Global Youth Mobile Trends : Chinese Leads Mobile Internet Use

Nielsen Mobile Youth Around the World Dec 2010

The Nielsen Company  has recently analyzed and tracked mobile usage in North America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.   In this report,  the  mobile youth data trends and reports from Brazil, Russia, India, China, Vietnam, Germany, US, UK, Spain and Italy are documented

Smartphone v. Feature Phone

Italy leads in smartphone penetration with 47 percent of young people ages 15-24 owning a smartphone, compared to 31 percent of adults over 25. Smartphone penetration among European youthaverages 28 percent in the countries surveyed, while penetration among older adults in Europe is 27 percent.

Accessing Internet Via Mobile

Seventy-three percent of Chinese mobile youth ages 15-24 reported using the mobile internet in the previous 30 days compared to 48 percent of U.S. mobile youth and 46 percent of U.K. youth.Among European youth, those in the UK are more likely to use mobile internet,with over 20 percent more usage than other European countries.

Multiple SIM Cards Usage :Multiple SIM usage is even more common in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) among youth, where adults 25+ have a lower usage rate. In Europe, youths use multiple SIMs 9 percent less than the adult average. Ital leads multiple SIM cards use , followed by Brazil, Russia, Germany . India ranks 6th before China.

Buying Influence :A significant majority of young people throughout the world choose their own devices. Across the countries surveyed, only 16 percent of young people’s parents chose their phone.

PrePay or Post Pay: The Bric Coutries takes the first 5 Ranks, as the telecom insfrastructure issues plagues these developing countries, and pre pay is the most common ways to pay for the services. The numbers stack up to over 85% pre pay for the BRIC Countries

Purchase Drivers :Price was the most common consideration in selecting a mobile phone for young people, though that is true among other age groups, too. Adults in these countries rated price the most important consideration, too. Youth aged 15 to 24 put price as the first purchase driver, with the exception of Russian youth, 21 percent of whom placed design/style first. Around 14 percent of Brazilian adults say design/ style is the most important consideration, compared to 7 percent of US adults.

Data and Voice  Usage Rates :At 70 percent, young Chinese advanced data users have a significantly higher mobile internet usage rate than the rest of the world. In the UK and US, females have at least a 10 percent higher rate of messaging use than males. .Among European youth, those in the UK are more likely to use mobile internet, with over 20 percent more usage than other European countries.

Messaging Gender Divide Indian males are twice as likely as Indian females to use mobile messaging including MMS and SMS messaging.70% of Indian males  send SMS  as compared to 30%   female, while for MMS the percentage increases by 82% for males and 18% females. The gender divide is most apparent and pronounced in India . None of the countries "genders ratio " is as skewed in favor of Males except in India. China  has  narrowed  its gender divide  and  currently has  a 52:48 gender ratio in the use of sms

China also skews slightly male in both types of messaging, but only by a 4 percent margin. In the UK and US, females have at least a 10 percent higher rate than males who use messaging services.

SmartPhone Usage Rates:As of Q2 2010, 28 percent of US mobile subscribers had smartphones. Youth in the United States exceed the population average smartphone penetration by 5 percent.  All countries had a male bias in the use of smartphone .. except US the US, where 55 percent of smartphone users age 15-24 are female. In the overall US smartphone population, the US, where 55 percent of smartphone users age 15-24 are female. In the overall US smartphone population, 55 percent were male. percent were male.