• by December 7, 2000

You already know that people, for the most part, don't give their undivided attention to your television commercials, especially if your TV spots are aimed at the younger generation. Here's more proof. Less than half of online 8 to 12 year-olds say they do "nothing else" but watch the TV when it is on, but 52% are engaged in other activities at the same time, according to the latest Nickelodeon Online/Harris Interactive KidPulseSM survey.

The researchers interviewed 612 respondents ages 8 to 12, and found that 16% of online 8 to 12-year olds report that during the previous day they talked on the telephone while simultaneously watching TV. Eleven percent report they surfed the Internet, 9% read a magazine, and 6% listened to the radio at the same time. Nearly one-third were doing "something else" entirely.

"The inter-penetration of media consumption behavior is greater among this online generation than in any previous generation," says Melva Goffney, director of research and planning at Nickelodeon Online. "Not only is there more information and entertainment available to today's young people, but there are more delivery, recording and playback devices."

The latest Nickelodeon Online/Harris Interactive poll reports that, on an average day, more than 9 in 10 (93%) online 8 to 12 year-olds watch TV, nearly two-thirds listen to the radio (63%), and nearly half play a video game on a video game system (46%). Four in ten (43%) online 8 to 12 year-olds report watching a video or DVD, better than one-third (37%) say they surf or access the Internet, and nearly one-third (31%) read a magazine.

"This generation is growing up inside a unique and fast-moving media, communications and entertainment space, but kids themselves change more slowly," notes Peter Silsbee, director of youth research, Harris Interactive. "For instance, there remain big differences between boys and girls in video game playing. Two-thirds of boys report playing on a video game system yesterday as compared to 24% of girls. In addition, 42% of 8 to 12 year-old boys say they surfed or accessed the Internet yesterday as compared to 30% of girls."

The report also found media penetration differences by age as well as gender. Ten to 12 year-olds are twice as likely to have surfed or accessed the Internet in the previous day as compared to 8 to 9 year-olds (46% for 10 to 12 year-olds versus 22% for 8-9 year olds). Similarly, twice as many 10 to 12 year-olds watched a prerecorded video of a TV program as compared to 8 to 9 year-olds (19% versus 8%, respectively).