GLOBAL VILLAGE

Summary of Results November 2007

Global Village Summary - November 2007 1

The Idea
Online Qualitative Research creates new possibilities for international research:

Phenomenal growth of Internet usage in a wide variety of countries

Multinational clients asking for multilingual research

But online qualitative research is currently looked at rather sceptically outside of North America Let us team up internationally and just DO it together!
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Project Objective
Project set up to understand current & potential future communications needs of teens around the world who are using mobile phones and computers with internet access to communicate in their daily lives

Global Village Summary - November 2007

Process
A group of qualitative research consultant partners teamed up to test multilingual online qualitative research in their countries: One bulletin board per country with 20 teenagers 15-16year old boys & girls who use mobile phones & internet Discussing the same core topics Consecutive improvement of methods, and testing additional methods throughout the fieldwork to maximise our learning This report shows some overall findings from the countries involved

Global Village Summary - November 2007

Research conducted across globe

Canada Susan Abbott UK - Julia GartsideSpink Germany Ilka Kuhagen ChinaDavidYing Hon Ho

US-Latino - Otto Rodriguez

USA - Betsy Leichliter

France - Colette Chambon

Italy - Raf Manna

Brazil - Diva Oliveira

India - Piyul Mukherjee

South Africa Corette Haf

Global Village Summary - November 2007

Results:
Life of a Teenager in 2007

Global Village Summary - November 2007

Life of a Teenager in 2007

Most important are friends and social life Meet in the city, hang out in parks/ in the city/ in restaurants Shopping Sports Music, dance, partying Love their pets Education is important at this age Especially in China and Germany school is perceived stressful In South Africa and India education is clearly the key to success Plans for life:
Find a good job, be successful and earn enough money in order to live well

This is very obvious in India, while in some countries (Germany, UK, Italy..) the future seems less clear, and harder to achieve
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German teenagers:
Appreciate the freedom compared to other cultures: kissing in public and drinking already at 16, no school uniforms But school and exams dominate their lives and create stress Some plan to go abroad or emigrate to have a better chance for success and to learn about other cultures

No uniforms

Global Village Summary - November 2007

UK teenagers:
Developing sense of self and expressing themselves as individuals
EMO culture (depressive)

Their likely/ potential future is an issue The clear primary concern is crime both personal risk but also from perceptions that all young people seen to pose a crime threat

Fashion item as well as music Peer pressure to look the part

Frustration
Love for friends and family My rocks!
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Italian teenagers:
Travel Love Rockstar icons
Big difference girls (sense of building their future self, school is important) and boys (hanging out with friends) Future work is a concern (esp. for girls) Only minor crime concerns, hardly any interest in politics

Football

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Fashion items, must have

French teenagers:

Environment consciousness Style, individuality Inspiration, arts, culture Connected to the world

Will to transgress First temptations First love Icons Parties, night life

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USA Se Habla Espaol

US-Latino teenagers:
Though English is the preferred language, Spanglish is more effective Keeping in touch with families and friends from country of origin is important Strong concern to get into a good college Proud to be able to live in a free country like USA

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Chinese teenagers nowadays love how we want. No need to care about others view anymore.

Chinese teenagers:
Values: Good career, good relationships (parents, family, friends), happiness Aspire to make A LOT (not just enough) money!

Exams and parents are main sources of stress

Feel have less chance for success in China
o Want to learn more about other cultures
Want style, individualism and freedom. Hope of our mother country. Like this ... feel close. Want to break away from traditions.

Graffiti is standing for this era. We have the dark side as well as the sunny side.

Challenge oneself.

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SOUTH AFRICAN teenagers:

Proud to be South Africans (Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron as models) Love the natural beauty of their country Post Apartheid positives versus Aids, crime and corruption

SOCIAL LIFE

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Brazilian teenagers:
Value the right to have few responsibilities

Traveling

Enjoy being able to dedicate this life stage to having fun

o But reject being financially dependent on their parents

Try to find a good job Violence is a central issue!

Friends Sports Family Freedom

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Results:
Usage of cell phones

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Feelings for Cell Phones

Picture sorting What picture best represents your feelings for your mobile phone? worked really well! Different cultures, different countries, different languages chose the SAME pictures... for the SAME feelings!

Like a pet, always around me

Contact/Proximity Connection, Friendship, Love Global Village Summary - November 2007

On the go

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Importance of Cellphone
To most teenagers the cell phone is of utmost importance!
Not to miss out on anything! A lot of texting with friends Listen to music Some phone calls, for urgent information Snapshots of friends with photo and video For security to get in touch with parents or other help Cellphones are often used as alarm and watch

Without their cell they would feel empty, naked, cut off from the world, lonesome, unsafe , sad, bored and antiquated!
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Day in Life of Cell Phone

Hello all this is Rs phone ! I never sleep!! but I do lose my voice , especially in the mornings when I am prone to giving R a headache! Im a little scuffed but still cute. I dont go with R to school so Im lonely in the mornings! Afternoons and especially evenings Im very spoilt cos I get a LOT of attention! Mxit is a staple at all times so Im always plugged into the world wide web ,..not to mention my charger !! ha ha. Weekends are by far the best cos Im always at my boss's side!!! (SA) Oulala.....7a.m.....lets work !! I have to make her get out of the bed, this lazy girl !!! After having broken her dreams with my alarm, she put me directly into her school bag (she is too afraid of forgetting me) and the school day begins, like every otherBecause she is overly stressed out and afraid to be late, she looks at me a lot during all her way to school, even though she knows very well that she is going to be 10 minutes ahead of schedule...Thanks to my vibrating mode, I stay on in her school bag even during lessons but I very rarely get out of it. During the break, a little glance at me (one never knows !?) to see if a new message is waiting for her...usually none, so Im thrown back in the bag until the next break. Back home, I am directly put on the desk, she often forgets me, captivated by her computer or by something else. It may happen that I ring numerous times, and shell notice it only at the moment she is going to switch me off, she says she is thinking to look at me earlier next time, butIm switched off. (France)
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Global Village Summary - November 2007

The phone's side of the story

Being a teen's mobile has its highs
Knowing everything that goes on between your owner and friends, and getting to go everywhere they go Getting "tricked out" with cool ring tones, call tones, and wallpapers Basking in the pride of faithful service, doing your job reliably and efficiently -even to the point of powertripping
I am precious cargo to him because i am taken care of so well i even get to sleep on the pillow with him every night so he doesn't miss one text

but also has its lows

Getting starved to death when your owner forgets to recharge or letting your owner down due to "crappy battery life Life-threatening accidents -- getting dropped, stepped on, dropped in the toilet Abuse
Im sick of getting thrown around when she gets mad take it out on something else not me!!! She gets frustrated [with my poor reception] and throws me, and slams my face shut. It's not really my fault though [it's Sprint]

Fatigue due to owner talking until 4am, or nonstop texting Mental health - "going crazy" due to overuse/old age, or having a "bad attitude" due to a moneygrubbing service provider
I do only what is required nothing more because it is just too much work. I don't care. All I care about is money. MONEY!!!

Global Village Summary - November 2007

*USA

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Mobile Phone Channel Choices

Current drivers of choice:
WHO: Parents/family Good friends Others WHAT: Conversation/confirmation Convey info/manage emotions Whatever Immediate, quick, personal, secure, high touch Cost, both have to be available same time, parents can reach you Cheap, quick, easy, private, risk of misunderstanding, quiet (!) Junk, cost, only 1o1, limited size, tedious typing
Cost/ availability Cost/ availability

Voice

TXT

IM

email

() ()

() ()

()

()

POSITIVES:

NEGATIVES:

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() = if at computer, and speed/cost is acceptable

Relationship with my phone

We are with each other ALL the time and most of the time, my phone is doing all the work for me (keeping my schedule, getting calls to me and receiving texts) while I'm the one in my casual clothes doing all the fun stuff!)

I treat it as if it means the world to me / I take care of it / Handle with care / Close to me We are tight meaning that I use it ALL the time

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Relationship with my phone company*

Lately my phone bill has been high. So i feel alot of tension and worriedness when its time to pay the bill Service is excellent, great reception, no dropped calls, no weird increases on my bill that i'm not notified about. They offer packages just for me with an acceptable price range. Basically they make me happy

They're always "online" and ready to fix my phone when needed, or just answer questions about my phone.

Theyre always so helpful and always giving me thumbs up ideas on how to do cool stuff with my phone.. * Canada

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Use of the Internet

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Computers for Teenagers

Computers are essential to life of teenagers Mainly used for communication purposes (email, chat, IM) Networking also with distant friends Catch up with friends, dates, etc. Exchange thoughts with close friends Computer helps balance a stressful day

Computer is important!

Makes me happy!
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Global Village Summary - November 2007

Use of Internet
Teenagers explore the virtual world, creating new communities, visiting sites of their interest and making new friends around the world:
Chat!!! - With Instant Messaging: msn, icq, skype Email Social networking Watch movies Search I use the Internet
information for school get information about the world ...or just surf around... disco see where there is which party download music probably 20 times more for fun - than for school!

Play (esp. boys!) Online shopping only in some countries (Canada, USA, UK)
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IM/Chatting
All teenagers use IMs and use it a lot!

Personal: More personal than an email Instant: Message gets there faster, faster answer Flexible: Many tools, smileys, types, colours, games Free No costs compared to the phone

It is easier than telephone, you need not pay and you can see whether the other person is there it is so simple!

ICQ, MSN, SKYPE are the favorites

some also use it for VoIP China uses QQ

Discussions are different than in a personal setting at school:

We can talk more freely: nobody can interrupt or listen and laugh like at school I would talk about topics I would never talk in person There is a new topic every day ...

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English Teenager - English

A new language has evolved: abbreviations, slang, phonetical... i wud love 2 hav sum features of the apple i phone nd also sum features nd if possible sumtin like a bond phone i knw aint ppssible bt if it cn b done mayb a GPS system or i mean many things sey viseo calling nd stuff even push 2 talk!!!! (India) hi!!!gud mrng tannu..... how r u?? m gr8 2day n all set to continue... (India)

A will fiel misrubel without my cellphone (South Africa)

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Chatroom
There are many local chatrooms, often combined with the networking groups Teenagers use those chatrooms intensively:
Tend to be less personal, no personal details given Talk about
Music Anything without having to show emotions Can talk about anything without blushing

Though, with too many people involved in the discussion can get too overcrowded and hard to overview Anonymity is seen as advantage Never want to meet anybody new really
The difference to meeting at a real party is that you can enter at any time day or night without dressing up and you can talk about some things easier online than if you would meet in person.
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Online Communication
You would say things you would never say in person Nobody can listen like when you talk at school with a friend We have new topics every day

Social Networking

Anonymous so you never need to blush! Meet friends of friends! Sometimes get to know new people

IM Chatroom
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Google as an animal...
Lion: the king of the Net (SA)
Dominates the jungle, others are like cats, clever, able to go anywhere but ridiculous when near the lion (Fr) Always on the prowl and google is always looking for results (USLatino)

FAST

Cheetah:
Damned fast & intelligent (Ger) Fast, effective & gets it right most of the time(SA) Fast!(US-Latino) SUPERIOR

SMART
Owl: Prudent, wise, clever, shrewd (Ger) Chameleon: Colourful / changes on anything you want to know (SA)
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Global Village Summary - November 2007

Current vs. Future Computer as Animal

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Feedback

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Reaction to Online Discussion

Teenagers liked the format a lot!
It provided anonymity and allowed free answers, no need to blush It gives them the freedom to use at their convenience No need to go to a facility, could use from home

Still they thought it was time consuming!

Their relief when got to the

end was clear!

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Teenagers feel comfortable discussing online!

Anonymity creates comfort!
It was easy for me to open up. Thus I had never a feeling that anybody would watch or observe me I felt very comfortable and secure to share all my private feelings .. because it was anonymous you could open up easily, not risking to be embarrassed being anonymous you could really share your utmost private details, and then the others would probably open up as well as they would see that there is no reason to be scared
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Bulletin Board format

Convenient participation:
respondents and observers log in any time stay as long or as short as their schedule permits allows for variations in school/ extra-mural/ weekend activities

Technology:
less fast-paced than Real Time FGs no fast typing or reading speed required ideal for respondents new to this methodology good for countries with slower internet speed

Depth and richness of responses:

topics that require thoughtful answers detailed responses interactive discussions

Anonymity
promotes disclosure of deeper, more personal, candid responses
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