Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
Executive Summary
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- Overview
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- Figure 1: US population by age, 2018
- The issues
- Teens don’t believe what they see online
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- Figure 2: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Internet items, by age, December 2017
- Kids don’t feel they have enough free time
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- Figure 3: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Time items, December 2017
- Nontech activities may struggle to compete with cell phones
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- Figure 4: Cell phone ownership, by age, 2017
- The opportunities
- Media-based activities are most desired
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- Figure 5: Activity aspirations – Select items, December 2017
- Girls want to be creative, boys want to play
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- Figure 6: Why kids enjoy the activities they do – Select items, by gender, December 2017
- Teens’ go-to website: YouTube
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- Figure 7: Teens’ social media use, December 2017
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Under 18 crowd accounts for 74 million Americans
- Number of births remains flat, households get smaller
- More than half of kids aged 11+ have a cell phone
- Kids have more influence over toys and games, less over media choices
Family Demographics
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- Kids account for nearly a quarter of the population
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- Figure 8: US population by age, 2018
- Young Americans are increasingly racially diverse
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- Figure 9: Distribution of population, by age and race, 2018
- Two-parent households most common living arrangement for kids
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- Figure 10: Living arrangements of children under age 18, 2017
Market Factors
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- “Baby bust” continues
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- Figure 11: Annual births, 2006-16
- . . . which has led to fewer households with children
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- Figure 12: Households, by presence of own children, 2007-17
Market Perspective
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- Cell phone ownership correlates with age
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- Figure 13: Cell phone ownership, by age, 2017
- Teens are on their phones while watching TV or when they’re online
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- Figure 14: Teens’ concurrent cell phone use while watching TV or on a computer, 2017
- Teens are spending their summers studying, not working
- Kids have more say on toy purchases, less on TV and movies
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- Figure 15: Kids’ influence on family entertainment purchases, November 2017
Key Trends – What You Need to Know
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- Kids look up to parents, teachers, and . . . YouTube
- Kids and teens get more digital access but parents still run the show
- Social media challenges and unrealistic standards
- Robots and Big Bird help kids develop academically and emotionally
What’s Happening?
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- YouTube informs career path for kids
- Product reviews for kids from kids
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- Figure 16: Ryan’s Most Favorite Top 10 Toys for kids of the year, video, Dec. 31, 2017
- Kids’ products and related messaging center around inclusivity
- Toys
- Apparel
- Entertainment
- School
- Celebrating multiculturalism in kids’ literature
- Amazon for teens, Facebook for kids, Google for family
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- Figure 17: Amazon, Your teen has connected to your account, email, Dec. 6, 2017
What to Watch
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- (Un)realistic standards on social media
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- Figure 18: Are You Living an Insta Lie? Social Media Vs Reality, video, Feb. 20, 2017
- I challenge you!
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- Figure 19: Gronk knows that Tide PODS® are for DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else., video, Jan. 12, 2018
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- Figure 20: Tide Pods – Child-resistant packaging, Feb 2018
- Marketing diversity flops could lead to viral consequences
- Arts and crafts struggle to appeal to kids
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- Figure 21: DIY Crunchy Slime | Michaels, video, April 14, 2017
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- Figure 22: Teens’ and kids’ participation in specific crafts in the last 12 months (Simmons), 2009-17
What’s Next?
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- Technology in toys
- Robot teachers in the classroom or at home
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- Figure 23: Spicing up preschool lessons with Pepper & NAO, video, Aug. 10, 2016
- Teaching kids how to spot fact from fiction
- Kids’ favorite characters can help them emotionally develop
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- Figure 24: Traumatic Experiences, video, Aug. 8, 2017
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Kids spend more time with friends as they age
- Watching TV and hanging out are most desired activities
- Teens like activities that let them relax, kids like to stay busy
- Internet is meant for consuming entertaining content
- Teens love YouTube and use it to share videos, find out about products
- Activities that incorporate animals or travel appeal to most kids
- Kids are internet lovers, future worriers, and skeptical readers
Who Kids Spend Free Time With
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- Kids more likely to spend time with family than friends
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- Figure 25: Free time companions, December 2017
- Friends become increasingly influential as kids age
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- Figure 26: Free time companions, by age, December 2017
- Gender plays little role in who kids spend their time with
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- Figure 27: Free time companions, by gender, December 2017
What Do Kids Want to Do More of?
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- Kids want to do more with media and their friends
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- Figure 28: Activity aspirations, December 2017
- Teens want to do more activities that connect with others . . .
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- Figure 29: Activity aspirations – Spend time with family/friends, go out to eat, by age, December 2017
- . . . while kids want to play and make things
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- Figure 30: Activity aspirations – Select items, by age, December 2017
- Boys like to play, girls prefer to make and learn
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- Figure 31: Activity aspirations – Select items, by gender, December 2017
- Hispanic kids want to watch more TV and spend more time with others
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- Figure 32: Activity aspirations – Select items, by Hispanic origin, December 2017
Why Kids Enjoy their Activities
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- Spending time with others is key to activity enjoyment
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- Figure 33: Why kids enjoy the activities they do, December 2017
- Kids like activities where they can use their imagination and make things
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- Figure 34: Why kids enjoy the activities they do – Use imagination, make something, by age, December 2017
- Teens prefer activities that let them relax and enjoy alone time
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- Figure 35: Why kids enjoy the activities they do – Relax, be by myself, by age, December 2017
- Activities that promote creativity appeal to girls, boys want to be active
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- Figure 36: Why kids enjoy the activities they do – Select items, by gender, December 2017
How Kids Spend Time Online
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- Internet is mostly used for entertainment purposes
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- Figure 37: How time is spent online, December 2017
- Teens go online for music
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- Figure 38: Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey – The Middle (Official Music Video), video, Jan. 28, 2018
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- Figure 39: How time is spent online – Listen to music item, by age, December 2017
- Kids turn to the internet for games and TV/videos
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- Figure 40: How time is spent online – Select items, by age, December 2017
- Playing games more common for boys, social media and music for girls
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- Figure 41: How time is spent online – Select items, by gender, December 2017
- Hispanic kids consume media online more than non-Hispanic kids do
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- Figure 42: How time is spent online – Select items, by Hispanic origin, December 2017
Teens’ Social Media Use
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- Teens’ go-to social media site: YouTube
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- Figure 43: Teens’ social media use, December 2017
- YouTube used to discover content, Facebook used for family chatting . . .
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- Figure 44: Correspondence analysis – Social media websites by reasons for use, December 2017
- . . . but most social media sites serve multiple purposes
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- Figure 45: Reasons for social media website use, by social media website, December 2017
- Girls use Instagram to follow brands and celebrities
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- Figure 46: Reasons for social media website use, by gender, December 2017
- Most teens don’t trust social media for product information
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- Figure 47: Attitudes (social media), April 2016-May 2017
- Personal recommendations are more effective than branded ones
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- Figure 48: Attitudes (social media), April 2016-May 2017
Kids’ Future Goals
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- Activities that incorporate animals or travel will be most appealing
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- Figure 49: Kids’ future goals, December 2017
- World travel and culture intriguing for tweens
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- Figure 50: JetBlue | Little Tickets, video, July 9, 2017
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- Figure 51: Kids’ future goals – travel the world and learn a new language, by age, December 2017
- Business and space appeal to boys, animals appeal to girls
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- Figure 52: Kids’ future goals – select items, by gender, December 2017
- Kids from affluent homes consider travel an important goal as they age
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- Figure 53: Kids’ future goals – travel the world, by household income, December 2017
Attitudes toward Technology, Time, and the Future
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- Kids love the internet, but they’re also skeptical of what they see
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- Figure 54: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Internet items, December 2017
- Teens are most skeptical of content online
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- Figure 55: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Internet items, by age, December 2017
- Parents have significant influence over what kids do
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- Figure 56: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Future items, December 2017
- The future worries kids more as they age
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- Figure 57: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Future items, by age, December 2017
- Kids are busy, but not with the things they want to be doing
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- Figure 58: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Time items, December 2017
- Multitasking becomes more common as kids age
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- Figure 59: Kids’ attitudes and opinions – Multitasking item, by age, December 2017
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Correspondence analysis
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – The Market
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- Figure 60: Population by age, 2013-23
- Figure 61: Married share of population, 2006-16
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- Figure 62: Teens’ cell phone and tablet ownership, 2006-17
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- Figure 63: Cell phone, 2006-16
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Appendix – Key Trends
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- Figure 64: Teens’ participation in crafts in the last 12 months – By net and specific types, 2009-17
- Figure 65: Kids’ participation in crafts in the last 12 months – By net and specific types, 2009-17
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Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 66: Cable TV channels watched by teens in the last seven days, May 2017-February 2018
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- Figure 67: Cable TV channels watched by kids in the last seven days, May 2017-February 2018
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- Figure 68: Toys and games kids own or use, May 2017-February 2018
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- Figure 69: Digital music services used in the last 30 days, May 2017-February 2018
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