According to new research from Nielsen, the kids/tween online space is continuing to grow making Gen Z or whatever you want to call the coming wave of teens even more wired then the current generation. From the AdWeek article:

Over the past five years, the kids' Web universe has swelled by 18 percent, compared to a 10 percent growth rate seen in the relatively mature general Web population, per Nielsen. As of May, the kids 2-11 audience had reached 16 million, or 9.5 percent of the active online universe….

But even more impressive is this group's heavy surge in usage when compared to the rest of the Web. Kids are all but living online. Time spent among kids has soared by 63 percent over the past five years, while overall time spent across all age groups is up 36 percent, per Nielsen.

According to Nielsen, kids 2-11 spent nearly seven hours online per month five years ago vs. 11 hours a month in 2009, with boys spending slightly more time on average than girls. That disparity is perhaps most evident in online video viewing, as boys accounted for 61 percent of video streams among kids on the Web.

This is good news for some of the 200+ new virtual worlds (many for tweens) that have been springing up over the past two years but will also shine an even greater spotlight on the business models behind these sites. Whether they are ad supported or subscription-based, they have to be COPPA compliant — and given these new numbers, I believe advocacy groups will be pressuring the FTC to watch this space even more closely for any abuse.

The other reality is that for the tween end of this age spectrum [kids ages 9-12,], many of these aspirational tweens will simply lie about their age and enter communities for teens and adults ages 13 and up. I would not be surprised if there is another move towards requiring age verification from attorneys general, especially if there are any high profile incidents involving tweens on teen/adult sites.

The reality these new numbers illustrate should also be a wake-up call for parents to really get involved in these kids' digital lives by discussing where their younger kids are spending time online as well as setting appropriate limits (too much of anything, even "parent approved" websites or games, is too much). I worry about the internet becoming the new "babysitter" in the same way television has been for previous generations of "latchkey" kids.

And just as the mass adoption of television spurred the need for educational programming, these numbers should spur similar standards for online programming [see also Targeting Kids post on this today].

We just launched a Campus subgroup on LinkedIn for members of the Ypulse community focused on reaching college bound high school students and college students. I would be happy to create a subgroup for Ypulsers in the under 13 space as well if someone would like to help moderate. I know many of you (including myself) are members of Kids Safety in the Digital Worlds Linked In group – and I don't want to recreate the wheel, but if we need another group with a focus on COPPA/marketing related discussions as well, just let me know.

P.S. Boys watching more video is also an interesting gender difference (nature or nurture?)….

For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tweens Channel, sponsored by the Tween Tribune.

Categorized under: Tweens

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. If you are a Facebook user, comment using your Facebook account.