Dubbed the «giraffe generation» by Yannick Chatelain, a teacher-researcher and specialist in new technologies, today's teenagers and young adults integrate mobile devices like a second skin. This mobility has changed the way they use screens: they want them everywhere, all the time and quickly. Although this may seem far removed from our own behaviour, it is important to understand how young people interact with digital technology in order to know where to set limits.
According to Yannick Chatelain, our teenagers are like giraffes, animals known for sleeping the least because they are always on the lookout for what is happening in the savannah. Indeed, according to a study by Médiamétrie (November 2015), 3 out of 10 young people are still connected to their phones at 9 p.m. With an average of 11 screens in their homes, 15-24 year olds are increasingly connected and increasingly younger. The average age of the first mobile phone is 11 years old in France. Keen on new things, young people of this generation mainly use screens to keep in touch with their friends (IPSOS – Junior Connect, 2016). From the alarm clock that wakes them up to the text message that surprises them at night, young people spend an average of 14 hours and 10 minutes per week on the Internet, compared to 12 hours and 10 minutes four years ago.
Essential multi-screens and multitasking young people
The Facebook poll IQ, in collaboration with Gfk and Ipsos Media CT, shows that young French people own several « device » which they value as levers of freedom and independence. But it is the telephone that young people favour; with 88%, they even consider it indispensable. The mobility of screens brings other opportunities for media use for 15-24 year olds. Still fans of television, the giraffe generation prefers replay (34%) or the live through their computers. This generation has also grown up with social media. It is therefore not surprising that 90% of them are registered on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter. Although Snapchat is becoming the preferred social network among young people, Facebook remains in the lead with 76% followers among the 15-24 age group. The emergence of the giraffe generation also marks the arrival of the video era. 53% of 15-24 year olds admit to watching videos every week. The mobility provided by smartphone facilitates this practice. Like their thirty-something elders, young people are addicted to video games: 65% of them have played at least once a month, if not more. But what about the big screen? Despite the development of streaming, Cinema tops the list of leisure activities for 15-24 year olds (88% go at least once a year according to Media measurement in 2014).
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