Crowd DNA Youth Tribes for Channel 4, March 2010

CROWD DNA - UK TRIBES YOUTH RESEARCH

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

UK Tribes - five years in the making...

The objectives: to segment UK youth (16-24s) in a manner that’s credible and authentic

It’s about youth tribes as told to us by young people

To acknowledge the centres of gravity - such as music, fashion, sport, technology - around which youth culture revolves

To evidence the diversity of youth culture, the fluidity of sharing ideas and migration from tribe to tribe

UK TRIBES - A BIT OF BACKGROUND...


Research methods we’ve deployed...

• Online surveys• Expert interviews• Focus groups and depth interviews• Forums and blogging diaries• Filmed ethnography• A UK-wide network of young contributors

UK TRIBES - A BIT OF BACKGROUND...


UK TRIBES BACKGROUND

UK youth culture captured in all its technicolour glory on the UK Tribes website


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The advent of pick-and-mix society?

A relatively persuasive argument that youth tribes don’t exist any longer

That it’s all about individualism

That digital culture has freed up people to be more independent

BUT DO YOUTH TRIBES REALLY STILL EXIST?



Things have certainly changed. From a handful of monolithic youth tribes - mods, rockers, hippies etc in direct opposition to each other...


...To an array of inter-linked tribes; some big, some small; constant flux



We say yes to tribes!

There’s much more flow between tribes, a faster paced dissemination of ideas; less sense that different tribes are ‘at war’ with each other

Decoding tribes has certainly got a lot harder, but there’s still something intrinsic in youth identity, and in finding that identity, which encourages the formation of tribes



We carried out a series of expert interviews...

Bob Foster - Platform website editor

“As a young person, when you get that first taste of freedom, it’s no surprise that you gravitate towards people you have something in common with. You’re searching for something and you hope that they can provide it.”




Emma Warren - youth mentor for Live!

“Between the ages of 12 and 20 we all change a lot, and that’s why there are so many different tribes. The number of tribes there are today reflects the complexity of transition through youth.”




David Passey - online marketer for Sony Music

“As fragmented as most things cultural are today the desire to seek out people with shared interests to your own remains instinctive. The pace of change is different but the motivations are the same as ever.”




Jeff Maysh - lad mag journalist and broadcaster

“Everyone needs an enemy to point at. Your identity is shaped as much by what you’re not as what you are. For instance, I hate indie kids and they hate me - that’s what youth culture is all about.”



Tribes = friendship, safety, music, fashion, technology, sport, school, drinking

YOUTH TRIBES AND IDENTITY


YOUTH TRIBES AND IDENTITY

Social media is for organising, but emotional bonding still happens in the real world...

Offline interaction still vitally important for youths in terms of forming identity

“On Facebook, it’s always quick chats, jokes, making plans. But when we meet face to face, that’s when we really bond with each other.” Abi, 16


YOUTH TRIBES AND IDENTITY/MOBILITY

Mobile technology a vital manifestation of youth identity...

Across all tribes, a means to logging activity - texts, images etc; like a diary

Young people much better equipped at dealing with stresses of 24/7 connectivity - phones sometimes on mute but never switched off

It’s a personal medium and thus tailormade for the youth lifestage

Mobiles, like tribal identity, offer safety - you are always connected

More skilled at ‘reading between the lines’ and understanding tone in text conversations

Mobiles have social meaning, not just a functional role for young people


YOUTH TRIBES AND IDENTITY/MOBILITY

With young people socialising in ever bigger groups, location-based social media sure to be popular... Bridging the gap between online and offline; between physical presence and social presence


A CLOSER LOOK AT JUST SOME OF THE 23 TRIBES


Back with a vengeance...

Gap years, Jack Wills, upmarket partying, taking over festivals, Ugg boots, wearing flip-flops all year!

Whereas youth culture has often centred on downplaying your social class, now it’s good to elevate it!

UK TRIBES TRENDS - RAHS



When Harry met Diddy (and Kanye)


Media reports of rah culture now reaching Newcastle!

The university of choice - replacing Bristol and Exeter - since Princess Eugenie headed there

“Up here you get a good degree and a good night out. It’s freedom, isn’t it? After all those years locked up in boarding school” Rah quoted in Times Online



• Rah wars on Facebook



• The “Gap Yah” on YouTube




Rahs in London get confrontational at posh squat parties



Major style influence reaching beyond the confines of the Rah tribe


UK TRIBES TRENDS - CASUALS

Like Rahs, another 80s tribe making a comeback...

Smart, dressed up football culture re-born for a new generation

A definite increase in numbers inspired by football hooligan movies but, for most, maintaining the look, not violence, is enough to keep them busy


UK TRIBES TRENDS - CASUALS

Umbro/Kasabian launch of England away kit - at ‘away gig’ in Paris. Cue booing!


Arts and crafts rebooted...

Recycling, arts and crafts, tea parties, wary of consumerism, folk music, lots of knitting!

A niche tribe but punches above its weight in the media

Definitely extending its reach beyond London nowadays

UK TRIBES TRENDS - CRAFT KIDS


Meanwhile, back in their east London heartland, Craft Kids attack a tree in Stoke Newington...

“It’s a form of graffiti that even your grandmother might approve of.” The Hackney Post




Knitting needles with skulls on - very fashionable


Not a new tribe per se, but growing in influence...

Lots of young people from outside of the Gamer tribe play games, but this niche puts in the longest hours and are vocal with their opinions to the extent of having significant influence over the gaming industry

Rarely visible in the real world, but passionately tribal online; one of the strongest of the non music oriented communities

UK TRIBES TRENDS - GAMERS


UK TRIBES TRENDS - GAMERS

Strong indications that Gamers are taking to mobile gaming...

From our gaming panel, sense that the false-start with the Nokia N Gage now forgiven!

Influential websites like Eurogamer and Kotaku now cover mobile games

Industry data showed iPhone took nearly 20% of the handheld gaming market in 2009 - largely at the expense of the Sony PSP

30,000 game titles in the iTunes App Store - best seller Plants Vs Zombies held the lead spot in terms of ‘units sold’ and ‘top grossing’ for much of February 2010.


UK TRIBES TRENDS - GET PAID CREW

Speaking of mobiles, the BlackBerry is proving a big/surprising hit in urban tribes such as the Get Paid Crew

Aspirational urban tribe inspired by entrepreneurs as diverse as Jay Z and Alan Sugar; has seen a rise in popularity of business studies courses at inner city colleges

Enthusiasm for BlackBerry among many urban youth - free instant messaging + QWERTY keyboard + cut and pasting conversations + ability to quickly change screen name + serious look and feel = growing popularity


UK TRIBES TRENDS - GET PAID CREW

Maxwell D in praise of the BlackBerry


Young digitally-minded, bedroom-based creatives, always innovating on shoestring budgets...

Like the BlackBerry-sporting Get Paid Crew, always looking to appropriate technology to meet with their own needs

UK TRIBES TRENDS - DIYERS



Tumblr the blogging platform of choice - customisable, short-form blogging



SoundCloud - social media meets file sharing for the DJ fraternity


UK TRIBES TRENDS - YOUNG ALTS

The “indie kid” revamped for a new generation

Into alternative culture and ‘heavy’ music but in fact very influenced by high street trends as well

A gateway tribe; easy entry, low-risk; many migrate to more dedicated alternative tribes, like metalheads, indie scensters and skaters, when they get older (late teens/ early 20s)


UK TRIBES TRENDS - YOUNG ALTS

Some, inspired by The Twilight Saga, are turning into vampires!


UK TRIBES TRENDS - GEEKS

From zero to hero...

Mocked no longer, the Geeks understand best how to harness the power of digital channels

Geek chic abounds

Geeks are powerful and useful allies


Latest Geek innovation - Chatroulette

A website which pairs random strangers for webcam-based conversations

Developed by 17 year old Moscow student

From 500 visitors a day when launched in November, to 1.5 million a day in March 2010

UK TRIBES TRENDS - GEEKS


Growing in numbers as the 2012 Olympics gets nearer...

Particularly increasing in numbers in urban areas

In our recent survey of 4,000 16-24 year olds, 37% of urban youth definitely agreed that they ‘really enjoy sport’, compared to 23% among all 16 to 24s

The close proximity of the action (ie, the upcoming Olympics), seems to make a difference

UK TRIBES TRENDS - SPORTS JUNKIES


UK TRIBES TRENDS - SCENE KIDS

Loud, brash, part-chav, part-emo (sometimes referred to as chemos)

Derived from the US; and genuinely confusing for anyone aged beyond their mid 20s to understand

Big on proclaiming unswerving loyalty to friends - lots of talk of fighting enemy gangs yet little actual fighting

Hugely into social media; lots and lots of self-shots/up-shots uploaded from their mobiles


Scene Kids tips picked up from blogs/social media...

Make some scene friends - you’ll just look a poser on your own

Be random, but never overdo it

Be very careful with your hair

Realise that some people will hate you




American Scene Kid argues with Emo via YouTube - excuse the language!


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Crowd DNA Youth Tribes for Channel 4, March 2010

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