Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Youth Vote 2008: How Obama Hooked Gen Y

Since the election, there has been lots of attention focused on how the Obama campaign was able to leverage many types of new and social media to engage Gen Y to get out and vote.

At the 2008 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East, held at Boston College just days after the election, several of the panelists talked about Obama's use of social media. Some of the most interesting and detailed election research at the conference was presented by Dan Coates, co-founder of SurveyU.

Dan's presentation, What Every Brand Could Learn from The Obama Campaign's Marketing to College Students, outlined some of the key demographic and media consumption trends among college students that the Obama campaign leveraged to get youth more involved in the political process. Dan also explained how marketers (or educators!) can use these same strategies to engage with this increasingly influential generation.

In this video, taken at a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics panel, YES We Can producer Wes Hill and The Nation's Ari Melber discuss Youth, Politics, and Civic Engagement in the 2008 election year.

Also worth noting, and somewhat lost in the post-election euphoria, is the election of Aaron Schock (R-Illinois) to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman-elect Schock is the first member of Congress born in the 1980s and he will be the first millennial to serve in Congress.

Related Resources

• A chat with the first Gen Y congressman (Thanks Anastasia!)
• Obama's Change.gov Adds OpenID
• The Obama Factor: The Net Generation
• Ruminations: 2008 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East
• Mind the Gap: American Teens Falling into the Digital Divide

Demographic Research on Texters: Young, Multicultural and Ready to Spend

A new report from Scarborough Research found that El Paso, Texas is the top texting city in America with 57% of adults reporting that they use the texting feature on their mobile phone. In comparison, the national average of adults who text is 48%.

Rounding out the top five texting cities are Salt Lake City (UT), Dallas (TX), Memphis (TN), and Cincinatti (OH).

What makes these cities so text-centric? The study found that among adults who use texting features on their mobile phone, 49% are more likely to be young (18-24), 14% more likely to be Hispanic and 24% more likely to be African-American.

According to Scarborough, the youthful, multicultural texting demographics are a likely reason why El Paso, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Memphis are the top text messaging markets. Moreover, Salt Lake and El Paso lead the nation in 18-24 year olds.

Other key findings of Texters:

• They use a wide variety of phone features - such as picture messaging, streaming video and email -at a rate higher than that of the average cell user;

• Best Buy is their preferred retailer for audio-video purchases: 39% of Texters live in a household that shopped at Best Buy during the past year vs. 27% of all consumers nationally. Target (20%) and Wal-Mart (35%) are other important stores for Texter tech purchases;

• One-fifth (20%) of Texters spend more than $1,000 online annually, vs, 17% of all cellular users;

• Web-based services are a core part of their daily lives, from household tasks (such as bill paying) to entertainment (such as downloading movies or TV programs) to interaction (such as blogging and downloading a wide variety of content);

• They are 46% more likely than all cellular subscribers to typically spend $150 or more on cellular service monthly and are 12% more likely to plan to switch services;

• On average, they spend $87 on their monthly cellular bill. In contrast, all cellular subscribers spend an average of $75 monthly. This demographic are the highest spenders on cellular services.

One common stereotype is that Gen Y are too wired to leave their computer screen or video games to participate in other activities. While they are wired and hyper-connected, due to the ubiquity of the mobile phone and the mobile web, they are able to remain on the go and wired.

Scarborough Research found that:

• Texters are active, on-the-go consumers. They are 37% more likely than all cellular subscribers to have played basketball (as a leisure activity) during the past year; 29% more likely to have gone jogging/running; 29% more likely to have played tennis, and 23% more likely to have practiced yoga;

• Texters are 12% more likely to have attended a professional sports event, and 57% more likely to have gone to an R&B, rap or hip-hop concert during the past year.

If you're interested in the mobile boom (and you should be!), be sure to check out Mobile Persuasion by my friend, Dr. BJ Fogg. This is a must read for anyone involved with digital media and education technology. BJ also is the founder of the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab.

You can see the Scarborough Research report, by clicking here (pdf).

Related Resources

• Mobile Persuasion 2009
• Research on Hispanic Teens & Mobile Phones
• Generation Text: Gen Y & Mobile Phones

Truth and Consequences: Teens, Naked Photos & Mobile Phones

Anyone involved with Gen Y knows three things: they love their mobile phones, they are hyper-connected and they have no reservations about broadcasting their life across the social web. Very often they are lifestreaming without thinking about the consequences of their actions.

Take, for example, the mobile phone. They text, play games, take photos and oh yeah--they also occasionally use them to make a phone call. However, a recent investigative report by Emmett Miller and KTLA News found "a growing number of teens are messaging naked photos of themselves to their friends. Not only could it ruin their reputation, but it could land them in legal trouble."

One girl talked about how a guy at her school had a fight with his girlfriend and, in an act of revenge, blasted out nude photos he had taken of her to their classmates. The photos were forwarded on to more and more students, effectively making life at the high school unbearable to the point that she had to change schools.

Another student, commenting on the trend, said:

“I know in my high school that there was a a girl who took naked photos of herself and it went all through our school and it ruined her, 'cause everyone looks at her like a slut.”

But there are serious consequences beyond just being embarrassed or having to change schools. In his report, Miller interviews Detective Dan Morgan from the LA County Sheriff's Department who talked about the LEGAL implications:

"The detective says anytime a photograph is taken of a minor, a person under the age of eighteen, of their genital area involved in a simulated or an actual sex act, it is against the law, and considered child pornography. Detective Morgan says pictures and video clips of teens involved in sexual situations are becoming more and more frequent.

He believes the cases are under-reported, but has still dealt with quite a few of them. Sometimes the cases involve teens who have sent pictures or video to other teens, but other times it's adults who are enticing teens to take photos of sexual situations. And that is where the law is clear. "

Most teens interviewed for this report had no idea that there were legal implications for sending or forwarding nude photos via mobile phone or the Internet. In fact, while most told Emmett that they "would only send nude photo's to their friends," they were completely oblivious that their friends might pass these photos along to other people. 

This is an important topic that both parents and school officials should be talking about with teens. The stakes are even higher for a high school student who turns 18 and forwards a nude photograph of a boyfriend/girlfriend who is still a minor.

By doing so, they risk being charged for distribution of child pornography. Not to mention, if they are convicted, they face the loss of attending college, scholarships, and employment opportunities.

The important thing is for parents and school officials not to overreact. Banning mobile phones won't make these types of incidents go away. Teens will simply use another phone. Or have a friend take the pictures for them. The best approach is to sit down with your kids and calmly discuss the appropriate ways to use technology.

Think about it. You don't hand your kids the keys to the car without having them first go through a drivers education program where they learn the rules of the road. So why do we just hand them a mobile phone, computer or, for that matter, a social networking site and expect them to understand what behavior is and isn't acceptable?

As adults we need to also sit them down and outline how their so-called "personal information" can be sold to data brokers or passed around school by friends. We need to educate them on the consequences of lifestreaming and sharing too much information may have on their future.

Most importantly, we need to educate them that just because they delete that photo on their mobile phone doesn't mean that it isn't archived somewhere. Forever. After all, when it comes to the social web, your privacy is an illusion.

You can watch a video of Emmett Miller's entire report, The Naked Truth of a New Cell Phone Trend, by clicking here.

Related Resources

• Generation Text: New Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones
• Book >Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online
• Stanford Study Looks at the Psychology of Facebook
  

Ruminations: 2008 YPulse Mashup Boston

I just spent a couple days at the YPulse Youth Marketing Mashup East which was held on the campus of Boston University. As usual, it was a fantastic event! Congrats to Anastasia and the Modern Media team for putting together a really informative, fun and relevant event.

I have a few longer posts about the event brewing in my noggin that I hope to push out here on Barking Robot sometime next week. But I had a couple quick thoughts  and highlights from the event that I'd like to share while it's still fresh in ye olde noggin.

On Boston: The more time I spend in this city, the deeper I fall in love with it. New England in the fall is something that everyone should experience. One morning I took a walk along the Charles River. The tree's were heavy with orange, yellow and red foliage, the ground was still wet from the overnight rain and rowers glided silently up and down the Charles. Stunning.

On Boston University: Graceful old buildings, a deep sense of history and lots of energy oozing from the student body. Just fantastic. One morning on my way to the YPulse event, I passed the campus chapel and a beautiful sculpture of doves flying up into the sky. At the base of the monument, students had placed bundles upon bundles of flowers. I was curious, but I was also running late, so I didn't have time to learn more.

The YPulse event was opened by Dean Kenneth Elmore, Dean of Students at Boston University. He started with a super energetic and warm welcome to Boston the city and Boston the University. Dean Elmore was full of passion, energy and enthusiasm. As part of his keynote, he spoke about President-Elect Obama, collaboration, community and how great things can be accomplished when we work together. It was very inspiring.

Dean Elmore also took a moment to explain more about the bundles of flowers being left at the base of the sculpture I had seen earlier in the day. The sculpture is a memorial to one of the greatest alumnus ever to study at Boston University--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The morning after Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America, students began to spontaneously leave flowers at the MLK monument to honor Dr. King and his contributions, sacrifice and role in making the Obama presidency a reality. It gave me chills.

We need more people like Dean Elmore in the world.

On Virgin Mobile: Ron Faris from Virgin Mobile USA gave a really fantastic presentation on the Virgin Mobile Festival and Pro-Social Initiatives. He started by having everyone text "karma" to 68405. He then told us that for every text, American Eagle would donate a hoodie to homeless teen. Way to go Virgin Mobile!

Ron's presentation was really, really interesting. Virgin Mobile, and the Virgin brand, have done some really innovative, creative and interesting work in the music, pro-social, marketing and branding space. He also talked about the mobile and texting habits of Gen Y and how Virgin is leveraging mobile to engage and market to youth. You can read more on the live blog transcript.

At the end of his presentation, he mentioned that Virgin Mobile next pro-social cause is to become an advocate on the issue of homeless teens. Virgin Mobile will be launching an awareness campaign in the next couple of weeks. Want to hear something shocking? According to research conducted by Virgin Mobile, there are approximately 1 million homeless teens in the United States of America.

Yes....1 million.

These teens are homeless for a variety of reasons ranging from being kicked out by their parents due to sexual orientation, abusive parents or being abandoned. This figure just floored me. I've spent a lot of time working with homeless adults and mothers with children, but I was woefully ignorant on the subject of homeless teens.

I spoke to the Virgin Mobile team about their homeless teen campaign and I will keep everyone here at Barking Robot updated on how you can help out. I feel very strongly that the education technology community should be actively and passionately involved in this issue. Homeless teens are an education issue.

On SurveyU & MTV: Dan Coates from SurveyU gave a really interesting and relevant presentation titled, What Every Brand Could Learn from the Obama Campaign's Marketing to College Students. He shared lots of really good information, far too much to share here, but you can read more over on the YPulse Live Blog. SurveyU also had a very, very interesting report titled, What Happens to Media as Millennial Take Control?, that I'll blog about in-depth next week.

Dan Hart, SVP MTV Digital, also gave a very insightful presentation, Engaging Viewers Through Multiple Screens, where he talked about MTV's strategy to meet the demands and viewing habits of their (mostly) Gen Y viewers.

One example of how MTV was meeting the always on media habits of Gen Y was Backchannel --a social and interactive platform that allows "fans gather to talk about The Hills as it happens! Type your thoughts and don't hold back! Other players award points with a click of their mouse on the best comments. When it's your turn to click, earn points by predicting the comments you think will be the most popular." Mr. Hart said that this multi-channel approach has been wildly successful and popular.

On YPulse: As usual, this was a fantastic event. The next YPulse Mashup will be held in San Francisco on June 1 & 2, 2009. If you work with youth in education, technology, social services or marketing, you should--no you need--to attend the 2009 YPulse Mashup.

And now, time for that nap...

Related Resources

• YPulse.com
• Day 1: YPulse Mashup East Transcript
• Day 2: Morning Sessions, YPulse Mashup East
• Day 2: Afternoon Sessions, Ypulse Mashup East
• Twitter: #ymme

Text-or-Treat: UNICEF Goes Mobile

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is a program that began 58 years ago and has helped connect UNICEF to literally millions of donors, fundraisers, celebrities and partners. This year, UNICEF is embracing both the social and mobile web to engage even more people in their annual campaign.

"For the first time ever, we’ve launched both a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF MySpace page and Facebook Cause. If you use either of these sites, just add us as one of your friends. Then, when you’re writing on someone’s “wall,” or “poking” everyone you know, invite them to add us too, and help spread the word.

This year—for the first time—you can Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF with your mobile phone! Just text the word “TOT” to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $5 donation* and help UNICEF save kids’ lives."

The Text-or-Treat initiative is a pretty clever program. When you visit the Text-or-Treat page, you can choose one of the virtual trick or treaters and help fill their UNICEF box by sending a text message. Cool!

I sent my text message to support Doogie. Which one will you support?

Related Resources

• Teach UNICEF
• UNICEF USA
• UNICEF: Trick-or-Treat Program

Global Youth: Teens, Digital Music & Tube Converting

Interesting tidbit over on today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board from Caroline Marques, a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland, about how many teens are finding a new way to download free music.

"Teens downloading music online is still alive and well thanks to this technique: tube converting. This time it’s not through Limewire, but through something closer to home: YouTube or any online video site.

Since YouTube is where most teens watch music videos, it makes sense. Sites like http://file2hd.com, www.vconversion.com and www.vixy.net are programs where you just type a URL and save the song. With a small chance of getting viruses, and the enormous choice of songs, many teens feel this method is easier and safer."

I wonder how Google/YouTube, the RIAA and the music industry will respond to this new trend? Lawsuits? Scare tactics? Some new fangled blocking software?

Related Resources

• YPulse: Youth Marketing to Teens, Tweens & Gen Y
• For Gen Y, Music is Oxygen
• David Leibowitz on Music, RIAA & Copyright
• Jaffray Study: More Teens Downloading Music Legally
• Bush Signs Anti-Piracy Law

Call for Papers: 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology

Persuasive Technology is all about using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to change what we think and do. We are just entering the era of persuasive technology, of interactive computing systems designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviors.

The Claremont conference will assemble people from all parts of the world interested in such technologies by sharing their insights into how video games, mobile phone applications, web sites and social networking sites can be designed to motivate and influence people.

Academics and practitioners with an interest in research, theory, technologies, design, and applications related to persuasion are invited to submit their work for presentation at Persuasive 2009 to be held at the Claremont Colleges campus, in Claremont, California.

If you're interested in the mobile boom (and you should be!), be sure to check out Mobile Persuasion by my friend, Dr. BJ Fogg. This is a must read for anyone involved with digital media and education technology. BJ also is the founder of the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab.

Related Resources

• Mobile Persuasion 2009
• Persuasive 2009
• Book > Mobile Persuasion
• Book > Persuasive Technology
• Stanford Facebook Class
• International Journal of Computer Game Research

Microsoft to Fund Video Game Research

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that they would invest $1.5 million dollars in educational video game research. The investment is part of a larger, NYU led initiative to "to find scientific evidence that supports the use of games as a learning tool."

The games that are developed will be prototyped in several NYC schools. And while the games will be developed for use on the Xbox console, Microsoft is taking an open approach and has extended an invitation to other video game console makers to participate in the study.

Microsoft also announced a partnership with PBS to distribute digital content to the 12 million subscribers to Xbox Live. Also worth noting is that game maker Knowledge Adventure is bringing its Math Blaster game to Wii's WiiWare channel and the Xbox 360's Live Arcade. They are also working on designs for an iPhone version of the game. Given the mobile nature of today's kids, this seems like a great idea.

At the University of Michigan, a research team is looking into the potential that digital games have for teaching students concepts and skills. As part of their study, they have designed a web-based board game for teaching undergraduate students about Information Literacy Concepts and Skills. They chose a game for the task for many research-based reasons, but also because:

"Games can be with the student when an information expert cannot be. Games can be in the dorm room, at the coffee house, and anywhere else that the Internet can be accessed. Games are a way to bring information expertise to the users where they are already working."

All of this comes on the heels of a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project that found that, when it comes to video games, "playing is universal, with almost all teens playing games and at least half playing games on a given day."

Even more importantly, and defying stereotypes, the Pew Study found that  "game playing is also social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time."

Related Resources

• Japanese Schools Embrace Nintendo DS
• International Journal of Computer Game Research
• Stewart Butterfield on Games & Learning
• 2009 Game Developers Conference

No Brainer: Teens Want iPhone

Here's another tidbit from the 16th bi-annual Piper-Jaffray survey of teenage buying patterns and preferences. According to senior research analyst Gene Munster, who directed the study:

• 8% own iPhones, up from from 6% in Spring 2008.
• 22% of students surveyed expect to buy an iPhone in the next 6 months, up from 9% in Spring 2008.
• Of students expecting to buy a mobile phone, 33% specified an iPhone.
• iPod market share rose to 84% from 82% in Fall 2007.
• Of the 40% of students who legally purchase music online, 93% said they use iTunes (up from 79% in Fall 2007).

All of this is, of course, music to Steve Job's ears.

Related Resources

• Teen iPhone Share Seen As Doubling
• Hipster Teens Embrace Zune
• For Gen Y, Music is Oxygen

Teens & Zune: It's Hip to Be Square?

The Piper-Jaffray survey on teen buying habits has some interesting tidbit on Microsoft's Zune music player. According to the Piper-Jaffray survey, Apple's share of the mp3 market among high school students increased to 84%, up from 80% a year ago.

Here are some other findings:

• 79% of teens who said they planned to buy a music player in the next 12 months said they expected to buy an iPod, up from 78 percent a year ago;

• Zune's share of the teen market is up as well -- to 3 percent, from 2 percent a year ago;

• 15% of teens surveyed who said they planned on buying a music player over the next year said they expected to buy a Zune. This is a 13% increase over last year.

• 85% of teens report downloading music to a PMP (portable media player)

So does the boost in the Zune's popularity mean that Apple and the iPod should start worrying? Uh, not anytime soon. Piper-Jaffray also reported:

"Apple's share is holding strong around 80%. Apple's dominance in the (portable music player) market remains largely unchecked, and it is clear to us that Apple has captured the "cool factor" among high school students across America."

So what to make of a teen with a Zune? Perhaps it's an anti-sheep thing? Or maybe, just maybe the Zune teens are the early adopters and the rest of us will soon (to Microsoft's delight) be following suit too.

Naw. I didn't think so.

Related Resources

• Zune player forum makes teen a fortune
• iPod dying? It's already dead
• I can't wait for the iPod to die

Mobile Filmmaker: Mankind is No Island

Mankind is No Island is a short film created by Jason van Genderen using his mobile phone. This 3 minute film cost $57 to make, was shot in New York and Sydney, and won first place at the New York Tropfest Film Festival.

While some schools are busy banning them, others are embracing mobile technology and integrating it into their classroom. For Gen Y, the mobile phone is about more than just personal voice-based communication.

This totally-wired generation views the mobile phone as an extension of their identity, status, social capital and view it as the cornerstone of their social life. Instead of banning mobile phones in the classroom, educators need to find creative and engaging ways for students to use them in project-based activities.

It's time to shift our thinking about millennial's and mobile phones.

Related Resources

• Kiwanja: Mobile Enabled Social Change
• Research on Hispanic Teens & Mobile Phones
• Generation Text: Gen Y & Mobile Phones
• Detrtius > Essentials
• Gen Y: Mobile and Ready to Learn
  

Mashup Edu: Research on K-12 New Media Literacy

I am pleased to announce that the book chapter that I co-authored with Dr. Mercedes Fisher, "Pedagogical Mashup: Gen Y, Social Media, and Digital Learning Styles," has officially been accepted for publication in the Handbook of Research on New Media Literacy at the K-12 Level: Issues and Challenges, to be published by IGI Global later this year.

Dr. Fisher and I wish to thank the co-editor of the book, Professor Subramaniam at the National Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, for his hard work and direction during the writing and peer-review process.

In addition, we appreciate all the members of the peer-review committee for their feedback, suggestions and collaboration on this chapter. It's been a wonderful experience to work with members of the international education technology/media community.

We've saved the links for all the resources and references cited in the book chapter over on the social bookmarking tool delicious, which you can find here: http://del.icio.us/mashup.edu

Related Publications by Mercedes Fisher & Derek E. Baird

• Making mLearning Work: Gen Y, Learning & Mobile Technologies
• Social Software & Online Learning Design
• Social Media & Digital Learning Styles

Generation Text: New Research on Teens & Mobile Phones

According to a recent Harris Interactive-CTIA study, "Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged, a majority (57%) of teens surveyed reported that they view their cell phone as the key to their social life. For teens, a mobile phone is more than just an accessory or communication device, it also "tells the most about a person’s social status or popularity, outranking jewelry, watches and shoes."

The study was conducted online in July 2008 among a nationally representative sample of 2,089 teenagers (age 13-19) across the US who have cell phones.

More than 100 questions were asked on mobile phone usage, attitudes, behaviors, and teens’ desires and aspirations for the future of mobile communications, entertainment, and other features.

Other key findings from the Harris Interactive-CTIA study:

• Four out of every five teens (17 million) carrying a wireless device (a 40% increase since 2004),  and 42% of surveyed teens said they can text blindfolded; 

• 57% credit mobility for improving their quality of life, if texting was no longer an option, 47 % of teens say their social life would end or be worsened–especially among females (54% compared to 40% of males);

• 52% agree the cell phone has become a new form of entertainment; one-third of teens currently play games on their phone;

• 80% say their cell phone provides a sense of security while on the go, confirming that the cell phone has become their mobile safety net when needing a ride (79%), getting important information (51%), or just helping out someone in trouble (35%);

• Teens carry cell phones to have access to friends, family and current events;

• Though only one in five (18%) teens care to pinpoint the location of their family and friends via their cell phone, 36% hate the idea of a cell phone feature that allows others to know their exact location.

One of the most interesting findings from this study is how deeply integrated texting has become in teen life. In fact, teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month.

"Teens have created a new form of communication. We call it texting, but in essence it is a reflection of how teens want to communicate to match their lifestyles. It is all about multitasking, speed, privacy and control," said Joseph Porus, Vice President & Chief Architect, Technology Group, Harris Interactive. "Teens in this study are crying for personalization and control of exactly what a wireless device or plan can do for them."

Moreover, teens say texting has advantages over talking because it offers more options, including multitasking, speed, the option to avoid verbal communication, and because it is fun - in that order, according to the study.

Looking forward, the survey found that teens "ideal future mobile device would feature five applications – phone, MP3 player, GPS, laptop computer and video player." The mobile boom trend is being driven by teens and their seamless adoption of and expectation to have "on-demand" access to friends, family, information and entertainment.

The education community should also take note that 66% of those surveyed said they hoped that mobile devices would "present opportunities to be educated anywhere in the world." This data should serve as a call to educators to start investigating ways to provide students with mobile virtual learning environments (mVLE) to facilitate self-directed learning opportunities.

Related Resources

• Global Youth: Irish Teens & Mobile Culture
• mobileYOUTH: Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones
• More Teens Create, Share Online Material as ‘Multichannel Teen’ Emerges

Global Youth: Middle East

I recently read two interesting articles that delve into the complex and nuanced world of Middle Eastern youth culture. One of the key thoughts was that Western companies that want to move into this specialized niche need to ditch both their traditional marketing models and preconceived regional notions.

"Examination of the discourses surrounding video clips likewise demonstrates the importance of avoiding simplistic stereotypes when it comes to youth culture and consumption.

While many local observers condemn the clips as corrupting, and Western observers often view them as sticking it to the man (through depictions of liberated sexuality), Armbrust shows that the reality is much more complicated. 

The video flow includes not only the celebrated (and maligned) gyrations of sexpots Haifa Wehbe and Elissa, but also the “family values” clips of ‘Ali Gawhar and clips of the massively popular Sami Yusuf, which use “pop” conventions to articulate messages of Islamic piety and devotion [Middle East Report]."

Here's a snapshot of youth living in the Middle East:

• Figures from the World Bank cite that 30 % of the Middle East population are between the ages of 15 and 19;

• In Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, the under-30 figure is more than 50%;

• Record-high oil prices mean the region is flush with funds and teens, especially in affluent Gulf countries, are ready to participate in the consumer culture;

• A 2005 study found that in Iran, 25% of the population was between 14 & 25;

• Young people under 25 prefer brands that talk to them in a conversational or interactive way, rather than bombard them with messages;

• In Turkey, for instance, today’s youth are regarded as shallow, individualistic, driven by crass desires for consumption, apolitical and insufficiently nationalist;

• Like their U.S. peers, Middle Eastern youth are voracious consumers of online video;

• As the region becomes more affluent, Middle Eastern youth are in the process of moving (much like U.S. youth did during the post WWII era) from being perceived as "youth as trouble" to "youth as fun."

As the Middle East continues to experience prosperity, political stability and easier access with the "flat world", teens will be more and more compelled to both push the boundaries of tradition, explore new forms of creative expression and want to participate in consumer culture.

This trend will provide marketers with both great opportunities and potential pitfalls. Strategies that work for Western t/weens, won't necessarily resonate with t/weens in the Middle East. The key is to understand the underlying current and unique culture of any Gulf state where you wish to do business.

What works in Dubai, won't necessarily work in Lebanon.

Related Resources

• Middle East Report: Imagined Youths
• Middle Eastern Youth: Young Brand Savvy & Online
• Didactics World: Middle East Market Trends
• EDLinks: Education Support for Pakistan

mobileYouth: Research on Gen Y & Mobile Phones

mobileYouth has put together an excellent overview of the key fact and statistics of the youth and mobile market. Whether you're an educator or a marketer, this report provides some valuable insight into how and why Gen Y love their mobile devices.

Related Resources

• Gen Y: Mobile & Ready to Learn
• Mobile Phones & Teens
• Want to Reach Teens? Think Mobile
• Mobile Internet Generation