Disney Surveys European Tweens and Finds Surprises

They have never known a world without the Internet and cell phones.

And they really don't know what they would do without such things. Yet they would still rather look in you in the eye than stare at a screen.

Meet the future.

Right now, it is still between the ages of 8 and 14. Today's tweens are the first fully digital generation. Researchers for Disney have labeled them Generation XD -- the digital children of Generation X.

Researchers for the company did a survey of tweens in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to better understand our future overlords.

Marketwire, a public relations company in Canada, reports this is the largest survey of its kind to learn the beliefs and behaviors of European tweens. Researchers questioned 3,020 kids, mostly as market research for a new Disney cable channel.

And the kids are all right, the study concludes.

"As we enter a new decade, the XD report redefines the popular image of today's tweens and shows them as a positive, community-minded generation who uses the technology that surrounds them to make a positive impact on their lives and the world around them," Victoria Hardy, executive director of Europe, Middle East and Africa research for Disney television, says in a Marketwire press release.

Highlights from the study:

· While completely at ease with modern gizmos and gadgets, members of Generation XD use technology to enhance -- rather than replace -- talking to people in person. The survey says 30 percent of kids prefer talking in person while only 15 percent prefer texting and 8 percent prefer cell phones.

· The overwhelming majority of Generation XD (95 percent) feels the Internet and computers are important. But a minority (44 percent) said technology was important for education. The majority (53 percent) said it was important for keeping in touch with friends.

· Still, homework (at 59 percent) scored second only to gaming (at 74 percent) among the most common uses of the Internet.

· These kids are not spendthrifts, at least judging by the 70 percent who say they prefer to save their money rather than spending it immediately.

· The majority (64 percent) say they would rather work for themselves than for someone else when they grow up.

· The most popular future professions were veterinarian, teacher, soccer player, physician and police officer.

· Their parents are the people they admire most -- with mothers coming at 43 percent and fathers trailing a a bit at 30 percent.

· Most European tweens (97 percent) say it is important to look after the planet -- with 74 percent of them already recycling regularly.

"As the kids of Generation X, who embraced all mod cons in their 20s, you'd expect Generation XD to be fully versed in how the Internet can help them," says Tom Dunmore, consulting editor of Stuff magazine in Marketwire's press release.

"What's interesting though, is how they are embracing both cutting-edge technology and traditional family values in their approach to life," he adds. "While David Beckham does inevitably get a mention, fame and celebrity are secondary to family and they aspire to be vets and teachers rather than singers and celebrities, which is both surprising and encouraging. Indeed, Generation XD is remolding the traditional definition of youth as we know it."

Victoria Hardly agrees. "Generation XD kids have a heightened understanding of socio-economic issues, deep family values and are already demonstrating behavioral patterns that will have a deep impact on the future," she says in the press release.

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