70% students own smart phones nationally: TCS survey

Nearly six out of 10 respondents own a smart phone, but difference in ownership patterns between metros (58.50%) and mini metros (59.36%) isn't much

Nearly seven out of every 10 high school students own mobile phones and nearly 20% use mobile phones to access the Internet, says a survey by Tata Consultancy Services. Nearly six out of 10 respondents own a smart phone, but the difference in ownership patterns between metros (58.50%) and mini metros (59.36%) isn’t much, with the smaller cities scoring over the larger ones.

The survey, TCS GenY survey 2012-13, was conducted on nearly 17,500 high school students across 14 cities in the country. It showed common trends among urban high school students across the country, but also revealed differences between metros and upcoming Tier II towns which are emerging as mini-metros.

According to the report by TCS, almost 19% of the respondents use tablets, with 20% users in metros and 17% in mini metros.  Mobiles have emerged as the fastest growing mediums for accessing the Internet, with over 18% doing so. Those who accessed internet at home was 72%, while around 14% each accessed it from home and cybercafes each, the report said.

Social networks like Facebook are the primary and clear favorite among the students to with their peers with 92% cent of respondents preferring this social platform. Interestingly, preference for Facebook is equally high among respondents in both metros (92%) and mini metros (91%). Other social platforms like Orkut have taken a back-seat with a 28% preference. Tweeting as a medium of communication is now being used by one in three students, though only 2% listed as their favourite site.

As per the TCS report, nearly three out of four students cited 'Research for school' as the main reason to access the Internet. This was followed by the need to access the Internet for social reasons like chatting or connecting with friends, with 62% saying they did so.