Filipino kids spending longer hours on the internet — study
A RECENT study by a kids digital media company said children in the Philippines prefer access to the internet over television, recording longer hours spent on internet-enabled devices per month.
In a statement on Monday, TotallyAwesome said it found 84% of Filipino kids would choose the internet over television, based on an October 2018 study of 320 internet users aged four to 16 in the Philippines.
It also said children spend an average of 82 hours on the internet every month, commonly through their smartphones (81% of the respondents), tablets (56%) and television (54%).
“TotallyAwesome discovered one of the reason for this is that over 55% of children own a smartphone, 47% own a tablet while only 17% own a TV,” it said.
“With the high mobile penetration, it is not surprising that digital is the main source of information: 83% of children surveyed said they find out about new toys launched from the internet; only 48% said they get the same information from television,” it added.
The increased preference of children for the internet over television also poses an opportunity for advertisers, TotallyAwesome said, as 83% of the respondents said they learn about new toys online, and 89% learn about new television programs online.
It added that 64% of the respondents asked their parents to buy products they saw on the internet, and 45% bought products with their own money.
“We have seen children in the Philippines being very vocal and fanatical about content that they see online. With a high smartphone penetration, it only stands to reason they are more impressionable to online kid influencers,” TotallyAwesome Chief Executive Officer Quan Nguyen said in the statement.
“The study has revealed the power children have over the things they want. They get their way whether they are direct purchasers with their own cash or through their parents with pester power. Marketers may need to recognize and acknowledge the tremendous influence of Generation Alpha and GenX” he added. — Denise A. Valdez