IMPACT OF INTERNET USAGE ON CHILDREN'S INFLUENCE IN FAMILY DECISION MAKING IN RURAL AND URBAN INDIAN FAMILIES - AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

This study examines the impact of children’s internet usage on their influence in family decision making across child and family product in Indian rural and urban families. A cross-sectional survey method was carried out with “structured non-disguised” questionnaire to collect the primary data from children residing in rural and urban areas of Delhi, India. The collected data have been analyzed and interpreted with the help of statistical tools such as mean, standard deviation and repeated measures ANOVA. The results indicate that children’s influence in stages of decision making process for child product and family product varies across Internet usage but not across rural and urban families. The results of this study are in line of past studies (Kaur and Medury, 2011) that children, especially teenagers have greater interest in the Internet and greater access to market information and use their virtual market knowledge to contribute significantly in family purchase decisions.