“What do you use the Internet for?” As many as 1,200 students in India’s tech capital were asked this question, and if their answer is to be believed, most of them use it for school work!
As many as 76 per cent of the students surveyed for the TCS Youth Survey said they use the Internet for completing school assignments. This was followed by instant messaging (66 per cent) and downloading games/music (61 per cent).
Touted to be one of the largest studies in the country capturing the digital habits of children in the age group of 12 to 18 years, referred to as ‘Generation Z’ (the group born after 1995), the survey covered 15 cities.
In Bengaluru, 85 per cent of the students surveyed said they primarily use the Internet at home through fixed line/Wi-Fi, while 47 per cent of them access the Internet through 3G/4G connection on their smartphones. An interesting finding was that 21 per cent of them accessed the Internet through Wi-Fi at public places.
Social media remains popular
Bengaluru’s youth were found to be active on multiple social media platforms simultaneously.
Facebook (63 per cent) and Google Plus (40 per cent) were found to be the most popular, followed by Instagram (32 per cent), Twitter (22 per cent), Quora (19 per cent) and Snapchat (17 per cent).
However, 66 per cent of them had either deleted or deactivated their accounts at least once, either due to parental pressure, or because they simply thought it was a waste of time.
The students also looked towards social media for their idols. Apart from sports personalities and film stars, ‘YouTube celebrities’ (42 per cent) were found to be gaining favour.
Social media was also discovered to be a platform to foster new friendships, with 30 per cent of them having made over 100 friends using social media sites.
City of gamers
Gaming apps were found to be the most popular (70 per cent) amongst Bengaluru’s youth, followed by instant messaging apps (66 per cent) and entertainment apps (53 per cent). Educational (49 per cent) and shopping apps (39 per cent) are emerging as the next most popular app choices, a release said.
Paper money still preferred
Tech-savvy youngsters in Bengaluru may shop online, but paying for those wares is still being done using hard cash. The survey found that 82 per cent of Bengaluru’s youth shop online, but use the cash on delivery as an option. This is done either using their parents’ money (65 per cent) or pocket money (35 per cent).
