DUBIT RESEARCH
Talk of the Playground: How long do kids play with toys?
Toys have more competition today than ever before, with mobiles, TV, video games and music eating into children’s leisure time. But when do they tend to lose interest in toys and why? Peter Robinson from youth research agency Dubit surveys 500 children aged between six and 12 to find out
TOY BRANDS don’t have to exist as toys alone: just look at LEGO’s foray into console games, Build-A- Bear’s move into virtual worlds and Moshi Monster’s assault on the music and magazine industry. But when is the right time to move from toy to console? If your brand is only popular with six and seven year olds, is there any point of licensing it as a video game? To answer these sorts of questions, it’s all about understanding the landscape of kids media consumption, and finding out what your audience is into. We surveyed 500 kids between six and 12 years of age (weighted equally) and asked them how many hours each week they spend playing with toys, watching TV, reading books and magazines, and playing games on consoles, mobile devices and PCs online. At first glance the
results (illustrated in the graph) look like bad news for the toy industry, as children’s weekly toy time plummets from 14.41 hours a week at the age of six to under ten hours by the time they’re nine. But – as can be witnessed by the clash of lines – at ten years old these kids expand their entertainment choices. There’s potential for toys to cross to other mediums. In comparison, there’s little competition for children’s time in their early years, with TV and toys dominating their playtime. It’s at this age that books are at their most prominent, too. Although books perform well with six year olds, it is
games devices, especially mobiles, which are the first to break through toy time, first occurring with ten year olds. When children reach the age of 11, mobile gaming is joined by books, music, and console and browser-based gaming. Between the ages of 11 and 12, mobile gaming time increases from 8.4 hours a
week to 12.5, marginally overtaking console gaming. From our experience, we see this as the age children become more independent and get access to their own phones. If you’re looking to keep children engaged with your brand when they hit double figures, gaming and TV are the best places to look to.
If the three gaming
categories are combined, the impact of gaming on other forms of entertainment is even stronger. It would eclipse every category across all ages, except for toys at six years old, where it’s neck and neck. At the age of 12, children spend a total of 33.3 hours per week
playing video games, compared to 17 hours of watching TV and 12 hours spent listening to music. However, this does also reflect dual-screening, where kids are gaming while watching TV, and probably also listening to music at the same time. Children’s time spent on entertainment increases rapidly as they grow up, leaping from 56 hours a week when they’re ten to 74 hours by the time they’re 12. It’s a great opportunity for toys to expand their horizons into new formats.
Age
Dubit is a youth research agency and digital development studio. By utilising a deep understanding of young people’s motivations and behaviours, Dubit works with brand owners to create digital experiences that children love. Phone:0113 394 7920Email:
research@dubitlimited.com
www.toynews–
online.biz May 23
Hours per week
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92