Telcos don’t ‘understand’ Indian teens

Only a quarter of teenagers in India feel communications service providers understand their lifestyle and offer services to match it while 36% said they were experiencing poor customer service for over a year, a sur- vey revealed on Tuesday.

Announcing the results of a global study into the digital behaviour and expectations of teenagers (aged 15-18), the US-based customer experience solutions provider Amdocs found that 49% of Indians will not use the same provider again owing to poor consumer service.

The results showed that 71% (43% globally) teenagers believe their smartphone makes them smarter and “cooler”, while 68% ( 52% globally) check their social media accounts first thing in the morning. “More than 60% (31% globally) said they would probably not meet someone again if they did not have a WhatsApp account,” the researchers noted.

Seven in 10 respondents (47% globally) said they prefer using emojis to sending emails as it allow them to express their feelings more clearly than words. A similar number said the same about posting photos (45% globally).

Teenagers demand constant internet connectivity, with 77% of respondents (56% globally) saying they are likely to feel anxious and alone if separated from the internet — more than being separated from family.

“The value of internet ac- cess is so significant that 75% (55% globally) strongly believe fast internet access to be a human right,” the survey noted.

70% respondents stream videos, reflecting streaming over downloads as the preferred platform and only 20% actually download content.

Nearly 95% of respondents expressed the desire to have an internet-connected device embedded in their arm, with 47% seeing it as a replacement for their smartphone.

Meanwhile, 66% believe many jobs will ultimately be replaced by robots while 57% even believe a robot will become their best friend.

The study, commissioned by Amdocs and conducted by Vanson Bourne, a technology market researcher provider, included 4,250 respondents from India, Britain, the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Mexico, the Philippines and Singapore. IANS