What motivates Teen habits.

New segmentation analyses from Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) delve beyond demographics to provide marketers with a deeper understanding of the lives of U.S. teenagers. Based on the latest MRI Teenmark study, the various segments focus on the attitudes that often dictate youthful consumer behavior. The new segmentation analyses examine teen attitudes towards the following topics: Internet/technology; music; finance; fashion; hair; make-up; and attitudes about self.

The Internet/Online Technologies segmentation categorizes teens according to what they are doing online, their reasons for being connected and the depth of their involvement with the Internet. Music Attitudes examines the role music plays in teens’ day-to-day lives, its importance in how they define themselves and how it influences their fashion styles. Finance Attitudes explains the role of money in the lives of teens, how they get it and how important spending money—or saving it—is to them.

The Fashion Attitudes segmentation groups teens by their fashion sensibilities, their inclination to shop (or not) for clothes and accessories, and the importance of social and media influences on their fashion choices.

The Beauty: Hair segmentation examines the unique relationship teens have with their hair, what they think their hairstyle says about them, and how important hair-related products are to maintaining their unique styles. The Beauty: Make-up segmentation groups young women along a spectrum of involvement with makeup, investment in personal style and the role media plays in their cosmetics choices.

Attitudes about “Yourself” groups teens based on how they describe the importance of their relationships with friends and family, while also considering how they feel about themselves and their futures.

“To say that teenagers are complicated creatures is an understatement, as any parent knows,” said Anne Marie Kelly, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Planning at MRI. “Our new segmentation analyses are designed to provide a window into the minds of teenagers so that marketers can better understand what motivates their lifestyles and purchase behaviors.”