New Viacom Study Finds Nearly Ninety Percent Of Kids Globally Believe They Can Accomplish Anything

Original Viacom Inc. via Multichannel:

Nearly Ninety Percent Of Kids Globally Believe They Can Accomplish Anything: Goals Include Ending War, World Hunger And Bringing Happiness To The World

Kids feel supported and equipped to thrive in today’s fluid world, embrace fearlessness

MIAMI – FEB. 15, 2017 – Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), home of Nickelodeon, today released its latest global research study, KIDS OF THE WORLD. The study, which included a survey of nearly 6,000 kids aged 6-11 from 30 countries, along with in-depth video ethnographies in 11 countries, found that almost 90 percent believe they can accomplish anything if they work hard enough. KIDS OF THE WORLD also revealed that kids today embrace a fearless attitude towards life, despite growing up in fluid times full of uncertainty and change: 85 percent of all kids surveyed also believe it’s better to try things and risk mistakes than never trying at all.

This fearlessness fuels a desire to save the world. Ending wars around the world is the top problem that kids want to solve globally (61 percent), with ending world hunger (58 percent) and bringing happiness to the world (53 percent) rounding out the top three. In the US and the UK, along with a full third of the countries surveyed, ending world hunger ranked as the top problem that kids want to solve

Kids of the World: Film from Viacom Global Insights on Vimeo.

Today’s global kids also view themselves as highly independent (76 percent), curious and creative (nearly 90 percent for both). This mentality extends to the way kids are consuming information and entertainment – watching TV and listening to music rank as their top ways to relax. This appetite for content breeds curiosity and creativity: nearly 80 percent claim to use more than one device at a time, with 88 percent of kids using their free time to build new skills including sports, learning new languages and even learning to make slime.

Feeding kids’ empowered attitudes toward the world is their support system: family is cited as their #1 source of happiness. In fact, more than 60 percent of kids around the world said their best friend is someone in their family.

Kids of the World: Teaser from Viacom Global Insights on Vimeo.

“We wanted to learn how today’s fast-paced, changing world is shaping kids’ attitudes, experiences and behaviors,” said Christian Kurz, Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Insights at Viacom. “We spoke with thousands of kids directly and discovered from KIDS OF THE WORLD that kids today are positive and excited by the countless possibilities ahead, and they are embracing life with a fearless attitude.”

KIDS OF THE WORLD revealed three key areas that reflect how kids feel today:

SUPPORTED

Kids are able to thrive in today’s fluid world because they feel supported: by their family, their friends and, for those who have them, their pets. Together, they form one supportive unit and are key to kids’ happiness and positive outlook on life.

• 70 percent of kids named “spending time with family” in their top 5 sources of happiness and overall, it’s the number one source of happiness across this age group
• 61 percent of kids say their best friend is someone in the family

EQUIPPED

Thanks to their strong support network, kids have a solid foundation from which they can build skills and equip themselves to succeed. They are aware that many of the things they are doing and learning today are preparing them for their future.

• Watching TV is the #1 way to relax for kids (#2 – listening to music, #3 – playing games on phone or tablet)
• 88 percent of kids use their free time to build new skills
• 41 percent of kids have their own tablet, 37 percent have their own smartphone, and 76 percent claim to use more than one device at a time
• 44 percent of kids claim to have a social media account

FEARLESS

As a result of being well supported and well equipped, kids around the world are developing a fearless attitude to life.

• Kids describe themselves with positive attributes including:
• Creative: 89 percent
• Curious: 89 percent
• Confident: 86 percent
• Optimistic: 86 percent
• Always look for the positive: 85 percent
• 68 percent of kids agree with the statement “I feel able to deal with whatever life throws at me”
• 85 percent of kids believe “It’s better to try things and risk mistakes than never try at all”
• 87 percent of kids agree with the statement “I can accomplish anything if I work hard enough”

METHODOLOGY

In Viacom’s Kids of the World study, Viacom Global Insights spoke directly with kids to hear their views firsthand and see the world from their perspectives.

Research details: Viacom spoke to 5,837 kids aged 6-11 in total across 31 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, US). The study included an online survey of 5,724 kids in 30 countries, followed by an extensive qualitative phase with 113 kids in 11 countries.

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For more studies from the Viacom Global Insights team, visit insights.viacom.com.

Update, via Kidscreen:

Viacom study shows kids believe they can accomplish anything

Presented today at Kidscreen Summit in Miami, brand-new Viacom Insights global research reveals that six- to 11-year-olds are developing a fearless attitude to life and are determined to end global wars, stop world hunger and spread happiness to others.

A new study from Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights division has found that despite growing up in fluid times and being aware of uncertainty and change, six- to 11-year-olds are developing a fearless attitude to life and are determined to end wars around the world, stop world hunger and spread happiness globally.

Kids of the World, presented at Kidscreen Summit in Miami today by Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights SVP Christian Kurz, surveyed nearly 6,000 six- to 11-year-olds from 31 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US.

Viacom Global Insights spoke directly with kids to hear their views first-hand on how today’s fast-paced and changing world is shaping their attitudes, experiences and behaviors. Viacom did not soley base the findings on responses they gathered from parents or caregivers. An extensive qualitative phase consisting of in-depth video ethnographies in 11 countries was also completed.

The study found that the top three problems kids want to solve globally are ending global wars (61%), eradicating world hunger (58%) and spreading happiness (53%).

For US kids, as well as children in one third of the countries surveyed, ending world hunger ranked as the number one problem to solve. Eighty-five percent of all kids surveyed also believe it’s better to try things and risk mistakes than never attempt to do something at all. Nearly 90%, in fact, believe they can accomplish anything if they work hard enough (highest in Nigeria at 97%).

Looking at support systems, the survey found that kids are able to survive in today’s world because they feel supported by their family, friends and, for those who have them, their pets.

Family, in particular—whether blended, traditional or multi-generational, headed by same-sex or single parents—is kids’ top source of happiness. Sixty-one percent of children, in fact, say their best friend is someone in the family. The study also found that 63% of kids globally believe that “how good a friend you are” is the number one factor that helps someone fit in with his or her peers.

With base support from family and friends, 76% of today’s global kids also view themselves as highly independent. Among the positive attributes kids describe themselves with are creative and curious (nearly 90% for both), and confident and optimistic (86% for both).

As for media habits, watching TV, listening to music and playing games on a phone or tablet are the top three ways, respectively, for kids to relax. Kids are also fueling their creativity by using a wide range of online resources, from coding courses to crafts tutorials. Of the kids surveyed, 41% have their own tablet, 37% have their own smartphone and 76% say they use more than one device at a time. Forty-four percent also claim to have a social media account.

More information about Kids of the World and Viacom Insights can be found here.

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More Nick: New Viacom Study Finds Young People Trust Less, But Are Still Happy!

Originally published: Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

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