Transcript CONTEXT AND LEARNINGS FROM GROUP WARM-UPS, PRE-PLACEMENT EXERCISES AND ETHNOGRAPHY Prepared For: The Department for Transport Prepared By: Mark Ratcliff and Siobhan Bouchier-Hayes.

CONTEXT AND LEARNINGS FROM GROUP WARM-UPS,
PRE-PLACEMENT EXERCISES AND ETHNOGRAPHY
Prepared For: The Department for Transport
Prepared By: Mark Ratcliff and Siobhan Bouchier-Hayes – MURMUR
(+44) 020 7733 1706
[email protected]
www.murmurresearch.com
Version (v1.0)
CONTENTS
3
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE
7
1.
RESPONDENTS’ FAVOURITE THINGS, & WHAT THEY REVEAL
11
2.
A NOTE ABOUT WHAT 12 + DO IN THEIR SPARE TIME
12
3.
TRENDS, FADS
21
4.
WHAT SCHOOLS HAVE BANNED
23
5.
ROLE MODELS
26
6.
HOPES
27
7.
FEARS
28
8.
WHAT MAKES PEOPLE LAUGH [IN REAL LIFE]
29
9.
HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PEERS
30
10. LANGUAGE
34
11. WHAT WORKS IN ADVERTISING TERMS FOR OUR SAMPLE
37
12.
MUSIC
41
13.
MEDIA HIERARCHY
42
14.
MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL
2
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
To explore teens and childrens’ worlds, in particular, to gain insights into current trends within them
To understand what kind of creative styles are found appealing by children and teens
3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE
Respondent Methodology
Groups, paired depths and one-on-one interviews were conducted as per below
3 x opinion former interviews
* Senior police person: Annie Mitchener
* RSO at Milton Keynes: Kevin Clinton
* David Frost at Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents
* Plus a number of road safety experts were spoken with over the course of briefing conversations. In a
couple of cases these mutated into extended interviews
30 x groups and 4 x paired depth immersion studies
4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE cont.
REFERENCE
AGE
GENDER
CRITERIA
LOCATION
Group 1
4–6
Males
Reception Year
Group 2
4–6
Females
Year 1
Group 3
4 – 6, Parents of
N/A
Reception/Year 1– Ethnic
Group 4
4 – 6, Parents of
N/A
Reception/Year 1
Group 5
7–9
Males
Year 3
Birmingham
Group 6
7 –9
Females
Year 3
Somerset
Group 7
7—9
Males
Year 2, Ethnic
Group 8
7 –9
Males
Year 4, Disadvantaged Ethnic
Group 9
7 –9, Parents of
N/A
Year 3 – 4, Disadvantaged
Group 10
7 – 9, Parents of
N/A
Year 3 or 4
Group 11
10 – 11
Males
Year 6
Stockport
Group 12
10 – 11
Males
Year 7
Somerset
Group 13
10 –11
Females
Year 6
Suffolk
Group 14
10 – 11
Females
Year 7
Bexleyheath
Group 15
10 – 11
Males
Year 6, Ethnic
Lee
Group 16
10 – 11
Females
Year 7, Ethnic
Birmingham
Group 17
10 – 11
Male
Year 7, Disadvantaged
Camberwell
Stockport
Suffolk
Camberwell
Somerset
Camden
Lee
Stockport
Suffolk
5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE cont.
REFERENCE
AGE
GENDER
CRITERIA
LOCATION
Group 18
10 –11
Male
Year 6, Disadvantaged
Group 19
10 – 11, Parents of
N/A
Year 6 or 7
Group 20
10 – 11, Parents of
N/A
Year 6 or 7, Disadvantaged
Group 21
12 – 14
Male
Year 8
Suffolk
Group 22
12 – 14
Female
Year 8
Somerset
Group 23
12 – 14
Male
Year 9, Ethnic
Bexleyheath
Group 24
12 – 14
Male
Year 9, Disadvantaged
Birmingham
Group 25
12 – 14, Parents of
N/A
Year 8 or 9, Ethnic
Group 26
15 – 16
Male
Year 11
Stockport
Group 27
15 – 16
Female
Year 10
Suffolk
Group 28
15 – 16
Male
Year 11, Ethnic
Group 29
15 – 16
Male
Year 10, Disadvantaged
Group 30
15 – 16, Parents of
N/A
Year 10 or 11, Ethnic
Paired Depth 1
12 – 14
Male
Year 9
Camden
Paired Depth 2
12 – 14
Female
Year 8
Camberwell
Paired Depth 3
15 – 16
Male
Year 10
Camberwell
Paired Depth 4
15 – 16
Female
Year 11
Camden
Camden
Suffolk
Bexleyheath
Lee
Camberwell
Camden
Birmingham
6
1. RESPONDENTS’ FAVOURITE THINGS, AND WHAT THEY
REVEAL
Overview
Interesting to note that disadvantaged often have as much new technology in their bedrooms as
other members of the sample, perceived as necessity rather than luxury
* For example one 15 year old disadvantaged respondent had the following in his bedroom: TV, DVD
player, PSP, iPod, laptop
Where differences between disadvantaged and others become apparent is in literacy levels, as
noted, attitudes to violence [see later], music preferences, and notions of respect in relation to peer
acceptance
All the age bands are consuming/watching material above their age brackets – films, gaming, music,
etc
4 – 6 year olds
4 – 6 year olds talk of computer games as a favourite thing… has implications
* Hi grade animation – view ‘Hedgehogs’ as old-fashioned
* Visual literacy kicking in at younger age
* Used to interacting with visual stimulus
All love drawing, expressing themselves
Into branded goods/properties, often with their roots in films and TV series: Scooby Do, Cinderella,
Lightning McQueen [from ‘Cars’]
Still plenty of traditional pursuits eg fairies and princesses, castles and knights
7
1. RESPONDENTS’ FAVOURITE THINGS, AND WHAT THEY
REVEAL cont.
7 – 9 year olds
Technology much more prominent, particularly hand held eg PSP and Nintendo DS… maybe even more
prominent among disadvantaged
Beginning to access adult emotions through media eg Simpsons, Dr. Who
Tamagotchi clearly made a return
Increasingly into sport participation… especially team-based such as football and netball; sport starting to
be a differentiator among children
10 – 11 year olds
A sense that interests are tightening and narrowing, developing a real sense of what they like doing
Trends noted among 7 – 9 year olds such as prevalence of technology and move toward sport are more
marked among 10 – 11 year olds
Beginning to diversify in terms of taste under technology umbrella eg different types of hand held, games
consoles etc
Music emerges for the first time as an interest… precursor to adolescent pursuits; both listening and
playing; music based listening/downloading technology such as iPods and MP3s emerging as key
Phones emerge as key favourite… in tandem with increasing independence and freedom
A difference between rural and urban becomes noticeable at this age
* Rural favourites revolving around pets and more traditional toys…staying younger, older
* Urban more likely to pursue indoor activities
Among girls fashion preferences beginning to become evident
8
1. RESPONDENTS’ FAVOURITE THINGS, AND WHAT THEY
REVEAL cont.
12 – 14 year olds
Starting to cite socialising as a favourite thing [sign of things to come…move away from family]
Females becoming more interested in their own appearance
* Make up
* Hair products eg hair straightening
* Specific items of clothing or footwear
Music based listening and downloading technology even more abundant
Within the context of our sample, more idiosyncratic outdoor pursuits emerge as key eg fishing, gardening
Serious games consoles more prevalent eg Xbox 360, aspirations to next generation
Beginning to pursue serious interest in creative self-expression eg painting, music creation
Sport as defining … participation and watching. A sense that it is particularly, though not exclusively,
important among some disadvantaged
15 – 16 year olds
Interests becoming more adult/late teenage
“Bed, booze, fags.” [15 – 16 boy]
Live music/club going emerges as an interest
Potential careers emerge as interests eg textile work, army cadets
Serious computer ownership eg laptops – being used to communicate, research, play, create
Serious [first] relationships for a minority… especially disadvantaged
Trend towards creative self-expression even more marked – making films, making tunes, singing, painting
9
1. RESPONDENTS’ FAVOURITE THINGS, AND WHAT THEY
REVEAL cont.
Perhaps a sense that disadvantaged more overtly into branded goods eg Xbox, PS2, iPod, phone make and
model
And amongst some, noted trend for piercing and tattoos beginning to emerge
10
2. A NOTE ABOUT WHAT 12 + DO IN THEIR SPARE TIME
Increasingly spending time with each other rather than family
Peer pressure/acceptance supplants family equivalent
Increasingly likely to characterise defining state of being as bored
A lot of seemingly aimless hanging out at
Shopping centres
Shops – drift between and around
Parks
Car Parks in front of community centres
Each other’s bedrooms, etc etc
Beginning to eat out at entry level restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Nando’s where ability to socialise without
being ushered away/out is as important as food offering
“I think going out to eat with friends is really nice, we both love Nando’s.” [15 – 16 girl]
Don’t want to belabour the obvious, but clearly a time where a lot of boundary pushing, experimentation,
horseplay, accessing adult experience etc all happens
Of an age where they feel that it is up to them to be responsible for and deal with issues eg will want to resolve
bullying or antagonism between different gangs themselves
11
3. TRENDS, FADS
Overview
Differences between disadvantaged, ethnic and more BC1 end of sample noted
* Disadvantaged/ethnic closer to crime/violence at street level
* Disadvantaged/ethnic more likely to be using technology to create music and film
Differences between younger and older
* Younger more likely to be into active, outdoor game playing which persists through to 10
* Under 11s really into collectibles such as football cards, Yugioh cards, Dr Who cards
* Persistence of very traditional playground games marked among under 11s eg British bulldog and tag,
kiss chase, mummies and daddies/doctors and nurses
* 10 – 11 year olds more likely to talk about team-based sports
* 10 – 11 year olds more likely to cite socialising, just standing around and chatting as something which
is on trend; moving away from childish game playing
* 12 – 14 year olds more likely to cite online eg YouTube, MSN or new technology eg slide up phones,
next generation consoles
* 15 – 16 year olds more likely to cite music based technology, very specific web sites, creative
expression [eg mcing], drugs, alcohol and parties
Lots of transient cultural stuff
* Alex Rider books now on the way out, Kickers on the way out after one of their periodic revivals,
Pussycat Dolls feel like they have plateaued and may be descending, etc etc
12
3 . TRENDS, FADS cont.
Anti Social Behaviour
Theft
* A lot of talk among urban respondents about dog theft as being on ascendancy; in this milieu dogs are
status symbol, closely allied to respect, peer acceptance; sign of aggression rather than protection
− Noted that increasingly common to see pregnant dogs on council estates – breeding dangerous
dogs increasingly prevalent as a source of income
− Over course of one paired depth immersion, some boys came to the door to see if interviewee had
any dogs to sell
* Talk of jacking on the street as very common eg mobile phones, iPods, dinner money… disadvantaged
parent who works with problem teens in Peckham asserts that it’s all about quick access to easy cash;
immediate gratification… teenage respondents who have experience in this area say it is as much about
power and its deployment/expression as it is about easy cash
* Shoplifting still a major entry level crime… as much for the thrill and peer acceptance as desire for item
Drugs
* Not confined to urban disadvantaged…
* … a sense that drugs are part of the fabric once 15 or 16
* Significant number of our respondents talk of smoking ‘weed’ [interesting that the term ‘weed’ has
supplanted ‘spliff’ or ‘hash’ or ‘dope’ as moniker… implies grass rather than resin is the norm]
“Drugs are becoming very common, mainly marijuana…some people have joints at lunchtime.” [15 –
16 girl]
13
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
* Minority, including rural, have accessed or been in the immediate vicinity of Class A drug taking –
typically ecstasy or cocaine, though prevalence of magic mushrooms among BC1 noted
“I smoke weed on my own and I think quite a few of my friends do.” [15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
“Almost all of my friends do drugs, weed, crow [cocaine], some people dip weed in stuff and sell it.”
[15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
“I know my boyfriend has taken cocaine when we’ve been out, he smokes weed and drinks too.” [15
– 16 girl]
* For minority of disadvantaged appeal of drugs is rooted in the fact that they can make money via
them… serves to differentiate from alcohol
“Alcohol is not as popular as drugs because you can’t make money from it.” [15 --- 16 boy, ethnic]
* Not everybody is doing/accessing drugs, there is a sense among some younger 12 – 14 year olds that it
is mainly the province of ‘ones that come from bad families,’… implies that drugs become more
accessible & normalised for older, 15 +
Violence
* Serious violence on the up for some ethnic and disadvantaged, as well as other urban and suburban;
violence increasingly a first course of action
“Last year was not innocent, but compared to last year, the violence has really escalated…” [15 – 16
boy, ethnic]
− One of our 15 – 16 disadvantaged respondents turned up late for interview because he had just
been involved in a fight
“School’s okay… there’s always trouble, arguing, fights between students, fights between
teachers and students.” [15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
14
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
* For ethnic/disadvantaged it tends to be rooted in pursuit of respect and peer acceptance, or territorial
skirmishes which are typically gang-related
“If somebody crosses into our territory there has to be retaliation, sometimes weapons get involved
– knives, hammers, anything that’s sharp…not guns yet, though me and him know people who
own guns.” [15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
“Yeah, I think one of the biggest trends is violence on the street, out on the estate, at school,
fighting, random fights and retaliations.” [15 – 16 boy, ethnic]
“We all made resolutions that if something happens, if somebody violates, we retaliate.” [15 – 16
boy, ethnic]
“Everyone is in a gang at both of our schools, if you don’t show respect… you get what you get.” [15
– 16 boy, disadvantaged]
* A sense that some suburban respondents are attempting to emulate their urban counterparts
* Interesting to note that trend for happy slapping appears to be on the decline, lost its shock value, no
longer belongs to them, become media fodder
* Female on female violence seems to be on the increase, particularly among disadvantaged/urban… our
paired depth immersion among 12 – 14 female disadvantaged confirms this, talk of attacking a female
peer on grounds that she insulted a friend
* Knives increasingly common – no longer a last resort, something that lends holder respect
* Some ethnic and disadvantaged talk of guns being brought into school to impress; in our 15 – 16 paired
depth immersion among ethnic, one respondent knows 3 people who’ve died from gun violence, the
other knows 1
* Worth noting that above is not part of rural experience – possible to find random violence eg drunk
teenagers, violent horseplay eg spin the bottle and attack person bottle ends up pointing at, but
nothing on scale of urban/suburban
15
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
Bullying
* A sense that bullying is more in the limelight as an issue, schools being forced to deal with it by press
exposure and parental pressure… but not always successfully – sense that adults don’t deal with it
effectively, can actually help perpetuate and exacerbate situation by wading in too heavily, violently
even
* Cyber bullying feels like it’s on an upsurge, our respondents talk of spiteful and vindictive targeting of
individuals, sometimes by themselves; for some, a sense that hours are spent trawling social
networking sites, looking for individuals to poke fun at… which is one of the reasons why there seems to
be the beginnings of a backlash against these sites among some of our sample, particularly BC1
− Perhaps a sense that medium suits female bullying
“On Piczo, you get to create your own website, you let other people see it… but this girl we know got
bullied on a Haters site… the site was called amyakabutters.piczo.com…she was forced to move…
there’s quite a lot of calling people names on their sites.” [12 – 14 girl, disadvantaged]
− Above represents downside of social networking phenomenon… the more teenagers reveal about
themselves on what are basically public sites, the more they lay themselves open to cyber
bullying…
New Technology
Strong sense of convergence being a defining trend among our sample, more marked than among adults;
sense that children and teenagers are welcoming, significant number of adults resisting
Increasingly the norm for mobile phone to be used as camera, radio, MP3, even for playing games
“I’ve got a Nokia 6230i phone and I use it to play music or take pictures or make videos.” [15 – 16 boy,
ethnic]
“I listen to the radio on my phone, mainly Kiss 100.” [12 – 14 disadvantaged]
16
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
* Even a sense that mobile phone is usurping iPod… at least with mobile phone when listening to music,
phone ring cuts through… with iPod a sense of being more isolated
* Re camera, again a sense that mobile phone has potential to usurp digital camera… expectations are
that new generation of mobile phones will be on par in quality terms
− Lots of uploading photos from social events or gatherings to sites where photos can be viewed by
all… increasingly common for oldest to view weekend shenanigans in the cold, sober light of
Monday or Tuesday
− Even evidence of short films being made where parts of the filming have been undertaken via
video function on mobile… accessibility and ease outweighing quality issues
Where iPods still in use, interesting to note that some of our respondents have two – either one as mother
lode and other as smaller or as fashion accessory where one is different colour to other
Increasing evidence of females encroaching on what was traditionally male territory: computer games
Nintendo Wii is really percolating through, adding a new physical dimension to interaction with games…
perceived as beginning of next generation… expect more
Also increasing evidence of females having more confidence with computer technology eg where uploads
and downloads used to be province of brother or boyfriend now undertaken solus
Online
Dealt with in more detail in media section
Vast majority of our sample, including disadvantaged, have access to online, often inhome
MSN and social networking sites unsurprisingly drive online interaction for many
Perhaps a sense that Myspace is losing ground amongst teenage respondents, versus Bebo, even Facebook
and Faceparty… latter feel a little more exclusive, more for their age; sense that MySpace has been taken
from them by big business
17
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
Also a sense among some that increasing boredom with these sites … novelty wears off
“I got addicted to MySpace when I first joined at the beginning of Year 10, everyone was talking about it
so I wanted to see what the fuss was about, I really got into it, but then it started to feel really shallow,
it felt like more of a waste of time. I started not going out much, just sitting in my room.” [15 – 16
girl]
Evidence that some meeting partners via online environment… has very quickly become normalised, a new
way to meet partner
Fashion
Lots of micro trends noted, especially by 12+ female sample eg
* People wearing one glove
* Slicking – girls gelling hair to their head
* Girls wearing bags back to front
* Teen girls appropriating children’s iconography eg Dora the Explorer rucksacks, Winnie the Pooh
umbrellas
* Wearing trousers at half mast still common, though females increasingly adopting
* Ethnic boys talk of new era caps… like baseball caps except fuller and more decorative in terms of
imagery emblazoned on them
* Adoption of American urban casual wear by disadvantaged and ethnic respondents marked eg Avirex
and Nike track suits
* ¾ length leggings with skirts
* Urban and suburban 11 + females accessing catwalk type fashions via Top Shop, Primark, H & M
18
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
Race/Religion
Some urban respondents note that religion can be a touchy subject at school, especially where there are
devout Muslims/practising Christians
Some parental concern that religious fervour is cause for concern eg Somerset 12 – 14 who is practising
Christian says some of her friends are prevented by their parents from visiting her home
A sense that some racial groups keep to themselves in the school playground… perhaps a feeling,
commented on by one or two parents, that the UK is less integrated than it was in wake of asylum seeker
panic and post-Iraq
* eg Turkish boys keeping to themselves in Lewisham schools
* eg West African boys steering clear of their Jamaican counterparts
* eg Russians stand apart, even for East Europeans
* eg Pakistani boys increasingly conscious of their identity
“Saying stuff about religion, race and families can cause tension at our school.” [12 – 14 boy,
disadvantaged]
“At our school there are some Somalis, a lot of Asians, Russians, Turkish, English and three
Americans… some groups do mix, but some stay separate.” [12 – 14 boy, disadvantaged]
White disadvantaged and some BC1 unselfconsciously appropriate aspects of black urban culture, from
patois and slang [see vocabulary section later– loads of slang emanating from black culture picked up by
white counterparts], via fashion, to mode of walking and music… even hair styling [tight bunches at weird
angle on head for females, patterns shaved into close cropped nape and sideboards for men]
Food
Increasing accessibility to ethnic food manifest in urban and suburban take up of African and East European
food stuffs
19
3. TRENDS, FADS cont.
Interestingly sushi regarded as absolutely mainstream by urban and suburban BC1 and some
ethnic/disadvantaged… what pallets 5 or 10 years ago would have found adventurous is now par for the
course
“I’ll eat Thai or Vietnamese, we have a great Vietnamese café in Camberwell.” [15 – 16 boy,
disadvantaged]
20
4. WHAT SCHOOLS HAVE BANNED
The gap between urban and rural is never so marked as when discussing what schools have
banned… at most extreme end, schools in Lewisham and Camberwell have officially banned hand guns and
knives, while their Suffolk counterparts have banned British bulldog
Certain things that schools frown on more of an issue in urban environment
* Sexual harrassment clearly a problem in some inner city schools
“Sheriff raped a girl in Year 8, or maybe it wasn’t rape, he fingered her without her consent, he tried
to touch me up once, but I got someone to beat him up. He tried to do it to Amy.” [12 – 14 girl,
disadvantaged]
At younger end, banning revolves around
Fighting or games that involve fighting
Collectibles – on the grounds they cause disputes and upsets
Games that involve rough and tumble such as British bulldog
7 – 9 year olds have been banned from taking handheld consoles to school on the grounds that they are a
huge distraction and may also cause disputes
Chocolate and chewing gum
Among 10 – 11 year olds, revolve around similar to above, though more specific reference to games that
involve fighting and ball games for fear of damage to property
Big shift noted among 12 – 14 year olds
Mobile phones on grounds that they are distracting and invite crime
iPods and PSPs for similar reasons
Fashion accessories eg big earrings, wearing hats in class, branded shoes – on grounds that introduces a
competitive element that can cause friction
21
4. WHAT SCHOOLS HAVE BANNED cont.
Particular fashion apparel or footwear which become associated with modes of behaviour that the school
doesn’t approve of eg Converse, criss cross tights, cropped tee shirts that expose midriff, spaghetti strap
tops, short skirts if not worn with opaque tights
Smoking
15 – 16 year olds similar to 12 – 14 with additional provisos about intoxicants, weaponry especially guns &
knives, extreme hairstyles
“We’re not allowed to sell drugs or anything else, we’re not allowed to fight, we’re not allowed weapons, we’re
not allowed to bring phones and electrical equipment like PSPs into school…but no one follows these rules.”
[15 – 16 boy, ethnic]
22
5. ROLE MODELS
A sense that for over 11 traditional notion of role models is a bit hackneyed
Under 11s generally don’t have a problem citing favourite sports heroes or TV characters
Tendency to cite people who are close to home, either immediate family members for BC1 or extended
family members for some ethnic and disadvantaged… need to empathise with role model before they
claim them
Over 12s sometimes have a tendency to respect peers and friends first, then family…
A friend with what is perceived as a talent can be elevated to a pedestal within their peer group
“My friend is nearly better than Mariah Carey.” [12 – 14 girl, disadvantaged]
Older BC1 respondents sometimes talk in more abstract terms about the kinds of people they respect
“People who are sure of who they are and respect themselves.” [15 – 16 girl]
“People who do brave things like standing up to bad people or people who have got through something really
difficult, I respect Angelina Jolie because she had a bad childhood and has grown up well.” [15 – 16 girl]
Significant minority of ethnic males aware of their lack of positive male role models – being talked about
in media recently
1 or 2 ethnic/disadvantaged talk of themselves as their own role models… no one else in their family
achieving anything, they are pulling themselves out of the mire, educating themselves
Interesting to note young females talking of anti-role models, girls they don’t want to end up like
“Nasty girls, hos and give-heads, they wear mini skirts and let boys touch them, they do dirty things.” [12 –
14 girl, disadvantaged]
“Girls who like to look chung, but take it too far with make-up and short skirts.” [12 – 14 girl, disadvantaged]
23
5. ROLE MODELS cont.
Some disadvantaged find it easier to cite celebrities, particularly music and sports stars, whether they be
from past such as Pele, Eric Cantona or from the present like 50 Cent
“I love NDubz, he’s sick, the tunes he makes are just wicked.” [12 – 14 girl, disadvantaged]
However tendency is to acknowledge impact of celebrities but question their worth or pertinence
on closer perusal
The one group of role models consistently cited by disadvantaged Afro-Caribbean respondents in London centres
around grime music, they come from the same council estates and milieus as our respondents, spit about
violence and drug dealing, show understanding
Interesting that disadvantaged Afro-Caribbean have means to express creativity closer to hand, find it
easier to make/create music utilising software like Ableton…their role models in that sense are much closer
to them than BC1 counterparts
DJing and mcing is a route to respect for disadvantaged Afro-Caribbean… also more achievable in some
instances than being a straightforward musician
“They respect people who sing that stupid grime music.” [12 – 14 parent, ethnic]
“They can relate to it, these people are singing about the lifestyle they are now living, it’s like dreaming,
that could be me one day.” [12 – 14 parent, ethnic]
Same respondents talk of respecting post codes – territorial sensibility emerges when discussing people they
respect
Some disadvantaged respondents occasionally talk of respecting teacher who gives them time, shows
understanding and respect
24
5. ROLE MODELS cont.
“This teacher showed boys in his year that he respects their opinion, he ain’t going to treat them no different,
he gave them leeway, okay, I understand, but don’t do it again. They all looked up to him. He was a bit
more lenient than other teachers. He also taught them business and out of his own pocket he incentivised
them, he gave them certain tasks and if they got good enough grades, they got a fiver. It made them very
competitive but in a business sense [rather than postcode sense], it made them think hard.” [12 – 14
parent, ethnic]
“Jill, a teacher who helps in student support, she’s got time for you, she’s caring.” [12 – 14 girl,
disadvantaged]
25
6. HOPES
Interesting trend among disadvantaged to note prevalence of more long-term hopes
Significant number speak of desire to be educated/gain a skill, first rung in independence ladder; talk
about this kind of thing as a concrete process rather than something abstract… education as functional
rather than edifying
“I need to get 5 GCSEs, then I can go to college and move out, if I get 5 GCSEs, the government will pay
for my apartment.” [15 – 16 boy, ethnic]
Some express overt desire for independence as manifest in owning/having their own apartment or
space
BC1 respondents talk more in terms of self expression and happiness
Desire is for a job that is enjoyed in its own right and isn’t something you do to survive
Interesting how disadvantaged are sometimes already expressing themselves in creative terms but don’t talk of
this kind of thing as a route out/means of earning a living, whereas BC1s who aren’t expressing themselves in
quite the same way talk of self-expression as an ultimate goal
BC1 females more likely to talk about abstract notions of friendship/relationships than their disadvantaged
counterparts
Younger disadvantaged girls who can really focus on people’s appearances often talk of moving into beauty as
a profession
“I want to have my own beauty store, I’ve planned on being a beautician since I was 9.” [12 – 14 girl,
disadvantaged]
When talk turns to travel intentions among 13 +, disadvantaged more likely to think in terms of two week
holiday breaks in Mediterranean/Western Europe, others more likely to think in terms of gap year and worldwide
experience
26
7. FEARS
Already discussed in first presentation, but worth reiterating that gun crime and violence much more of a real
concern/threat for urban respondents
“Somebody close to us was murdered by the Peckham boys in Deptford, near The Albany, a couple of months
ago.” [12 – 14 parent, disadvantaged]
Parental fears, unsurprisingly revolve around their children or teenagers being exposed to drugs, violence,
corruption
Tendency for parents to think that their child is likely to be corrupted rather than a corruptor
Parents recognise that they were far more free range as children, were allowed out more on their own at a
younger age, these days scared of their children meeting corrupting influences, or being abducted or on the
receiving end of or involved with violence/crime
Move from primary to secondary school is a flash point for parental concern
27
8. WHAT MAKES PEOPLE LAUGH [in real life]
Across 10 + sample a sense that elements below elicit laughter… humour in real life often revolves around
slapstick or crudity
Pain, particularly somebody hurting themselves unexpectedly
Transgressive behaviour
Bodily functions, especially in inappropriate settings
Humiliation
Gratuitous swearing
Cussing eg denigrating family members [ethnic and disadvantaged]
Taking the mickey out of people who have what is perceived as an obvious flaw
Prank calling
28
9. HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PEERS
MORE MEANINGFUL
Phone
1 on 1, face to face
Video chat
MSN (younger)
Talking face to face within a
group
MSN (some older)
Can talk 1 on 1 about private/personal
issues; phone interface also allows
for discussion of embarrassing
matters e.g. asking someone out on
a date; media diaries suggest
landline used as much as mobile for
cost reasons
Can talk about private/personal
issues, out of earshot of others
Minority usage but where 1 to 1,
more trusted than MSN
Nature of sitting at PC on own
engenders feelings of privacy; some
talk of shockingly intimate
discussions on public MSN service;
for some, usurping texting
Less personal, more joking, messing
around or discussion about lessons,
work etc; less private so more
cautious
Potential to misinterpret; not
private
Texting
LESS MEANINGFUL
More frivolous e.g. random silliness,
gossip; orientation e.g. asking
where a person is; NOT trusted by
gang members because of
potential to be misinterpreted;
sense of significant numbers
moving from texting, despite
current portability issues
29
10. LANGUAGE
Respondents talk of language on the playground or in the street as constantly evolving
Disadvantaged, ethnic and urban respondents have appropriated the language of urban
Americans, Afro Caribbeans & gangsters
Rural respondents, particularly BC1, have appropriated text and MSN speak, as per the last chart
in this section
Air time, or ‘get aired’
Same as ‘blanking’, when
someone doesn’t return your
hello
Babes
A good thing to call a girl
Back off
If a girl has a big bum, they say
she has a back off
Bad breed
Troublemaker
Blazing
Smoking a joint
Blood
Your friend
Bop
Walk
Boyd
You’ve been cussed
Bredwigin
Mate
Bunning
Smoking a joint
Butters
Ugly
Chest
If a girl has big boobs
Chicks
A good thing to call a girl
Chung
Really nice
Cool
Bye or hello
30
10. LANGUAGE cont.
Cotching
To chill out
Cozy
Short for cousin
Cuss
Taking the piss out of someone or
exaggerating
Endz
Your area
Fam
Brother, friend/your street family
Girldem
Group of girls who are your friends
Grammy
Very, very good
Heavy
Good
Joong
Slag or slut
Mandem
Group of boys who are your friends
Mingin
Ugly
Moist
Waste of space
Neeky
Combination of nerd and geek or slow
thinking or bad dresser
Neto
Good
Peng
Really fit
Rude Boy
How to greet a friend
Shanking
Stab with pen
Shower girl/boy
Good girl, you know when to stop giving
attitude
31
10. LANGUAGE cont.
Shubz
House parties
Sick
Good
Skeen
Okay
Snaked
To have been deceived
Tags
Nick names
Tapping
Having had sex with someone
Wag 1
Hello, hi [texting and face to
face]
Waste man
Similar to ‘shut up’
What’s good
How you doing?
Zoots
Spliffs or joints
32
10. LANGUAGE cont.
ATM
At the moment
CBA
Can’t be arsed
DTTF
Due to the fact
LMAO
Laugh my ass off
LOL
Laugh out loud
Mothertrucker prettyful
Pretty
OMG
Oh my god
Rare
Bad
33
11. WHAT WORKS IN ADVERTISING TERMS FOR OUR SAMPLE
We didn’t spend a lot of time over the course of interviews probing what works re advertising though in perhaps
the majority of groups and interviews we would spend a few minutes talking about advertising from outside of
the road safety sector that resonated… below represents what we’ve extrapolated from those conversations…
it’s not definitive, more of a starting point for discussion and/or additional research
Across 8 to 16 communications that stand out exhibit at least one of the following:
Helps to be advertising in a sector that respondents feel close to eg computer games, or is in a
sector that is very pertinent eg STI advertising for 13 +
Intelligence, may require a degree of effort to decode …once decoded offers a sense of reward [so not
just willfully obtuse for its own sake unless in a sector such as gaming or new technology where obtuseness
can be perceived as a virtue in communications]
* eg current Apple advertising enjoyed by PC literate respondents who enjoy how computer language is
linked to real life
Doing or showing something markedly different or unexpected for the medium or sector can elicit
stand out … although if gratuitous and somehow get nuance wrong, will be dismissed… 3 network
executions cited as good example of doing something so willfully leftfield and different it has stand out
For older, discretion sometimes important, branding not too in your face, no desperate hard sell
Humour always cited across sample, respondents always say they like the funny ones
* Obviously humour comes in hundreds of forms… examples cited currently include Fosters beer ads for
oldest respondents, GHD which outlines social etiquette rules in a kind of commandment structure for
females, willfully silly Crunchy Nut Cereals for youngest, adult/child role reversal in Haribo executions,
man caught in a bear trap in Virgin advertising which manages to be both violent and funny, etc
34
11. WHAT WORKS IN ADVERTISING TERMS FOR OUR SAMPLE
cont.
A catchy strap line or visual or auditory mnemonic that stands for product/brand can help stand out
eg Phones 4U, Mazda and ‘zoom, zoom zoom,’ Renault ‘shake your…’
Visual wow factor can engender stand out eg some Sony Playstation, Sony Bravia, Sony bouncing balls,
and – increasingly – T Mobile executions eg building sinking to the floor etc: respondents like advertising
which looks like effort was expended on its creation
Utilisation of music can enhance appeal, stand out
* Most credit given for ‘discovering’ a tune, least credit for appropriating a current pop hit
* Sonic cues can get under respondents’ skin eg Intel for oldest
“Music can be effective because music makes you feel all different things.” [15 – 16 girl]
“I like the old Hedgehog that teaches kids safety, I used to hum the song when I crossed the road
when I was little.” [15 – 16 girl]
Shock factor can create impact eg don’t get hooked anti-cigarette advertising talked about across sample
Evolving narrative across a number of executions or number of executions around a theme can
facilitate impact, each new execution serving to remind about previous ones
Females and younger males talk of advertising which elicits genuine emotion as having stand out eg
dog trust advertising with cute dogs which are homeless
“The picture of a man with Downs Syndrome and it says, ‘you have looked at him longer than an
employer has,’ it’s quite sad, it makes an impact, it makes you feel something.” [15 – 16 girl]
Showing understanding of respondents’ milieu, whether that’s normal family life or one of their
subcultures, or them with their peers etc… but get nuance wrong and very negative response will be elicited
35
11. WHAT WORKS IN ADVERTISING TERMS FOR OUR SAMPLE
cont.
“I hate it when they show normal families saying things that they think normal families would say but
then getting it like it’s really false like ‘Oh no, you have my low fat corn…’” [15 – 16 girl]
− Advertising that feels overly contrived or visibly strains in its attempts to show understanding
always poorly received
Adolescent boys being adolescent boys, advertising which has semi-clad good looking women will
always catch their eye, even if branding can be problematic and they all merge into one
In online terms, degree of interactivity which gives consumer chance to get up close to product and
engage with it [Mini Cooper viral for 15 – 16 year old males] or takes advantage of the medium and
reflects it somehow; sense that the best online communications are more targeted and discrete
1 or 2 respondents talk about online advertising which has an almost transgressive note cutting
through… respondents not sure whether it’s proper or fake advertising eg VW ad on YouTube in which
Muslim man gets in a car, drives in front of a crowd, reaches to push a button…
Disadvantaged/some ethnic talk of standout being facilitated by advertising in media that they feel
ownership of eg Channel U which has status of underground/pirate in their culture
36
12. MUSIC
Overview
For significant numbers music is background rather than something regularly, actively consumed
* Soundtracks other activities
* Substantiated when we asked respondents which particular songs or acts they like and they struggle to
identify names beyond genre descriptors
For the majority music is not defining, increasingly eclectic tastes are the norm outside of
disadvantaged and some ethnic
R n B and hip hop seemingly ubiquitous across lots of the sample
For 14 + disadvantaged who are really into music Hip Hop has lost relevance and salience, apart
from UK hip hop [a term that would have been an oxymoron a few years ago]
Indian pop and Bangra is massive across Asian sample though press reports that it is breaking out
into the mainstream seem unfounded
Traditional dance music such as house clearly descending, music for adults not our sample unless it’s
soundtracking films, television programmes
Grime and bashment regularly cited by ethnic and disadvantaged in London – but seem a London only
phenomena. Within these circles, represents the genuine sound of the underground
Where interest in music is really marked there is sometimes a tendency for preferences to be a
little less eclectic eg sample who are really into grime unlikely to be into rock music, or sample into the
more esoteric end of indie less likely to be into R n B
At youngest end of sample, ‘High School Musical’ soundtrack is a genuine phenomenon
Among 9 + not surprising to find respondent listening to music from the dim and distant past as well as
the present
37
12. MUSIC cont.
* eg names commonly cited range across likes of Jimi Hendrix, Queen [absolutely huge still], Nirvana,
Pink Floyd even Johnnie Cash
* Clearly accessing parental music
The majority are downloading rather than purchasing music although interesting phenomenon noted
among 1 or 2 indie aficionados which is to reject downloading in favour of purchasing – imbues music with
more meaning and resonance when it’s paid for and actively sought out rather than passively downloaded…
also noted that CD artwork, lyrics etc are desirable and all part of the music package
More information about specific preferences across age breaks can be found in appendix, below represents
a taster
7 – 9 year olds
Taste defined by pop music that’s in the charts eg Girls Aloud, Charlotte Church, Shane Ward, smattering of
the most accessible end of R n B such as Beyonce
‘High School Musical’ enormous
At oldest end occasional accessible indie rock such as The Killers… implies older sibling influence
10 – 11 year olds
Evidence that some 10 – 11 year olds starting to get more engaged in music. Pre group activity starts to
reveal eclectic tastes such as 1 respondent’s citing of the following as music preferences – rock, old school
rap, NWA, Cyprus Hill; punk rock: Nickleback, LimpBizkit, Nirvana, Green Day and Queen and more
contemporary hip hop like 50 Cent
Females start to cite female pop artists, feel more ownership of them eg commonly cite Britney Spears, Lilly
Allen, Pink, The Cheetah Girls, Girls Aloud, Pussycat Dolls
TV shows and film soundtracks big among females eg Dirty Dancing, Hannah Montana
Occasional precociousness evident via citing of obscure indie bands
38
12. MUSIC cont.
12 – 14 year olds
Evidence among some white or BC1 males of interest in indie or rock music developing via citing of
increasingly leftfield or obscure bands
Majority of females likely to be into pop or chart R n B or chart hip hop… sometimes all three at once;
occasional evidence of white or BC1 females being more into indie or rock than pop/R n B
Ethnic respondents generally into hip hop and R n B
Disadvantaged beginning to show interest in more esoteric urban music such as grime, drum n bass; where
interest in music is marked more likely to cite rap than hip hop – lyrics as important as the beats
15 – 16 year olds
White males often characterised by eclectic tastes
As per 12 – 14, tendency for real aficionados to cite rap rather than hip hop
Disadvantaged as per above plus some cite bashment [a type of Jamaican dancehall] and discovering
parental roots reggae and dub
Female BC1s all over the place in terms of taste, from pop [Girls Aloud] via accessible hip hop [Kanye
West] via compilations of indie and urban music to the more popular indie bands such as the Arctic
Monkeys
39
12. MUSIC cont.
Music Mapping
Music Aficionado
Grime
indie/
Rap
dance
crossover
Roots/Reggae
Esoteric indie
R ‘n B
Accessible indie: Arctic
Monkeys, etc
Urban/beats
Accessible hip
hop (50 Cent)
Traditional
(guitar, bass,
drums)
House music
Rock music: Travis,
Coldplay, etc
Music as Background
40
13. MEDIA HIERARCHY
ONLINE
TELEVISION
RADIO
Younger
MAGAZINES
Older
NEWSPAPERS
(local, free & weekend)
41
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL
Overview
All multi media consumers
Tendency to be online with the TV/music/radio on and variations therein
Greatest affinity for online environment, more for and by them, possible to access other media via online
TV still delivering but less reliant on it, particularly once venturing out into real world on their own
Radio feels like it’s enjoying resurgence eg huge number of pirate radio stations cited by urban London
sample, rural sample talk of listening to regularly when going to and from school
Overall feeling is that magazines are in terminal decline except for when specialist interest served
Majority seem quite big film viewers, youngest being exposed to 15 and 18 rated movies… mediated access
to adult emotion
Online
Entry level activity for online tends to revolve around gaming for 6+
Next stage of usage revolves around communication and downloading which can kick in from 9 +
Trend to creativity among 12 + finds expression online more than anywhere else
Interesting to note that press hyped phenomena such as Second Life not cutting through with our sample
Online consumption chart: see over
42
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
Online Consumption Chart
WHAT USE FOR
WHERE SOURCE
Research for homework eg
User generated
Play/entertainment
Social networking
Online shopping
File sharing
Communication
Blogs
Self expression
Chat rooms
Downloading
Search engines
Accessing offline media
Media providers e.g. radio stations
Supporting specialist interest
Specialist interest providers
43
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
Interesting sites that respondents talked about
* Very youngest talk of carefully patrolled chat rooms like Club Penguin… getting used to relatively
unstructured, informal discussions with people they’ve never met
* Gaming
− 7 – 9 year olds talk of googling ‘Drive By’ and accessing violent computer game where idea is to
kill as many people as you can in the shortest space of time as possible
* Self expression
− Deviantart.co.uk: respondents put up their own artwork, poetry, etc for others to look at
− Moviemaker.com: tools to make films
“We’ve used Windows Moviemaker… my friend made music and Jake put pictures with the
music.” [15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
“We’ve made movies of me and my friends spitting and mcing.” [15 – 16 boy, disadvantaged]
− Fanfiction: teenagers take TV programmes such as Stargate as their starting point and then write
stories
− Piczo: increasingly used by respondents to create their own websites and let others see them, eg
one of our 13 year old respondents has a website which is worth a look: www.-x-x-teenagedrama-queen-x-x-.piczo.com
− Cubase [?] cited by a couple of disadvantaged males – a site that facilitates music making
44
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
* Play/Entertainment
− Miniclip and rotten.com are huge – provision of humourous/shocking video footage; lots of these
sites come and go, miniclip has lasted the course
“It makes you sick. They take pictures of the most gruesome deaths, like someone being run
over by a bus – there’s one where you see the guy’s hand caught in a blender!” [15 – 16 boy,
disadvantaged]
* YouTube
− Ubiquitous among 9+
− Respondents uploading videos of themselves, family, friends, messing around
− Increasingly important as a way of accessing music eg Esmeedenters – unsigned singer that
suddenly loads of 12 – 14 year old singer are getting obsessed with on the back of YouTube
presence
* Downloading
− Limewire very big across sample, despite issues re legality… far superior to likes of Kazaa in terms
of quality, breadth of offering
* Social networking
− For significant number sense that online involvement with social networking site reflects off line
relationships eg all use Bebo
45
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
TV
Key times/zones emerge as particularly relevant
* Friday night for older with likes of ‘Ugly Betty’
* Saturday morning for younger with more traditional kids’ television
* Saturday night for 10+ with likes of ‘X Factor’, ‘Primeval’, ‘Poker Face’, ‘Dr Who’; a sense that Saturday
evening TV is improving
* Sunday morning for older with Channel 4 T4 zone
Clear progression in tastes from
* 7 –9
− Parental influence beginning to wane… tight control exercised over 4 – 6 year old viewing wanes in
wake of increasing independence
− Specifically made for children eg ‘Zack and Cody’, early morning children’s tv, ‘Tracey Beaker’
− Some adult offering with child appeal eg ‘The Simpsons’
− Occasional soap eg ‘East Enders’
* 10 – 11
− Dominated by grown up television with a smattering of children’s… ratio of 7 – 9s inverted
− Beginning to really get into the sport, males especially, from ‘Match of the Day’ at the more
serious end to ‘WWE Smackdown’ at the more frivolous
− Key programmes include… ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Hollyoaks’, ‘The Bill’, ‘Eastenders’; comedies such as
‘Friends’, ‘Harry Hill/Al Murray’, ‘My Parents Are Aliens’; some typical children’s fare: ‘That’s So
Raven,’ ‘Hannah Montana’, ‘Lizzie McGuire’
46
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
* 12 – 14
− Beginning to get into much more adult fare, including dramas such as ‘Shameless’, ‘Lost’, ‘Prison
Break’, ‘Hotel Babylon’, ‘Waterloo Road’ and comedies such as ‘Ugly Betty’
− Also accessing TV which targets adolescents explicitly eg ‘Skins’ and ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’
− Reality TV more impactful – ‘Shipwrecked’, ‘X Factor’, ‘America’s Next Top Model’
− Interest in cars much more manifest eg ‘Top Gear’
− More viewing of natural history documentaries/programming than the youngest
− Still watching animation but with exception of ‘The Simpsons’ is more explicitly adult eg
‘Futurama’; exception appears to be among disadvantaged where there is still some residual
viewing of ‘Scooby Doo’ and ‘Sponge Bob’
− Comedy consumed is more resolutely adult eg ‘Two Pints of Lager’, ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ [latter
a favourite of Afro-Caribbean respondents]
* 15 – 16
− Programmes which are about conspicuous consumption often resonate eg ‘Pimp My Ride’
− Car programmes such as ‘Top Gear’ really come into their own among this age group
− More specialist preferences begin to emerge as interests narrow, such as an interest in anime
− All age groups will watch music TV but for 15 – 16 year olds becomes more important and
correspondingly more niche eg ‘Scuzz’… and among ethnic and disadvantaged Channel U has
status of their channel, feels like a pirate
− A lot of females citing make over and reality TV eg ‘America’s Next Top Model’, ‘Ten Years Younger’,
‘You Are What You Eat’
− More consumption of shock TV, most commonly found on Five
47
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
− More niche comedy, particularly US such as ‘Malcolm in the Middle’, ‘Scrubs’, ‘Arrested
Development’
− Still consuming programming that targets adolescents explicitly such as ‘OC’ and ‘Hollyoaks’, and
‘Skins’
Radio
As noted, radio feels resurgent
Fits into lives unobtrusively eg can do homework while listening, can listen via phone while on the move
Matches/reflects interests eg pirate radios supporting grime
In terms of listening
* Station rather than programme loyalty
* Respondents into dance/urban music listening to likes of Galaxy and Kiss 100
* Rural respondents listening to local stations – feels more for them than London based likes of Radio 1
“I’d rather listen to Broadland or Radio Suffolk, they just feel more your sort of thing.” [10 – 11 girl]
* Some passive listening of parental favourites eg Heart, Capital, Magic
* Pirate stations ebb and flow but certain emerge as favourites eg Flava FM [87.6], Shine FM [87.9],
Charge FM [90.8], Passion FM [91.8], Déjà vu FM [92.3], Flashback FM [97.6], Mystic FM [98.1], Rinse
FM [100.3], Smoove FM [102.0], Force FM [106.4], Lush FM [107.4]
* Some sports fans listening to Five Alive and Talk Sport… tends to be 12+
48
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
Magazines and Press
Across 10+ sample traditional lifestyle teen titles evidently on downturn
More interest in, and loyalty to, special interest titles
Impact of internet clearly evident re magazine reading decline
All tend to read above their age band eg 15 year olds citing Marie Clare as one of their favourites
* 10 – 11
− Fairly limited consumption amongst boys, repertoires dominated by comics [which may reflect
interest eg football] range from traditional eg ‘Match’ through to TV spin offs eg ‘WWE’, ‘Simpsons’,
etc
− And special interest titles particularly gaming eg PS2/Xbox, as well as a smattering of older titles
eg ‘Max Power’
− 10 – 11 year old girls appear to be reading more novels than their male counterparts, as well as
magazines
− Consumption dropping off in favour of dipping into Mum’s titles such as ‘Yes’, ‘Now’ as well as
Sunday supplements
− Aside from above, repertoires revolve around music based titles such as ‘TV Hits’ and some more
lifestyle teen titles eg ‘Mizz’
* 12 – 14
− Female repetoires increasingly dominated by adult titles eg weekly gossip publications such as
‘Now’, ‘Reveal’, ‘Look’
− Amongst males, comics supplanted more and more by special interest titles eg ‘X Box 360
Magazine’, ‘Max Power’, ‘Fast Car’ and some local press
49
14. MEDIA CONSUMPTION DETAIL cont.
− Interesting to note biographies frequently cited re book choices eg Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney,
Kerry Katona
* 15 – 16
− Glossy monthly titles beginning to emerge amongst females eg Marie Clare, In Style and Glamour,
often supplemented by weekly gossip titles such as ‘Now’, ‘Heat’, ‘OK’
− Amongst males special interest titles beginning to extend to music eg Kerrang and some lads
magazines titles such as ‘Maxim’, ‘Nuts’, ‘Zoo’ which allow for accessing adult material/emotion
50