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Generation... Internet?

More than 27 million US Internet users between the ages of 2 and 17 logged online from home in September 2003 according to new research from Nielsen//NetRatings. In Europe, there are now 13.1 million kids online; four million under 12 years old, and nine million 12-17 year olds.

Twelve million children aged 2-11 in the US accessed the Internet from home while 14.9 million teens aged 12-17 connected online.

In September, kids between the ages of 2-17 represented 21 percent of active at home Internet users or one out of five US Web surfers.

Britain has more children online than any other European country and has seen the most dramatic growth in this group with a 58% jump in numbers. The overall European growth rate for the under-18 online population was 27%. Younger children – the under-12s – are joining the online community faster than older children in most European countries.

Nielsen//NetRatings also highlighted the U.S. regions with the greatest concentration of Internet savvy kids. Leading the way, Salt Lake City had 255,000 Internet savvy kids, representing 25 percent of the region’s at-home Internet audience. In Cincinnati, 24 percent of the city’s at-home Internet users, or 216,000 were children 2-17. Boston filled the third spot with 633,000 children going online from home. Rounding out the top five were Sacramento and Phoenix with both markets garnering 22 percent of the total at home audience.

“Children accounted for one in four at home Internet users in Salt Lake City as compared to the other top ten local markets, which reported one in five,” said Brozek. “Many markets now have a high percentage of Internet savvy kids, which marks the Internet as a significant delivery channel in reaching this demographic.”

Mirroring the offline world, the 2-17 and 12-17 age demographics have markedly different online tastes. Most popular with the 2-11 age group was Diva Starz, a Mattel company Web site for the Diva Starz line of dolls. Fifty-four percent of the site’s audience consisted of kids aged 2-11 (see Table 1). Second was ToonTown Online, a Disney company site, garnering 47 percent of the site’s at-home audience. Polly Pocket, also a Mattel company site, picked up 46 percent of its audience, the third highest percentage, from this age group.

Among teens, Originalicons.com had the highest concentration of those aged 12-17, making up 78 percent of its audience (see Table 1). Originalicons.com is a popular destination for downloading instant
messaging icons. Blunt Truth, an online game site, had 76 percent of its audience from the 12-17 age group. Holding the third spot was Teen People, with 74 percent of its audience coming from the 12-17 age demographic.

“Mattel, Disney and Teen People are doing an excellent job of attracting their target audience to brand and promote key products, which positions these companies well as we head into the holiday shopping season,” said Dawn Brozek, senior analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings.

“As the Internet matures, the demographic profile of users moves closer to the European population as a whole,” commented European Market Analyst Tom Ewing, “and what we’re seeing now is families using the Internet more. It’s likely that this is linked with the growth of broadband access – perhaps when they’re not paying for access by the minute, parents are likely to let children use and explore the Web more.”

In sites with a higher than average audience of the under 18’s, several sites have emerged which draw high proportions of their audiences from this demographic. For instance, the European under-18s contribution to filesharing giant Kazaa is disproportionate to their level in the online population as a whole. Mobile phone sites and online kids’ communities like NeoPets also make attractive targets for advertisers wanting to reach children.

“Currently the majority of sites with a large under-18 audience are aiming at teenagers,” commented Ewing, “But it’s the under-12s that are the fastest growing Internet sector, and any sites which they enjoy and which their parents trust are in a position to grow very strongly over the next 12 months.”

Source: Nielsen/Net Ratings