• by Michael Shields , November 30, 2004

Teens value happiness over their career aspirations, are financially independent yet debt wary, and complain about high stress levels, finds the latest TeenMark survey released Tuesday by Mediamark Research Inc.

While the results are generally in line with research presented last year by MRI, there was one finding that teen-oriented marketers should find noteworthy: the apparent control teens have over their spending. Of those surveyed, 69 percent say that they "usually decide what to spend my money on."

Although some marketers won't like hearing that 63 percent of teens agree that "credit cards are dangerous--they allow you to spend more money than you actually have" (up 4 points from last year).

In fact, while teens are often perceived as free spenders, more than half surveyed claimed that "I try hard to save money--I'm careful about how I spend it."

The sweet spot for those electing to target teens may be the 24 percent of respondents who agreed that "my parents buy most everything I ask for."

While claiming some fiscal responsibility, this generation of teens also appears to be less career-driven. Similar to last year's survey, only 16 percent of those questioned list going "into the corporate world" as a goal, while nearly nine out of 10 teens rank "enjoying life" as their primary desire for the future.

Enjoying life may not mean climbing the corporate ladder, but that does not necessarily imply that teens don't desire success. Eighty-three percent of respondents want "a successful career," and 75 percent hope to "make a lot of money."

Despite these optimistic visions, these teens report they are deeply affected by stress, particularly from homework. Fifty-one percent say they feel stressed out either all the time or sometimes, and girls are more worried than boys (43 percent more responded in this fashion).

"A lot of schoolwork" is the main source of stress, according to 68 percent of teens. However, girls continue to register as more stressed out than boys (60 percent versus 42 percent, a slightly wider disparity than last year), and the source of their stress is markedly different than in boys. Girls are 44 percent more likely to list "juggling too many responsibilities" as a concern, and are 13 percent more likely to be concerned with their "overall appearance."

MRI's annual TeenMark survey was conducted among teen residents in households interviewed for its Survey of the American Consumer. A total of 4,577 teens ages 12-19 filled out questionnaires during the period from April through July 2002, and again from April through July 2003.