Young Asians fit 38 hours of activities into one day
(but still manage eight hours sleep!)

Multi-tasking, media-rich lifestyles are the norm among 8-24 year olds in Asia, with these on-the-pulse consumers fitting 38 hours of activities into every 24 hour period.

The recently-released third annual Synovate Young Asians study looked at what is in the hearts and minds of the region's youth, revealing their media consumption, purchase habits, attitudes, favourite brands and heroes. It covers 11 markets across Asia Pacific, including Australia for the first time.

Associate Director of Synovate in Hong Kong, Susanna Lam, said that Synovate, in conjunction with the research sponsors – Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, MTV, SingTel, Star TV and Yahoo!, had uncovered a connected and community-minded youth.

"It's not a huge surprise that this digitally-nimble generation places great stock in online time, but it was gratifying to uncover they are just as committed to personal communication and relationships, prioritising family above all else.

"It's these contrasts that smart marketers need to understand before they can build and maintain a loyal consumer base in a notoriously trend-aware and media-savvy generation," she said.

Multi-tasking in a media-saturated world

Of the 38 hours of activities Asia's youth manage to squeeze into a day, 10 are spent on some form of media.

Lam said that, in part, this accounts for the extreme multi-tasking capabilities of the region's youth.

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Attention! Screens are best for getting noticed

The study asked the older respondents, those who are 15-24 years, just how much attention they were paying to each medium and found the internet came out on top. Thirty-one percent of respondents say they pay 100% attention to the internet when they are online and a further 38% give it 75% of their attention. Television is the next most involving medium, with 18% giving it their full attention and 31% at a 75% attention-level.

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Mobiles on the move

"It's one thing for mobile phones to have features, but another thing entirely as to whether they are used. The Young Asians survey makes it clear that, as far as young people go, the mobile is taking off as an all-in-one portable device. Coupled with young Asian's dependency on their phones, this means the mobile is rapidly becoming a vital part of the media mix for brands seeking to interact with young consumers," Lam said.

The two most popular features remain SMS (64% do it, with young Indonesians leading the way at 85%) and taking pictures (55%).

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Hanging on the telephone

On average, Asians aged 15-24 years are spending 1.6 hours a day, every day, on the phone. Just shy of one hour is spent on their mobile (59 minutes) and another 38 minutes is on a landline.

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Game on

"Older people sometimes say the younger generation lives in their own world. They are right," Lam said.

"Asia's youth is spending an average of four hours 23 minutes a week playing games, be they TV console, portable electronic or online."

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Loving life... or not

Synovate also asked young people one of life's big questions – are you happy with your life right now?

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About the Synovate Young Asians survey

Synovate Young Asians is an annual tracking survey that provides credible, relevant information on the media, purchasing and leisure habits of young people in Asia Pacific aged eight to 24. This is the first year the survey has been carried out in Australia.

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