MTV Insights Studio introduces guest articles packed with Youth research statistics

Teenagers belonging to the current generation aren’t exactly the simplest beings on the planet. Spend a day with them and you will get a little more acquainted with them and their lingo. Being “friendly” doesn’t mean that you are friends with a person, a “poke” isn’t what a pin does to you, and “fingering” certainly doesn’t mean joking around. But, once you start to understand them a little, everything they do and say might not seem as scandalous as it appears to be.

Take the example of relationships. Relationships start quite early these days. Amongst the 2200 youth in age bracket 18-24 years who were interviewed during the MTV youth survey, a whopping 60% admitted to be dating and in some sort of relationship. 37% youth think it is no big deal to kiss in public. 45% say that a ‘date’ should ideally culminate into some kind of physical intimacy. Interestingly, 58% of youth say that it depends on the situation but sexual relationships is fine. It is true that ‘relationships’ are not necessarily romantic always!

53% youngsters said that they weren’t great fans of being in a “committed” relationship. However, when are in a relationship, they treat the other person with respect. In their own words, the youth wants to “spend time with each other, be honest towards your partner and understand each other’s privacy”. Trust repeatedly comes up a very high ranking factor in a relationship. Relationships these days work both the people involved like to have someone there for them.

Yes, the break ups are not very rare. A 1/4th of the youth claimed to have had more than 4 partners –boyfriends or girlfriends. And when they break up, only 11% youth stated that they would try to win their ex back. It is important to be high on the recall list for this move-on generation. If the ‘relationships’ are so transient, brands need to be extra cautious to ensure they cement their bond with the Young Generation.

There you have it. That’s the love life of the young and fabulous in less than 500 words.

By MTV Insights Studio

MTV Insights Studio brings you the latest from the life of the youth. This unique understanding comes from being a part of their lives every day and not from watching them from the outside. The statistics and trends are taken from various MTV youth studies including Age of Sinnocence, Digital Socialite, Recreation Redefined and discussions on MTV iSpeak. The researches capture responses from 15-24 years across 10+ cities across India. MTV iSpeak is a network of youth in age of 18-24 years from colleges across 10 cities provides a continuous connect to the youth life. For more youth trends, please click on www.mtvplay.in or write to us at insights@mtvindia.com