Editor’s note: Jeri Smith is president and CEO of Communicus Inc., a Tucson, Ariz., research firm.
Despite questions about the potentially negative aspects of electronics usage among children and adolescents, mobile devices are only growing in popularity. Recent research on parents and children reveals the extent of tablet and smartphone usage in the young, and the attitudes of both kids and parents toward mobile devices and the brands who produce them.
Two-thirds of pre-kindergarten age children use tablets, and one-in-three pre-K kids have a tablet that is exclusively theirs to use. The study also found that, compared to children who don’t have a device at all, kids who already have one are just as likely – or, depending on age group, even more likely – to ask for a new one. But tablets seem to have limited relevance to a specific episode in youth, with demand waning from the tween years onward. Meanwhile, kids’ demand for smartphones only grows as they age.
It probably won’t surprise many that Apple is the must-have brand for youth – more of them ask for an iPhone or iPad than all other brands combined. While kids ask for iPhones four times more than they ask for the Samsung Galaxy, Apple only has a 16 percent lead over Samsung among parents. Among parents who are considering purchasing the Samsung Galaxy, only a quarter of their kids actually want one – and nearly half want an iPhone.
What’s Apple’s secret? The sheer power of incumbency shouldn’t be underestimated. Kids say that the iPhone is the brand their friends have and is for “people like me.” That’s the kind of brand affinity that contributes significantly to loyalty building and devotion – even among consumers who don’t yet own the product. Many might assume that Apple is doing something special with their marketing to resonate so strongly with young people. But the iPhone has always been the popular device, and they’ve retained that designation by default – helped by the crucial fact that their product actually delivers on the “cool promise.”
With Sprint offering WeGo for kids as young as five, marketers from Apple and other device manufacturers have to tread a fine line of appropriateness with both kids and parents. But the research is clear: Kids want these devices and parents are in the market to acquire them on their behalf. While their attitudes to different brands and use purposes may vary, and while some observers may voice concerns over their usage, the place for mobile devices in the lives of children has been cemented.