Stardoll and Carat Network Join Forces in Global Survey on Gen Z Girls' Digital Behavior

LONDON, January 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Stardoll, the largest online entertainment and virtual world for teenagers, today announced they have joined forces with Global media network Carat to initiate a new, ongoing study of Generation Z girls around the world. The study offers marketers valuable insight into and understanding of the girls' lives, relationships, motivations and experiences growing up in a digital world. 11,000 teens on Stardoll from over 11 countries took part in the study with some surprising results.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20110127/434070 )

Generation Z (born between 1995-2005) is a highly connected demographic, its members largely characterised by lifelong exposure to communications and media technologies such as the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, mobile phones and YouTube, earning them the nickname "digital natives". No longer restricted to the home computer, the Internet is now increasingly ubiquitous and not limited by geographical location. One quarter of teens aged 16-18 report they can't live without their mobile. And mobile phone owners are getting younger and younger - 65% of 12 year olds and younger have their own mobile, rising to 79% for 13-15 year olds.

"We're pleased to be offering insight for the first time into this elusive demographic," says Chris Seth, GM at Stardoll Network. "This is the first instalment of an ongoing benchmarking study we are working on with Carat to provide marketers with precious information about a generation."

"Stardoll are a perfect partner for us to work with in uncovering the habits and behaviours of teenage girls," said Caroline Vogt, Head of Insight at Carat Global. "A marked difference between Generation Y and Generation Z, is that older members of the former remember life before the takeoff of mass digital technology, while the latter have been born completely within it."

Media Habits & Relationships

'Being with friends' (in the real world) is what girls across all age groups (66%) enjoy doing, followed by 'shopping' and 'listening to music'. And when it comes to shortened attention spans, the research shows that a third (30%) of Gen Z girls regularly watch TV shows online for longer than 10 minutes.

Play & Games

Gaming has become a commonplace activity among a relatively new 'casual gamers' user group, but has the market now reached saturation? Not where girls are concerned. Half (49%) of older teens say they never spend time with portable gaming devices or console games. Gaming is more entrenched in younger girls lives, with 35% of 12 and under personally owning a portable gaming device. Social gaming habits, such as playing Farmville, CItyVille, Cafe World and Sims regularly, are prevalent, although vary depending on country: Brazil and Poland top the list (41% and 40%) for girls playing MMOGs (massive multiplayer online games) with Germany and France the lowest (21% and 22%). In the UK, 34% of girls play regularly and in the US the figure is 29%.

Spending Power

Girls like to shop - scoring it as their second favorite activity - but does their lack of plastic hamper their spending money online? It appears not. One in five girls aged 12 and under regularly visit online shopping sites, rising to one in four once they become teenagers. The majority of teenage girls are still buying products on the high street or at a shopping center rather than online, but this shopping medium is far from off limits - 13% of Generation Z girls regularly purchase products online regardless of age.

    Highlights:

    Under 12s
        - 64% use a gaming console
        - Only 35% put listening to music in their top 5 activities
        - More than 60% own a mobile phone
        - More than 60% never read a newspaper
        - Prefer instant messenger to social networks

    13-15 year olds
        - More than 45% say listening to music is one of their favorite
          activities
        - Almost 80% own a mobile
        - YouTube, followed by Facebook, are their favorite social networks
        - 25% regularly visit online shopping sites although only 13%
          Purchase products
        - Begin using mobile web and mobile social networks

    16-18 year olds
        - Most interested in music - nearly 50% list it in their top 5
          activities
        - Nearly 80% own a mobile
        - Are most likely to read newspapers
        - Are least likely to use a gaming console
        - The heaviest media users
        - More likely to use social networks rather than instant messages

About the research

The research was conducted within the virtual world of Stardoll (http://www.stardoll.com), and the total number of respondents was 11,000. The study was conducted in August 2010 using Questback's advance survey tool EasyResearch. Respondents were recruited randomly on Stardoll.com by sending the survey to Stardoll members within the 11 markets (Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UK and US).

SOURCE Stardoll Network