When it comes to mobile media 35 percent of tweens own a mobile phone according to a study from Nielsen, “Kids on the Go: Mobile Usage by U.S. Teens and Tweens.”
The study found that 20 percent of tweens have used text messaging and 21 percent have used ring and answer tones. Text messaging and ringtones remain the most popular non-voice functions on the phone. Other popular content includes downloaded wallpapers, music, games and Internet.
Nielsen found that 5 percent of tweens access the Internet on their mobile each month. Forty-one percent say they do so while traveling (to school, for example) Twenty-six percent of tween mobile users access the Web while at a friend’s house and 17 percent said they did the same at social events.
Tween mobile users are also using their phones for in-home entertainment. Fifty-eight percent who download or watch TV on their phone do so at home. Sixty-four percent download or play music on their phone at home and 56 percent access the Internet from home.
“Tweens use their mobile phones, and media in general, in very unique and important ways,” said Jeff Herrmann, VP of Mobile Media for Nielsen Mobile. “Marketers and media executives need to understand these ‘digital natives’ as they mature and reshape the way we all think about new and traditional media.”
The report found that 48 percent of U.S. tweens spend less than one hour per day online. When they are online, 70 percent of tweens use the Internet for gaming. In comparison 81 percent of U.S. teens say they spend one hour or more per day online, with email being the most common activity for this age group.
“In addition to the differences between adult and youth media consumers, there’s an important gap between the media behaviors of teens and tweens,” said Herrmann. “This report, which includes insights from more than 5,500 teens and tweens, dissects how these demographic segments are engaging with mobile and traditional media.”
