Geo-locations services still finding their place

Have you ever realized that there's a 4 in the square?

According to a new study by youth marketing agency Dubit, 48% of 11-to-18-year-olds in the U.K. have heard never heard of geo-location services like Foursquare, Facebook Places, Gowalla, or SCVNGR and among those who were aware of these services, 58% said they didn't see any value in using them. Despite the perception that teens are careless or indifferent about their online privacy, 45 per cent are avoiding location services because they consider them unsafe. Other reasons against using geo-location services given included 28% who did not have a smartphone and 16% whose friends were not using the service either.

The research was carried out using Dubit’s Direct to Youth Omnibus, the largest of its kind in the UK, which surveyed 1,000 teens aged between 11-18 years of age with an equal balance between gender and age. Peter Robinson, head of research at Dubit, Leeds, U.K., remarked that "the greatest barrier to uptake is that teens... don't see the point".

Facebook Places was the most recognizable service with 44% awareness followed by Foursquare at 27%. Facebook Places was better at converting awareness with 30% of respondents using Facebook Places compared to only 5% for Foursquare. Gowalla and SCVNGR both had measly awareness rates at 3% and 2% respectively. Males were more likely to use geo-location services with a 40% usage rate compared to 24% for females. 

The main reason teens gave for using geo-location services was to let friends know what they were doing and where they were. This reason was given almost four times more often than secondary reasons such as receiving special offers, getting tips, and collecting achievements.

“When Places launched much of the criticism was focused at its lack of gamification – it just didn’t look fun. As we can now see, this doesn’t matter to teens who would rather boast about where they are and who they are with; all benefits that come from being on the largest social network." - Peter Robinson, head of research at Dubit 

Dubit Limited is a leading youth communications company based in the UK, set-up in 1999 by teenagers who wanted to improve research and marketing to young people. The company runs the largest youth panels and networks in the UK and is constantly connected with young people’s trends, motivations and behaviours.

Dubit works with major brands offering research, marketing and interactive services. This allows brands to connect with young people through an integrated and strategic approach that keeps young people at the heart of the creative process. Their clients include Vue Cinema, Nintendo, Kellogg’s, NSPCC and BBC.