India's 'GenY' prefers social networks to instantly connect on the move, reveals TCS survey

MUMBAI, India, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- India's "Generation Y" is fast changing the communication paradigm by quickly adopting new modes of networking using social platforms like Facebook, Twitter as well as tools like instant messaging and chat, according to the findings of The TCS GenY survey 2011-12 which was released today.

The findings of India's largest survey of over 12,300 high school students across 12 Indian cities reveals that smart devices and online access are making GenY "instant connectors". This is transforming the way tomorrow's professionals are conducting their academic and social lives.

THE TOP 10 YOUTH I.T. TRENDS IN 2011

Commenting on the TCS Survey, N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD said: "Combination of more bandwidth, availability of smart devices and the surging popularity of social networks is changing the way India's high school students conduct their academic and social lives. As significant employers of India's talented youth, we need to understand how to leverage these social trends to create engaging careers for tomorrow's professionals."

Releasing the survey, Ajoy Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Global Head HR said: "The survey highlights the increasing relevance of concepts like social networks and gaming can be used to drive collaboration, creativity and productivity among young employees inside the enterprise. This can help keep GenY professionals engaged and energized through their careers."

Survey Highlights:
 The TCS GenY survey 2011-12 shows common trends among urban high school students across India but also reveals differences between metros and upcoming Tier II towns which are emerging as mini-metros:

• School –2- Social:  Three out of four students cited "Research for School" as the main reason to access the internet followed by social reasons like chatting/connecting to friends (68 per cent) and listening to music (50 percent). Over 84 percent of students go online from home compared to just 58 percent (in 2009)
  • Use of Cybercafes as an online access point has dropped dramatically fallen from 46 percent in 2009 to 20 percent today.
• Gr8 Networks: Social Networks like Facebook is the clear favorite among students to connect with their peers with 88 percent of respondents from the six metros having a presence on this social platform. One-third of all respondents said FB was their preferred site. Other platforms like Orkut and India-based networks like Apnacircle, iBibo and Hi5 are more popular in mini-metros compared to metros.
  • Tweeting as a medium of communication is now being used by one in three students in the TCS survey though only one percent listed it as their preferred site.
• Made 4 Mobility: Eight out of every 10 high school students own mobile phones and more than 40% use mobile phones to access the internet (compared to just 12 percent in 2009). While PCs continue to dominate internet access for students (68 percent) at home, one in two said they used laptops as well.
  • An emerging trend is the use of tablets with almost 14 percent using these new devices.
• Text, don't Call: The TCS Survey makes it clear that increasingly India's urban GenNet is turning to text and chat as alternatives to voice. Fifty percent of those surveyed in metros said they used SMS the most to communicate while 45 percent used Instant Messaging and 38 percent used FB or Twitter – all significantly higher than the number of students in metros who said they used email (34 percent) for the same purpose.
  • Reflecting poorer connectivity levels, use of email (55 percent) in Mini-metros continues to higher than metros (34 per cent).
  • Lower access to bandwidth also means that in Mini-metros e-mail continues to be more popular for communication among high school students than SMS (23 percent), IM (22 percent) and social networks (17 percent).
• TV is Remote: Indian youths like their entertainment on the move. Their least favorite gadget is the Television with less than one percent voting for it. Their favorite gadget with 28 percent votes is the Mobile Phone. Gaming consoles are also increasingly becoming popular even in mini-metros with a little over 16% of students owning at least one gaming console as compared to nearly 45% in metros. Music players are also very popular with 60 percent of respondents owning them.
  • Tablet PCs and Tabs though nascent has penetrated far more intensively in Metros with 15% respondents listing it as their choice of device to access with Mini Metro at 7%.
• Career@IT: The Web 3.0 generation school students are far more conscious than before. They seem to be clear about what they would look for in a future job. IT remains the top Career preference amongst youngsters irrespective of geography with Engineering and Medicine following. Media /Entertainment is emerging as a clear urban favorite.
• Linking in: Early use of career sites like Linked-In are more popular in business centric cities like Mumbai and Ahmedabad and significantly lower on a national basis.

TCS Web 3.0 Survey Primer:

• WHAT: The TCS Web 3.0 survey conducted  by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) the leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, India's largest IT solutions provider Tata Consultancy Services, is among the largest youth surveys of its kind  in India. The survey was conducted across 12 Indian cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune, with a total respondents of over 12,329 high school students the ages of 12-18. The primary data was collected from the participants by means of a questionnaire at each of the locations.
• WHEN: TCS Web 3.0 Youth Survey was undertaken from July to December 2011 during the nationwide TCS IT Wiz program to get a pulse of the digital habits of school students from class 8-12th to capture the changing trends of the youth across the Nation with a focus on technology. The objective was to comprehend and compare the difference between school students in the major metros and mini metros of India. The TCS Web 3.0 Youth Survey is one of the most comprehensive school level studies of this scale, in India, to capture information access trends, social networking preferences, career interests etc.
• HOW: The survey's questionnaire comprised sections such as Gadgets, Social Networking, Information Access, Career Interests, Media and Communication preferences.  Interestingly a look at the media preference and usage shows that Television seems to be losing sheen. While the advent of internet is high, young India still reflects faith and belief on Newspapers as a research tool.

About Tata Consultancy Services  Ltd (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata Group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 238,500 of the world's best trained consultants in 42 countries. The Company generated consolidated revenues of US $10.17 billion for year ended 31 March, 2012 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com

Website link for the survey:    www.tcs.com/GenYSurvey  

SOURCE Tata Consultancy Services