Nielsen Reveals Mobile Media Habits Of Teens, Tweens

A study conducted by Nielsen Mobile and BASES reveals that the teenagers and “tweens” (ages 8-12) who were surveyed have very different mobile media usage habits.

Jeff Herrmann, VP of Mobile Media for Nielsen Mobile, says that, “in addition to the differences between adult and youth media consumers, there’s an important gap between the media behaviors of teens and tweens.”

He adds that, the study, “Kids on the Go: Mobile Usage by U.S. Teens and Tweens,” includes “insights from more than 5,500 teens and tweens and dissects how these demographic segments are engaging with mobile and traditional media.”

According to the report, 35% of U.S. tweens own a mobile phone, 20% have used text messaging and 21% have used ring and answer tones. Only 5% of tweens access the Internet over their phones each month.

Overall, tweens spend less time surfing the Internet than their teen counterparts. The tweens surveyed said they spend less than one hour per day online and while they are online, 70% of that time is used for gaming. In comparison, 81% of U.S. teens say they spend one hour or more per day online, with e-mail being the most popular activity for the age group.

“Tweens use their mobile phones, and media, in general, in very unique and important ways,” Hermann says. “Marketers and media executives need to understand these ‘digital natives’ as they mature and reshape the way we think about new and traditional media.”

The full report of the study will be released on Dec. 14.

Nielsen Mobile and BASES are owned by The Nielsen Company, the parent company of Radio & Records.