MUMBAI: Mobile phones with cameras, computers, Shahrukh Khan, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Star Plus, Rani Mukerji, Sachin Tendulkar, online games, pocket money and Sania Mirza.

The common factor among these is that they are Indian kids' favourites according to the findings of Cartoon Network's sixth edition of its patented kids’ lifestyle study - New Generations 2005.

This year, the scope of the research has been expanded to include 15-19 year old teens, 4-6 year old kids, socio-economic class SEC C, as well as a number of new categories such as Health and Diet, Gadgets and Technology brands and Shopping and Kids’ perspectives.

Conducted in association with Synovate India, New Generations 2005 is the largest and most in-depth research on Indian kids and seeks to gain insights on various aspects of their lives such as, pocket money, media habits, values and attitudes, product consumption habits etc.

This year a couple of new elements have been added to the study, which are:

The respondents category has been expanded to include younger kids (mothers of 4-6 year olds), older teens (15-19 year olds) and SEC C across age groups.

New information areas like kids and their parents' views on the child's health and diet, TV viewing and regulation, sports and fitness, activity-mapping of a typical school-day and holiday, the brands that kids think are cool and the gadgets that kids desire has been included.

The survey revealed that almost 40 per cent of kids aged 7-14 across cities and SEC strata are computer users and have used a computer in the past month. While 54 per cent of SEC A kids use computers, 37 per cent of SEC B and 34 per cent of SEC C are computer users.

On the other hand, there is only a slight difference between boys (40 per cent) and girls (38 per cent). One in six computer users also surf the internet with more boys (20 per cent) than girls (15 per cent) surfing cyber space. Internet surfing increases with age with 20 per cent of 10-14s accessing the Internet, compared to 11 per cent of 7-9s. Also, 58 per cent of Internet users “usually access” the Internet at school, 26 per cent at cyber cafés and 17 per cent from home.

Mobile phones with cameras rank the highest in the list of gadgets of desire for kids 7-14 with 74 per cent of the children, who have heard of one, saying they would like to own one. This is followed by the X-Box at 45 per cent, Apple iPod at 43 per cent and Sony Playstation at 33 per cent, of the kids who have heard of these gadgets.

Nokia turned out to be the coolest brand among this age group with 72 per cent agreeing that Nokia was “very cool” followed by Sony (71 per cent), LG (60 per cent), Reliance (56 per cent), Wipro (35 per cent), Microsoft (39 per cent), Google (31 per cent), HCL (32 per cent), Infosys (30 per cent), amongst others, of the kids who have heard of these companies.

The study also highlights that 87 per cent of kids aged 7-14 feel that too much of their time is spent studying. The feeling is the highest amongst kids from Madurai (98 per cent), followed by Kolkata and Cochin at 95 per cent. It is 90 per cent+ in Mumbai, Chennai and Jaipur. However, for 80 per cent of kids across India, achieving the top rank is important even if it means having less free time.

Interestingly, Kolkata also scores high here (97 per cent), followed by Nasik (95 per cent), then Cochin (93 per cent). Delhi is the lowest of the 14 cities at 67 per cent. And 95 per cent of kids aged 7-14 in Kolkata believe that it is difficult to score good marks without tuitions/extra classes compared to the national average of 57 per cent and Mumbai (60 per cent), Delhi (38 per cent) and Bangalore (65 per cent).

Cartoon Network (47 per cent), Pogo (14 per cent) and Star Plus (9 per cent) emerge as top three channels amongst kids across India. On the other hand, TV viewing has emerged as universal among kids across the week, with over 9 in 10 parents watching with their kids.

Questioned about their top three favourite television genres, 79 per cent kids voted for cartoons, 34 per cent for sports and 31 per cent for movies. The genres remained the same when split among boys and girls with boys (45 per cent versus 22 per cent) opting for sports and girls (29 per cent versus 17 per cent) preferring dance/music shows.

Another interesting trend that was revealed in New Generations 2005 was the frequency of giving out pocket money to kids. Of kids who receive pocket money (39 per cent), 54 per cent receive pocket money on a daily basis, this is up from 33 per cent in 2004 and 24 per cent in 2003. Another fact is that 60 per cent kids get gift money, which is Rs 306 per year on an average. By adding the monies that kids receive each year (based on those receiving either gift or pocket money, only in the 14 markets), it comes to Rs 3.64 billion! And with a spending rate of 80 per cent, kids spend Rs 2.91 billion in a year!

Referring to health and diet, 83 per cent parents believe that their children eat plenty of fruits and vegetables (Mumbai at 95 per cent and Delhi at 65 per cent), 78 per cent of kids across India echo a similar sentiment, ranging from 94 per cent in Madurai to 57 per cent in Delhi agreeing that they eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Also, 88 per cent parents across India (7-14) and their children agree they lead an active and healthy lifestyle with an impressive 99 per cent kids and 96 per cent parents in Madurai claiming so. However, 83 per cent parents would like their children to play more sports and 73 per cent kids would prefer to do so.

Coming to shopping now... 84 per cent of the parents have taken their children with them for shopping, with 63 per cent of them shopping with their kids at least once a month. One in four kids ask for something (every time) while they are out shopping with their parents and most of them get what they want as well. A child’s opinion and choice is taken into consideration while deciding to purchase even high value items. Also, 71 per cent of parents agreed that their child influences which brand is chosen while buying television sets, 70 per cent for computers, 67 per cent while buying mobile phones and 66 per cent on the purchase of a car!

Shahrukh Khan rules the roost as the favourite actor with 20 per cent of the total kids (7-14) voting for him, while Rani Mukerji emerged the favourite actress among all respondents with 16 per cent voting in her favour. The ranking is almost the same among boys (Shahrukh Khan -18 per cent and Rani Mukerji -14 per cent) and girls (Shah Rukh Khan - 22 per cent and Rani Mukerji - 17 per cent).

Sachin Tendulkar continues to be Indian children’s favourite amongst sportspersons with 41 per cent of kids aged 7-14 voting for him followed by Rahul Dravid at 13 per cent, Sourav Ganguly and Sania Mirza at 6 per cent each.

While 74 per cent of kids have heard of Sania Mirza and among these, nine out of 10 correctly identified the sport she plays, only 22 per cent have heard of Narain Karthikeyan and only six out of 10 of these could correctly identify his sport.

Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd vice president research and market development Duncan Morris said, “Being the trailblazers in the kids’ entertainment category, Cartoon Network also pioneered the use of large-scale research surveys focused on kids. With subsequent editions of New Generations, Cartoon Network seeks to trace and update the trends related to various aspects of Indian kids’ lives and make this valuable survey information available to all those who are concerned with Indian children. With extended scope and a number of new research categories, New Generations 2005 once again provides the latest and most comprehensive guide to kids in India.”

Turner International India Pvt. LTD senior manager research Krishna Desai said, “New Generations 2005 from Cartoon Network continues to build on its wealth of information about Indian kids and once again promises to be full of attention grabbing insights into Indian kids’ lifestyles, habits, preferences etc. Like its predecessors, New Generations 2005 is sure to be of great benefit and a reference guide to organisations and individuals with a focus on Indian kids, and aims to help further develop their expertise in this area.”

The field work for New Generations 2005 was undertaken during November - December 2005 covering 14 cities and 8,927 respondents comprising 4,043 children between 7-19 years and their parents plus 841 mothers of 4-6 year olds. The sample was evenly split by gender, SEC A, B and C and age ranges 4-6, 7-9, 10-14 and 15-19.