Recently in we were delighted to host a session on tech for a bunch of bright young teens from a school in Hackney.
Blue Room is our consumer technology lab, where we look at year-on-year trends to determine the impact of new consumer technology on both the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and the wider broadcasting industry.
One of the displays in Blue Room is a replication of a teenager’s bedroom; it’s our ‘audience area’ where we begin our story. In this space we have some of the devices that teenagers are using and content they are consuming. So, with the aim of updating this area with new tech and facts, we invited in 6 teenagers (4 boys and 2 girls, 15/16 years old) after viewing a piece they did for on the in their lives.
The average teenager's bedroom?
The teenage audience currently makes up 7.7% of the population and is a tough nut to crack. have changed dramatically over the last 5 years and broadcasters are constantly seeking out new ways to capture their imaginations though innovation in music, video and gaming.
So Teddy and his five school mates were invited into Blue Room for a workshop based around the devices they use, the content they watch and the impact of social on their lives.
In Blue Room we demo to a vast array of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ staff and industry people - even Members of the House of Lords - but there’s nothing like the anticipation of 6 teenagers to keep you on your toes!
So how are things changing and what are the implications?
Myself and my colleague Alison started with a series of questions stuck to devices around Blue Room: ‘What are your current favorite apps?’; ‘What devices do you have in your bedroom?’; ‘Do you listen to radio?’; ‘How are you accessing video?’.
Teenagers answer a series of questions stuck to devices around Blue Room
Some findings that stood out were:
Gaming and how popular it was with all 6 students and their peers. Recently, the world of gaming has exploded with the emergence of , hyper-real virtual worlds, high quality graphics, faster processing power and animation with filmic effects. Gaming is everywhere, available via Smart TVs, media streaming players, social media. Google Play alone has over 1.43 million apps available for download. Gaming is ubiquitous amongst girls and boys and the split is now almost equal.
The question 'Do you listen to the radio?' drew a pause and a bit of a blank, followed by responses such as, ‘by default in the car’, ‘when it’s on, the headphones go in to access my own music’, and ‘I listen if Mum changes the station to something I like’.
With the emergence of internet radio and music streaming services there is now a vast array of choice available. Capturing teens and immersing them into the world of radio is a challenging task. Their expectations are higher than ever and they are demanding more dynamic and short form content that includes a greater insight into the world of their favorite artists, bands and topics.
One of the least surprising responses to our questions was on social media consumption. It is clear how the lives of teens can revolve around social. Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Vine on mobile devices all play an important part in their lives and connect them to the external world.
Teens are now able to view video content via platforms that were unheard of just a few years ago: the 'discover channels' area in Snapchat, snippets of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News via Instagram, short form drama via Twitter, not forgetting the multitude of Buzzfeed video in Facebook feeds, and of course YouTube.
A sense of what is going on in their world
This is by no means a quantitative study, it’s a conversation with a small group to get a sense of what is going on in their world of gaming, viewing and listening. It made us aware of the vast number of devices the group had access to, how they check their phones 'every minute', how social media consumption on mobile devices is a priority and the diverse number of ways in which they are viewing content.
Students from Hackney in the Blue Room
There is continued change afoot that will be led by the teenage audience, and younger pre-teens. Expectations have changed, connectivity is the norm and access to dynamic, shared content is a critical part of their worlds.
It was a great insight and privilege to have the students from Hackney in Blue Room. For more updates on what we showcase follow .