[2009 trends] What will the youth get up to?

Of course, not every interactive campaign is a guaranteed success - the youth's decision to get involved depends on whether the potential brand experience is exciting and relevant to them, otherwise they won't bother getting involved in it at all. After all, the youth have been consuming media their entire lives and have developed advanced filtering and interrogation systems that hone in on what the brand is really about.

The youth readily compare brands across categories (cellphones with fashion with trainers), so companies need to understand how their brands perform in a general, rather than specific context. And it's this thinking that makes youth less inclined to open a bank account. Why? Because banks don't measure up to cellphone providers which offer a free DVD player amongst other high-tech gadgets when you sign up for a contract.

In the Sunday Times Generation Next 2008 study, face-to-face took the lead as the preferred method of communication between friends and this trend will strengthen in 2009 as the youth demand more human contact and interaction. For example, young adults are increasingly using Facebook as a proactive medium to organise dinner parties and 'real life' get-togethers instead of just 'Facebooking' each other as a way of staying in touch. [You should see how they use Twitter - assistant editor]

In 2009, we see children as young as six, becoming more and more territorial around which parts of their lives they open to advertising and which they do not. Advertisers will need to work within these boundaries and understand where to draw the line and where to back off.

Social networking is one such area. Facebook, MySpace and MXit already have a monopoly and the youth are not looking to expand their loyalty to other sites, particularly ones developed by brands. The cellphone is also considered for-friends-not-advertisers turf, generally.

Young adults are becoming more mindful about researching and comparing the prices of products online to make sure they find out where to get the best bargains and deals. Fortunately, the upside of hard times is that teens are showing signs of becoming more resourceful and entrepreneurial in an effort to subsidise their own spending needs.

But as a result, we also see an upturn in anxiety levels and the pressure to succeed is felt by children as young as six years old because of the high expectations for they have set for themselves to succeed.

The accumulation of all these fears makes South African children highly anxious. And it makes the considerable optimism and excitement they express about hosting the 2010 World Cup even more important as both a nation-building and self-development exercise. All youth, but especially tweens (8 - 12-year-olds) are waiting, and need, to see the greatness that we can, as a country, create. Marketers have a big role to play when it comes to investing in the wellbeing of young South Africa.