The environment and the issues we face with climate change have been listed by UK children as their biggest concern for the future, the results of a major new piece of global research from Kids Industries revealed this week.
Worries over the state of the environment and human’s impact upon it (such as forests being cut down) was voted by a considerable 33% of UK children surveyed, placing ahead of concerns over financial problems such as not having the money they need to afford things.
The results were shared at a major industry conference this week in London, hosted by Kids Industries. It was at this one-day event that over 200 delegates from the licensing, toy, gaming, edtech, and sustainability sectors were urged to come to terms with some significant changes in the way that children play and learn.
Kids Industries’ Global Family Conference shared new insight from its Global Family Study, a piece of research carried out across 5,000 families across 10 countries spanning six continents. Among the insight shared was a look into the way children are thinking about their future amid the challenges we currently face.
Despite the fact 33% of UK children expressed concern about the environment and climate, 67% feel positive about the future. This grows to 74% from a global perspective. UK children today are also goal driven with over one fifth of those surveyed (21%) expressing a desire to change the world for the better. This rises to 36% among kids from Nigeria.
Being happy is a goal for 50% of UK children with a well-paid job coming in second place at 47%. Having a good education comes in third place, with 32%.
When it comes to children and their engagement with brands, the research discovered that the number one activity for kids in the UK is now watching online videos (73%), followed by watching streaming or on-demand television such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ at 67%. Playing mobile games or apps comes in at third place (60%) while 59% enjoy playing outdoors at least once a week. This compares with 75% of children in Brazil.
Raj Pathmanathan, creative director at KI led the session on building affinity with brands and – based on these findings – looked at the principles within the global family, which are impacting the application of brand love principles.
“Children’s love for a brand is dictated by their age and developmental stages and while the influence of parents on children’s decision making is clear, increased access to digital products and services means that children today have increased control over their decision making. Kids have found a new independence.”
The significance being that kids also have a ‘huge influence’ on family purchases. In fact, 60% influence family leisure activities and days out, 44% propose which film or TV streaming platforms parents subscribe to, and 42% have their say on holiday destinations.
“While parents might be making the final purchasing decision – it is the child who is now firmly in the driving seat,” said Rai. “They will be lobbying the parent when it comes to everything from groceries and personal tech to days out and holidays.”
It’s why much of the content UK children aged four to six now engage with is chosen independently by them.
“Brands today must be brace to be successful – making hard choices and doubling down on the select number of channels which are generating high engagement among kids. The good news is the proliferation of digital platforms is enabling more than passive entertainment consumption; children are now creating videos and digital worlds themselves on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Minecraft,” said Raj.
“The low barriers to entry across these platforms is enabling every child to be a creator today if they want to be – and that’s got to be a good thing to get involved in.”
