On average, kids between the ages of 2 and 14 are consuming digital content between three and seven times a month on a single device, according to The NPD Group’s recently released report, “Kids and Digital Content.”
According to the study:
- Kids are downloading online video clips onto a device the most frequently each month (7.1 times per month), followed by music videos (5.7 times), music (4.2 times), games (3.1 times), and ring tones/ring tunes (2.8 times).
- Playing games is the most prevalent activity on the four key devices: 84% are gaming on a computer, videogame system, portable digital music player (PDMP) or cell phone. Also, more than half are listening to music, and one-third are communicating with images or interacting with various video formats.
- The way kids consume their digital content varies:
- Games and movies are primarily driven by their physical offerings, while ring tones/ring tunes are often consumed digitally, though half report consuming them in the physical format.
- Almost all kids who use movie content get it in the physical format, with one-quarter also getting movies in digital format.
- For both video games systems and computers, playing games is the number-one activity measured. Watching movies comes in second on video games systems, while listening to music is the second most popular activity on computers.
- Downloading ring tones/ring tunes and sharing pictures/images account for 46% and 43%, respectively, on cell phones.
- 86% of kids who use a PDMP listen to music on it, where watching movies comes in a distant second with 17%.
- On average, kids spend between $6 and $12 on some type of digital content each month and between $13 and $18 on physical content.
Among kids who pay for physical games and also kids who pay for physical music, those who are more experienced (e.g., have been using a device for this purpose for more than one year) have a higher average monthly expenditure than new users, the study found.
About the study: Data was collected via an online survey to a nationally representative sample of moms with kids age 2 to 14 living in the household. To qualify, respondents were required to be the parent/guardian of at least one kid age 2 to 14. The report is based on 3,376 completed surveys from these respondents. Fieldwork was conducted from October 15 to October 29, 2007.
