Rich, middle-class Pinoy kids are 'recession-proof' - survey
by Kristine Servando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 11/03/2009 7:21 PM
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MANILA - Filipino children are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and "recession-proof" than their Southeast Asian neighbors, a survey released by Cartoon Network revealed.
Despite the economic slump, more Filipino children in urban areas enjoyed an increase in pocket money than children in Japan and Australia.
"Filipino kids are the luckiest in terms of the proportion that receive pocket money. There are no signs of the economic downturn affecting Filipino kids in terms of what's in their pocket," said Duncan Morris, Vice President for Research and Market Development at Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd.
The survey titled "New Generations" found that 91% of Filipino children receive pocket money at an average of P197 a week, compared to just 49% in Japan, 59% in Australia, and 41% in India.
The average amount of pocket money Filipino children received this year grew by 17% since 2007, compared to a 22% decrease in pocket money among Japanese children, and no increase in pocket money among Australian ones.
Further, the proportion of Filipino children receiving pocket money also grew, unlike countries like Japan that saw a decline in the proportion of children receiving pocket money (from 60% in 2007 to 49% in 2009).
The survey showed 96% of Filipino children receive an average annual total of P2,130 in gift money during birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions.
As such, Filipino children were dubbed in the survey presentation as "recession-proof."
Turner Asia's Research team estimates that 3.7 million Filipino children in the areas surveyed have a grand total income of P12,000 a year each (from pocket and gift money), amounting to a collective amount of P42 billion.
Asked what children buy with their pocket money, Morris said: "Fairly usual. Snacks, drinks and so on."
The survey aims to find out how Filipino kids behave, think and feel about a variety of topics like social networking, pocket money, and politics.
Tech-savvy
The survey found that Filipino children living in urban areas have more access to technology - especially at home - than in previous years.
Notably, internet usage has grown significantly since 2007, according to Morris.
The survey showed that 6 out of 10 (63%) of children in areas surveyed have used the internet in the past month, with 32% of children having internet access at home. This is a 37% growth in internet usage since 2007.
Further, 47% of children surveyed said they own computers, compared to 42% in previous years. Of the children that use the internet, 76% visit cyberspace at least weekly, while 26% go online daily.
"The internet is clearly playing a more and more significant role in children's lives as time goes by," Morris said.
The survey showed that children have used the following internet features in the past month: games (78%), online video (61%), research-related websites for schoolwork (55%), and social networking sites (45%).
Friendster is the top social networking site for Filipino children aged 7 to 14, followed by Facebook, Multiply and Myspace.
Mobile phone ownership also increased, with 38% of children now owning mobile phones, compared to 26% in 2007.
The survey also showed 84% of children have access to mobile phones at home, whether or not they own the unit.
"This means they have more access to information, really. It can help them with things like homework, schoolwork, said Morris.
He said downsides to this trend, such as children accessing inappropriate content online or children getting addicted to online games, will emerge if parents do not supervise or monitor what their children are accessing online or on their mobile phones.
Good deal-makers, job-hunters, and political consumers?
The Filipino children surveyed were also found to have "well-balanced life goals."
Asked what 3 things they want to achieve by the time they are 30, children's top priorities include having a high paying job (65%), being happy (47%), and being rich (44%).
Being married (16%), having kids (13%) and being famous (13%) ranked lower in terms of children's priorities.
Conversely, children in Australia had the same mix of priorities, while "being famous" figured more significantly in Indian children's aspirations in the same survey conducted in those countries.
"Obviously, Filipino kids know there is a means to an end here, because being happy is part of their goals, so they're relatively balanced," Morris said.
Further, Filipino children were described as "good deal-makers" when it comes to getting what they want from their parents.
Thirty-eight percent said they would strike deals in exchange for certain prizes, 23% would badger their parents until they agree, 23% would be on their best behavior for awhile before asking for something, 11% would convince one parent to agree to something first before tackling the other, while 5% would throw tantrums.
"Filipino kids are quite good at striking deals to get what they want ultimately... and are least likely to resort to emotional blackmail," Morris said.
Those surveyed in the Cartoon Network study were also shown to be abreast of current events.
Asked to choose 3 issues they found the most important, respondents identified the AH1N1 pandemic (59%), poverty (59%), and the economic crisis (49%). As a test of their political awareness, children were asked to name the current presidents of the Philippines and the US.
A majority of respondents (89%) correctly identified Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the Philippine president while only 68% correctly identified Barack Obama as the current US President.
Scope
Quantitative research was conducted from August 25 to September 21 this year by polling firm Synovate in behalf of Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd.
The survey involved face-to-face interviews with 1,000 urban-area children aged 7 to 14, along with one of their parents. Children under 15 comprise about one-third of the Philippine population.
The sample included male and female children coming from Manila (80%), Davao (10%), and Cebu (10%).
Two-thirds (62%) of the sample came from classes A, B, and C (rich to middle class), while 37% came from Class D or the lower class. The sample did not include survey respondents from the extremely lower class (Class E).
The bi-annual survey has already been conducted for 11 years in other countries like Australia, Japan, India, Taiwan and Singapore.
The Philippines has had 4 installments of the survey, the last having been conducted in 2007.
"We really have to learn about kids. It's part of our DNA as a company. We have to understand our key viewers and those who engage with us online We need to understand who their favorites are, what the latest crazes and trends are," Morris said.
He said that the information they get from the survey will "help shape what [their company] delivers on air as well as online." Report by Kristine Servando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak. Photos courtesy of Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd.
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