"The Rise of the 'Keen-ager' "
The ‘Fanta' Guide to Teenagers Finds The "Keen-ager" is Set to Kick Moody Stereotype Kevin into Touch
New research from ‘Fanta', the fun family drink, looks set to dispel some of the most common myths about British teenagers, finally kicking Harry Enfield's grumpy Kevin character into touch.
The report found that:
- Nine out of ten parents (86%) get on well with their teens with eight in ten teens (80%) agreeing with this, highlighting that there is an increasingly close relationship between parents and teens
- Rather than rude, aggressive and incommunicative nearly half of parents (45%) used the words loving and caring to describe their teens with even more teens (55%) using these words to describe their parents
- Three quarters of parents (77%) agreed that parents of teens have more to worry about today than their parents did BUT seven in ten parents (70%) agree the media gives teens a bad press
- Six in ten teens (58%) feel they have it far better now than their parents did
This increasingly close relationship between parents and teens could be attributed to numerous social trends, for instance, the fact that Brits are waiting longer to have children1 (the average age of childbirth has risen from 26 to 29 since 19711) means that we are now a nation of more grown up parents with more life experience.
It is also now perfectly acceptable for adults to behave more like teenagers, with parents and teens shopping for the same clothes, buying and listening to the same music and even going to the same festivals. This increasing desire to look and stay young keeps adults in closer touch with teen trends and interests. This is resulting in a narrowing of the mental generation gap and an improved rapport between parents and teens.
And the key to a close relationship appears to be spending quality time together. When asked whether they enjoy spending time with their parents almost half (49%) said yes. This was roughly in proportion with what parents expected with just over half (52%) believing this to be the case.
In addition both groups are on the same wavelength when it comes to which activities are best to bond. Both groups picked a family meal as their top choice (parents 57%, teens 58%) closely followed by a family holiday (parents 57%, teens 57%). Treating teens is still a good way to their hearts and can even increase a parents cool factor with 4 in 10 teens (41%) citing this as a cool thing to do. Teenagers social lives were the biggest obstacle to quality time together (parents 51%, teens 47%), followed by computers, the internet and games consoles (parents 46%, teens 42%).
Social behaviour expert Judi James commented: "The generation gap really does seem to be closing at last. According to these results teens appear to have a very high level of awareness and understanding of their parents wants and needs, plus a healthy desire to conform to them. Parents also appear very well aware of their teenager's thinking style, meaning parents and teens are in tune in a way that has very likely never been achieved in the past. Continuing to spend good, quality time together - enjoying family meals or chatting over a glass of ‘Fanta' - and treating your teens from time to time could help us to close this generation gap even further."
Despite the positive attitudes and relationships revealed by the report this new generation of "Keen-agers" still reassuringly displays some traits more traditionally associated with the teenage years. Nearly one in four parents use the terms ‘messy & untidy' (38%) and the term ‘moody' (36%) to describe their teens.
Catheryn Sleight, marketing director at Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB) agreed: "We conducted this research to find out more about key family experiences, explore the time teens and parents spend together and better understand the bond between them. The ‘Fanta' brand philosophy is that 'There's not enough play in the world', these research findings help us celebrate the positive, revealing the great relationships parents have with their teens."
To download the ‘Fanta' Guide to Teenagers, including the Do's and Don'ts to parenting a teenager, go to www.fanta.co.uk/guidetoteenagers
-ends-
‘Fanta' is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company.
1source: national statistics
