Indian youth prefers computers, mobile phones over TV: survey

By Kul Bhushan | Updated on 25-May-2012

25-May-2012

Have computers and mobile phones replaced TVs as the source of entertainment? A survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services shows the Indian youth prefers entertainment on the move and that the TV is their least favourite gadget. The survey also suggests gaming consoles and music players are gaining popularity among the youth.

The report, dubbed as Gen Y Survey 2011-12, features various interesting findings, focussing on rapidly changing trends in India’s generation ‘Y’. The survey covers about 12,000 high school students aged between 12-18 in 12 cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Lucknow, during the period of July-December 2011.

According to the survey, eight out of every 10 high school students own mobile phones and more than 40 percent of them use phones to access the Internet (compared to just 12 percent in 2009). While PCs continue to dominate internet access for students (68 percent) at home, one in two said they used laptops as well. The report also points out an emerging trend that shows about 14 percent students have started using new devices such as tablets. Another interesting finding of the report is that India’s Gen Y prefers chatting and texting over voice calls. About 50 percent surveyed in metro cities said they preferred SMSes for communication, while 48 percent used Instant Messaging and 38 percent preferred Twitter and Facebook.

“Combination of more bandwidth, availability of smart devices and the surging popularity of social networks is changing the way lndia’s high school students conduct their academic and social lives. As significant employers of lndia’s talented youth, we need to understand how to leverage these social trends to create engaging careers for tomorrow’s professionals,” says N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, commenting on the TCS Survey.

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