TEENAGERS IN MINI METROS MORE TECH SAVVY

Teenagers living in mini-metros are fast adopting to new digital lifestyles, as per findings of a survey. The survey conducted during the nationwide Tata Consultancy Services' IT Wiz program held between July and December 2013 across 14 cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhuwaneshwar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. A total of 18,196 high school students between 12 to 18 years of age participated in the survey in which primary data was collected in the form of a questionnaire. "Our annual survey of high school students shows that urban teenagers are adopting new social platforms quickly, using them in multiple ways and leading the way in driving change," TCS executive vice president and global head HR, Ajoy Mukherjee said here today. He said the survey found that teenagers living in mini-metros are more digital savvy as against their counterparts living in metros. Moreover, half of the students surveyed said they would like to make IT as a career choice. "Tomorrow's professionals will be socially active, highly adaptable to new technologies and extremely aware of the world around them," Mukherjee said. According to the findings, Facebook is the most preferred social networking website as 76 per cent urban teenagers have an account on it as against 86 per cent in 2012. Moreover, 48 per cent of the urban teenagers post on Facebook once in every three days, it mentioned. While 53 per cent of high school students have more than 120 friends, 60 per cent have over 120 friends in mini-metros, the survey revealed. Also, 87 per cent of the high school students think social media has made them aware of current affairs, the survey said. Nine out of 10 urban teenagers have phones, whereas seven out of ten urban teenagers shop online, the survey added.