Confident and connected

Overview

As a group, young people aged between 12 and 20 years in New South Wales are happy with their lives (82% happy or very happy). They feel connected to friends and family and are enjoying their educational pursuits (86% like their current education). Social lives are run through mobile phones, social networking sites and email. Young people are keeping an eye on their finances and choosing to live at home longer. Mum and dad are the most commonly relied-on sources for information and solving problems.

Young people are enjoying unprecedented access to digital and communication technology. However, this freedom comes with a series of risks: young people are being exposed to adult concepts at far younger ages, and they are also at greater risk of being ripped off and targeted by scams.

Some key findings about relationships are: 

• Relationships with parents and friends are highly valued and there is a two-way flow of respect and advice. 
• Young people feel their parents are listening to them (43% parents listen most of the time), taking their advice and opinions on board and as such, parents’ opinions and assistance are valued (86% take notice of what parents think they should buy). 
• While parents understand them overall (93%), friends are needed for understanding the finer details of teenage life and playing a supporting day-to-day role. 

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Some key findings about money are: 

• Compared to 2 years ago, the average weekly income of young people is higher (average weekly income is $142.65 in 2009 compared to $120.60 as sourced from AustraliaSCAN 2007). 
• Young people feel able and competent in managing their own finances (67% confident). 
• Paying for mobile phone bills, social activities and clothing means that working and earning money around the house or in the work force) is important.

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Some key findings about credit and debt are:

• Repaying debt is a common source of concern for young people. One in four aged 18 to 20 have recently borrowed money (28%) and one in four are worried about paying it back (27%). The average amount borrowed is $904. 
• Young people are either adjusting their budgets and living within their means or sourcing more money through paid work.

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Some key findings about shopping online are:

• Internet usage is widespread across all age groups and spheres of interest. 91% of young people have their own email address.
• Parents exhibit a high level of trust in young people and their use of the internet, with many having unsupervised access with only some restrictions or none at all (90%). 
• More than half report having made an online purchase (57%) and to do so, they have used a parent’s credit card (50%) or online payment service such as Paypal (41%).

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Some key findings about mobile phones are:

• Parents typically provide mobile phones for their children (60%) with almost nine in ten young people having their own mobile phone (87%).
• On average, young people are using mobile phones around seven times per day. Girls reported using their mobile more often than boys (8.2 times compared with 6.6 times per day on average).
• Around one in five reported having been charged for a mobile phone service that they were unaware they had signed up for (22%).
• Most young people are mindful of using their mobile phone wisely and keeping their bill low (46%).
• 15 to 17 year olds are significantly more likely than other age groups to overspend on their monthly bill and then report struggling to pay for it (18%).

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Some key findings about faulty goods and scams are:

• Experience with faulty products was common (75%) and the resolution of these issues is strongly tied to parental advice and support (64%). However, one in ten did nothing at all about it.
• Through direct (or indirect) experience, there was a high level of knowledge and awareness around scams and rip offs (15% were scammed themselves and 34% know someone who has been). 
• Although 15% had been caught by a scam and three in four of these had lost money as a result, confidence in being able to spot (and thus avoid) scams in the future was high, leading to an attitude in some that being scammed is a ‘life experience’ (a normal part of day-to-day life). 
• Three in five young people have received suspicious emails from unknown sources requesting personal details (59%).

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Some key findings about buying a car are:

• One in ten have bought their own car (14%) and almost half of these have paid for the vehicle themselves (45%).
• One in two did not do a Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) check before buying a used car to find out if it had any debt owing or had been reported as lost, stolen or as a write-off. The reasons given were that they either knew the seller or felt no need for the check (41%). 
• New car buyers generally had no problems with their vehicle (65%). However for some, running costs (16%), previously unknown mechanical issues (15%) and struggling to pay off the car loan (13%) caused problems.

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Some key findings about leaving the family home are:

• Only one in ten young people aged 15 to 20 have moved out of the family home (11%) and the rest appear to have no intention of leaving within the next 12 months (89% will stay at home).
• Young people commonly have several reasons for staying at home. A comfortable home life and there being no push from parents to leave are the two main reasons for staying (56% and 55% respectively).
• The expected financial outlay (45%) and a perceived lack of places to rent (9%) were also considerations.
• Those who had moved out (or were planning to) are seeking more independence (34%) or reported having conflicts with family members (20%).
• Of those who have moved out, one in two are finding it difficult to budget when living-out-of home (49%).
• Few of those who are living out-of-home and renting report having problems with their landlord (13%).

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This research was conducted by Quantum Market Research on behalf of NSW Fair Trading during August 2009. The views of 1,212 young people in NSW aged between 12 and 20 were canvassed via online surveys.

For more information about youth programs run by NSW Fair Trading,
email: Marketing-Moneystuff@services.nsw.gov.au

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