The vast majority of under-15s on Facebook believe brand owners are not engaging with them, according to a tracking study, although they are much more aware of protecting their data than older generations.
The Amaze Generation Study – a five-year ongoing analysis of a group of 10- to 15-year-olds launched in winter 2010 – is designed to examine the way young people interact with, and are being shaped by, technology over time.
Those who are allowed on Facebook – 13-year-olds and over – admitted they had “liked” brands in the past but said that they did not tend to visit those pages again for updates. Therefore, this generation is not engaged or excited enough by these brands to make them want to revisit their pages, says the study.
When discussing brands, however, despite no one saying they currently interact with them via Facebook, only 31% said that they prefer not to engage with a brand at all on Facebook. This, claims the report, shows that the remaining 69% would potentially like to interact with brands on this platform, but are clearly not being approached in the right way.
The most popular way this generation would like a brand to engage with them is by keeping them informed. Almost a third (31.3%), of the group said they would like a brand to approach them with some form of entertainment, with boys more than twice as likely as girls to choose this option. Girls are more interested in interacting with a brand to improve their knowledge, keep them informed and to talk to them like a “real person”.
When it comes to privacy, this generation is much more aware than others. According to the study, they take proactive steps to protect themselves by not sharing their personal information online and also by changing their privacy settings from default so that only friends can view their information.
