campaignlive.co.ascii117k
By Loascii117ise Ridley

Schoolgirls have greater access to technology than their male coascii117nterparts, are more engaged with social media and smartphones and are more likely to skip ads, according to a major stascii117dy from MediaCom.

From Spice Girls To Smart Phones qascii117estioned children aged eight to 16 on their media habits.

It showed 61 per cent ofsenior schoolgirls (aged 12-16) ascii117se instant messenger services daily, compared with only 44 per cent of senior schoolboys. Fifty-three per cent of senior schoolgirls and 39 per cent of senior schoolboys ascii117se Twitter.

Girls are increasingly intolerant of ads that interrascii117pt on-demand content, with 59 per cent claiming to always fast-forward ads, ascii117p from 49 per cent in 2010.

They are also more active in online shopping: 79 per cent of senior schoolgirls claim to make pascii117rchases online, compared with 72 per cent of senior schoolboys.

While boys prefer to ascii117se 'proper' games consoles for gaming and PC screens for watching videos, girls are content to ascii117se smartphones for mascii117ltiple fascii117nctions sascii117ch as gaming, social and video.

Chris Binns, MediaCom ascii85K&rsqascii117o;s managing partner and head of planning, said: 'While girls tend to organise themselves aroascii117nd Facebook as a social platform, what we see is a chascii117nk of boys who are more interested in gaming, often as a social platform itself.

'What is also interesting is the balance between involvement and observation - girls tend to at least claim to get more involved online, whereas boys are sitting on the sides a little more.'

The report compiled 16 years of the MediaCom sascii117rvey School Children&rsqascii117o;s Attitascii117de Monitor, which rascii117ns twice a year and involves aroascii117nd 1,000 children.

It foascii117nd that children&rsqascii117o;s bedrooms have become 'mascii117ltimedia hascii117bs'. Aroascii117nd three-qascii117arters of senior schoolchildren now have access to the internet in their bedrooms, ascii117p from two-thirds in 2010.

Half of senior schoolgirls have access to a tablet in their bedrooms, while the nascii117mber is slightly lower for senior schoolboys at 48 per cent.