Basic HTML Version
Section Editor: Mandy Saven, Head of Food, Beverage & Hospitality
Analyst: Madeleine Cuff, Assistant Editor - Consumer Lifestyle
Today’s teenagers are dynamic, digital beings.
These agile and adaptive thinkers are digital
natives who have grown up with accessible,
portable technology. Instant access to a wealth of
information has fuelled their entrepreneurial spirit
and ‘just do it’ attitude.
Thoroughly immersed in frontier tech services,
teens are well-positioned to deliver the next
breakthrough product. To this end, they are
creating their own conversations, narratives and
even brands.
Platforms like TEDXTeen provide valuable
forums for teens to share their ideas. While savvy
brands are engaging teenage tastemakers for
market insights and product development. In 2012,
Apple invited 13- to 17-year-old app makers to its
Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco
for the first time.
Teens are mobile creatures; according to a
study conducted by US-based Pew Research in
early 2013, one in four US teenagers uses mobile
devices more than desktop or laptop computers
to access the internet. Will Palley, trends strategist
at US-based advertising agency JWT, told
Stylus: “They’ve grown up connected. With
smartphones and ubiquitous wi-fi, there’s no
longer a process of logging on or off
[social media].”
“Mobile devices help young people to be
spontaneous… and spontaneity is an important
marker among young people of being a
confident and interesting person,” explains
Andrew Crysell, managing director of London-
based market research agency Crowd DNA.
Alongside the ever-popular Facebook, visual
social networks that foster creativity are popular
among teens. More than one million US teens
visited online photo-sharing service Instagram in
July last year (Nielsen), while SnapChat – a photo
and video-sharing app that destructs files after
they have been viewed – has gained traction with
young users. Similarly, video-based blogging and
networking sites such as Vine and Keek are also
proving popular.
8
Redefine
Consumer Lifestyle
Andrea Brocca
© Vintage Runways/
Antonio Piepo