This is well second in the series...The first one was Indian Youth and PDA. Once again carried by a very enthu planner(virtual)!
Though the sample was very select and skewed towards the upper strata, the findings are interesting and the fringe is where the action is!
1.The young uns do not consider a walkman, disc man a gadget anymore, even though its their first gadget. The ubiquitous mobile, their PC, iPod, etc. are the new gadgets.
Every generation takes the generic low-tech stuff for granted. The 'Gadget' tag is then reserved for the lil hi-techy stuff!
2. This is interesting - the non-earning youth change their mobile phones more often than the earning ones( baap ka maal, gaddhe mein daal, as my class X maths teacher Mr. Fernandez would say). They buy a new one every year( sometimes within a year). The shelf life of a mobile phone is reducing every day. Remember, it's a fashion accessory for them and not just a phone!
3. Mobile is a requirement at 16. Most parents have promised their kids a mobile for their 16th birthday!
4. On a 4 GB ipod, one only listens to about 50 songs max and the 2500 songs in it are not replaced for over a year sometimes. Chris Anderson's The Long Tail in operation. BTW, Harshal have you bought the book? I am planning to do so over the weekend...
5. The 'Gamer' has arrived. I think he is getting mainstreamed( what say?).He seems to live in a completely virtual world, he is not interested in anything close to real world. Not interested in current news updates, stereotype movies etc. Only a Matrix will excite him. He will only shop swanky watches, bikes, and live as closely to the virtual world he indulges in through the PS2 or the X Box.
Even on television 'the Gamer' watches only animated movies and Cartoon channels.
Meraj, do some of your IIT friends, fall in the geek/ gamer archetype...I personally don't know any of them!
6. Orkuting has a very high frequency, but does not seem to have depth. i.e the youth log onto to it EVER SO often … but do not have lengthy conversations. It fulfills the need to stay in touch with everybody.
They find friends on orkut and call for a chat in a messenger; coz chatting on Orkut looses privacy!
7. Online shopping - Lack of a credit card seems to be the obstacle. Immense scope for product innovation in credit cards here!
Most people, who claim to dislike online shopping, have never tried at all.
8. Good ole TV in death throes. The thrill of catching up with your fav serial seems to have vanished. Good time for DTH entry and TiVO!
9. Androgyny seems to be the trend. Like in shopping habits, in acquisition of gadgets and that hitherto male bastion -Gaming( though in India it might take a while).
Even the mobile handsets seem to be morphing towards a rounded edges, feminine feel and yet a masculine core. Guys what would be the most androgynous handset in the market?
10. The collapse of age. The kids are displaying adult like behaviour. The adults wanna play. My father is a case in point!
Have you noticed other trends. Do share...
It would be great if all of us could append our own changing media/ gadget acquisition habits. Love to compile and analyse the direction we are moving! Although this does give some sense!
I had the opportunity to visit this years Bangalore IT.in, few observations, for the first time a brand new pavilion for ‘Gaming’. Participants include Game Console makers, Game Designers, Mobile Gaming Technologies etc. An astounding twenty thousand gamers turned up the first day to participate for an Online Role Playing Game Contest.
ReplyDelete4G mobile phones were on display where you can watch high-definition TV, hold video conferencing etc. (I know now which is my next phone)
The best part, a record number of visitors, braved the heavy downpour to have a glimpse of their future possession, a real learning lesson on for me for the handset category. The new mantra, GET A LIFE, GET UNWIRED.
Lastly, I don’t know how many of you are keeping a tab on www.secondlife.com, virtual life seems much more exciting to the new generation. Dad, get a life, man!! ;-)
thats great roop...did you manage to speak to some of the gamers...its good to be in touch with their like...they sure get to the future before the non-gamers in many aspects...
ReplyDeleteYes Manish, got a healthy database of them too. Met a gamer day before at his place and he showed me his latest Nintendo which he got from Japan. A singleton techie living in Bangalore for the last 4 years, he's been to Japan for his work. Gizmos in his 2bdr home includes Vaio Laptop with Windows Media Center, a DSLR, 3 game Consoles, a Nokia N90 and 24 hr broadband. Other white goods include a twin door freezer, washing machine, rice cooker & a wet vaccum cleaner.
ReplyDeleteThis got me thinking. He's looking for less number of gizmos which can carry out multitasking ... for example ... a device which is a gas burner cum griller cum oven cum blender cum cooker cum grinder all rolled into one ... or maybe a washine machine cum vaccum cleaner cum dish washer cum ironing device or maybe a hi-performance PDA which doubles up as his TV, phone, computer, camera, game console etc. as one device which he can carry all the time ...
His desire of more for less in terms of personal belongings (reason cited, its easier to move around or shift base on a short notice) but his delicate balance between the virtual and real life is worth a study. (To tell you honestly, he's my lab rat :-)for the next one month)
some intersting insights into a gamers mindset which i gathered over endless conversations with them during the good ol days of doing nothing:
ReplyDelete- in games like age of empire and other strategic games, the gamers think that its like playing GOD, controlling things, building a city etc etc.
- in networking games of speed/gore etc...its the pent-up angst / energy / sense of beating (mine is bigger than yours phenomena) another which comes out...earlier the exit points were outdoor sports
- in solitry games, it about beating youself...the 'just do it' phenomena. once they conquer one game, they move on to another....
- which brings me to the last point, which is its the new age-drug for the youth of today...they want to go higher and higher and higher...
btw, manish...you are putting up some great presentation material for all of us...am sure you also realize that....thanks!
cheers!
excellent points meraj...
ReplyDeleteAs long as you credit it to IndiAdRant, am fine... please use it generously in all your presentations...:-)
here goes..
ReplyDeletePink Mobiles, pink scooty, laptops...electronic gadgets, automobiles once a male obssession has now become a female fervour as well....'why should boy have all the fun' great insight to support this...computer giants, service providers, mobile phone manufactures etc. are all waking up to the realization that young women are a suave, sassy, techno savvy segment and a largely untapped market.
There are hundreds of social networking sites...Hi 5, Orkut...and the latest entrant gazzag (that has adopted a spam based marketing technique,)..everyone is on every portal..trying to keep in touch...dig up old friends from school, ex colleague...its great...when email was introduced it was the hottest platform the keep in touch...now its a passe..whoever has time for long emails not just to write them but to read them as well!
today you'll find gamers of all ages...from 6 to 60...its extremly addictive..its not only the IITians...
Mythology has gone online...I grew up brave and heart wrenching stories of Ramayana that my grand mum told me during bed time..now my nephews play it on video games and are in touch with their roots...my grandmum now great grand mum is not complaining...
there are mobile phones available dime a dozen in the market today...there is one that fits everyones buget..right from the swanky N series to the vapid yet utilitarian 1100.
youth are being spoilt with choice and there is a splinter of media...so a marketer has to constantly innovate to keep them hooked on to his brands
thanks dhivya...those are good observations...also nice to have a female perspective of things...
ReplyDeleteare you into technology/ gizmos? do you know any girl who is into gadgets?
Hi Manish,
ReplyDeleteinteresting article and I like the idea of everyone putting together what they think current trends are! here's my two cents:
1. Customisation: it's not enough to have the latest gizmos, they are then loaded, tweaked and completely personalised. take the cellfone - from the dangly diamantes, to the wallpapers, games, ringtones - it's a statement. an ipod- playlists, memory stick, calendar, podcasts - there's so many options now and everyone's using it differently. eg: I have playlists by mood, i use cartoon podcasts in briefings, i have a photo album of friends and I use it as an alarm. everyone wants more outta the same. and more relevant stuff, not just the same ole.
2. unisex appeal. definitely agree with this one. i see young girls my age in Delhi totally involved in decisions related to cars, white goods for the house, gizmos.. it's not just the boys who are having fun. btw SIMS is a great game study for this one!
3. I'm me!! I think this is the most important declaration for the Indian youth coz our culture is such an amalgamation of collective consciousness. we pick and choose what we want, from across the country and the world. And these values, beliefs and attitudes then define us. it's like a color pallete and you're no longer red cause your parents were, or your city is. you can be a pink red, or you can be purple or green. point: we're less tied down by tradition or rules compared to previous generations.
4. Stay Connected! Communication seems to be key across all dimensions that engage the youth. And you may bond better with a fellow orkutter in Jersey city than your colleagues in the next cabin. fewer boundaries. groups defined by interest and choice, not dictated by social order or location..
hi Kajal...
ReplyDeletereally appreciate your two cents...thanks
I am loving it...looks like IndiAdRant is getting active and i hear a lot of new voices and depth and perspective...
cheers
Don't know if the direction towards tech savvy living is really doing any good to us.. i Definitely had the most amazing childhood and i persoanlly feel that the real sport can never replace the X box or playstations of today.. Even in the 2 week leave that i went back home to i had a mad two weeks trying out my hands on Tennis.. it just refreshed me so much gave such a physical high and enthusiasm for things and i feel that it always translates into every other thing u get involved in the day.. Atleast used to happen back in school when i used to be a hardcore Badminton player.. MY day started at 4 in the morning from a training session to school to some more playing there and then back to the club for more training and games ending with a refreshing swim and back to a fulfilling sleep at 10 in the night.Maybe the fast life of bombay and the expensive nature of the existence here does not allow that. Even as far as TV is concerned, I feel the general quality of programmes apart from the discovery channel and the likes has gone down. Gone are the days of hum log and Philips top 10 which were a treat to watch and we could relate to it on a more realistic sense. Nowadays every TV parivar so to speak does not talk in terms less then empires and Crorepati..
ReplyDeleteI think i am still a little old fashioned in comparison to my generation cuz i just recently changed my cell phone after 4 years.. ha ha.. maybe i can blame it or rather thank my upbringing in a small town to be the reason behind that.. Live life and not money.. be unique and not crowd has always been there at the back of my mind.. Dunno how much what i say is related to wat you have written but wat u wrote triggered some thoughts which have always been there at the back of my mind..
Tanaya