HYDERABAD: The TCS Youth Survey, touted to be one of the largest studies in the country that captures the digital habits of children between the age group of 12-18 years in the city, threw light on the online usage of Generation Z (defi ned as the group born after 1995) .
Tech toys gets cooler
While smartphones (21 percent) and laptops (16 percent) continue to be the most coveted gadgets for Hyderabad’s Gen Z, advanced gadgets like virtual reality headsets (15 percent) followed by gaming consoles (14 percent), smartwatches (14 percent) and ebook readers are quickly gaining popularity amongst young Hyderabadis.
Mediums change, hobbies don’t
Tech savvy boys opt for gadgets offering virtual reality (17%) and gaming (16). On the other hand, girls in Hyderabad haven’t given up on their passion for reading and opt for ebook readers (13) as their most preferred gadget.
Constantly Connected
85 percent students primarily use internet at home through Fixed line/ Wi-Fi while 47 percent of them use access internet through 3G/4G connection on their smartphones. About 21 percent of the students access free Wi-Fi at public places.
Responsible generation
Parents and teachers can now relax as 78 percent of the respondents use internet for completing school assignments. This was followed by instant messaging at 61 percent and downloading games (60 percent).
Facebook rules
Hyderabad teens were found to be simultaneously active on multiple social media platforms. While Facebook (62 percent) followed by Google Plus (40 percent) continues to be the most popular social media, other platforms like Instagram (38 percent), Twitter (20 percent) and Snapchat (19 percent) are also gaining popularity.
Insta-famous
The younger generations now look at different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. for their idols. 45 percent Hyderabad teens follow sports personalities on social media, closely followed by fi lm stars (44 percent) and YouTube celebrities (43 percent) which are quickly gaining popularity amongst youngsters in India.
Virtual strangers
About 30 percent of the teens have made between 50 and 100 friends through social media sites. 66 percent of the teens in Hyderabad have deleted or deactivated their social media account at least once either due to parental pressure or because they fi nd it a waste of time.
City of gamers
Gaming apps are the most popular (69 percent) amongst Hyderabad teens, followed by Instant messaging apps (58 percent and Entertainment apps (54 percent). Educational (44 percent) and shopping apps (37 percent) are emerging as the next most popular app choices among the students in the city.
Prefers paper money
88 percent of Hyderabad youth shop online. Cash on delivery either using parent’s money (67 percent ) or pocket money (37 percent) is the most preferred mode of payment.
Born to lead
Teens in Hyderabad are highly infl uenced by personalities like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sunder Pichai and APJ Abdul Kalam. While more than half (55 percent ) of the respondents in Hyderabad aspire to be entrepreneurs, nearly 30 percent would opt for a career in engineering and ITrelated fi elds.