Believe it or not, Children are increasingly playing the role of active consultants on high end products, advising their parents on buying computers and cell phones
Children play the role of "information providers" for high-end products, says survey.
Children, it seems, have said good-bye to their childhood games. They have entered into a new realm. Believe it or not, they are increasingly advising their parents on buying computers and cellphones. They have assumed the role of active consultants.
Notably, tech-savvy South Indian youngsters show a greater desire for features like Bluetooth, memory card and the Internet whereas children in the rest of the country show interest in camera, games and ring tones. Around 18 per cent of the parents surveyed turned to their children for information on computers.
According to a research report by Disney’s KidSense, conducted by IMRB International, children play the role of “information providers” for high-end products such as mobile phones.
Almost 56 per cent of children in India claim that their parents frequently follow their choice when buying mobile handsets while 76 per cent exhibit high involvement in mobile phone preferences.
However, it is not just the brand that impresses them. The top three mobile phone features that attract youngsters are camera (69 per cent), games (62 per cent) and colour display screen (61 per cent).
And that’s not all, functional features like video capture facility are sought by 47 per cent of children, 35 per cent seek Internet/GPRS facilities while 30 per cent prefer Bluetooth on their parents’ handsets.
Llyod Mathias, director, marketing (mobile devices), Motorola, says, “For children mobiles are a way of life.” The company agrees that youngsters have a lot of say when it comes to influencing parents, and thus has started airing its ads on children’s favourite TV channels.