature, indicating the gap between application provision and usage. Also, despite recent communication trends, 75% of 16-24-year-olds still went to a post office in the past 12 months.It's undeniable that the internet is now a crucial part of 16-24-year-olds' lives, as they spend an average of almost three hours of every weekday on the internet. According to TGI Net, 44% use it to look for job opportunities, 46% for making holiday plans and 53% for listening to music. A total of 57% of 16-24-year-olds have paid for something over the internet in the past six months, with 21% paying for DVDs, music or videos, 15% buying books and 9% paying for travel products.There are limits, though, as to what the youth of today are prepared to do online. Just 2% spend their time in a virtual world like Second Life. Additionally, it appears the young people are less willing to part with their money for certain forms of entertainment over the internet, with only 6% paying to play online games and 4% willing to pay to download a movie. Second-guessing the online activities of 16-24-year-olds can be very dangerous." NMA May 2008