Tech

More millennial dads watch parenting videos on YouTube than moms

More millennial dads watch parenting videos on YouTube than moms
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More millennial dads watch parenting videos on YouTube than moms

Millennials aren't just those crazy kids: Google points out more than 40 percent of them are parents.

The company partnered with Flamingo and Ipsos Connect to study that generation of moms and dads. The findings were discussed on a panel at YouTube Corner during the the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas on Monday, and will be published on the Think With Google blog.

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What Google discovered was millennials parents were different, in particular:

- Millennial dads are stepping up and taking on more caregiving roles. On YouTube, more millennial dads watch parenting-related videos than moms.

Panelist Akash Pathek, who is the director of brand marketing and digital strategy at McDonald's, said data shows many millennials are choosing care of families over pursuing a career. In addition, fewer and lower paying jobs have lead millennial moms and dads to share the responsibility of raising a family.

"If you look at their generation — the baby boomer generation — you had really classical roles," McDonald's director of brand marketing and digital strategy Akash Pathek said on the panel. "This is not stereotyping. Millennials are in less classical roles. Frankly, in my Facebook groups there's a lot of dads who stay at home."

- Millennial parents have a more open relationship with their children, even compared with Gen X parents. Eight out of 10 say their child is one of their best friends, and about three-quarters say their children are involved in household decisions.

- Millennials are more likely to hold onto their hobbies than previous generations, whether that means taking time for themselves or involving their kids.

- Millennial parents rely on guidance from multiple sources, and are fine accepting advice from companies through branded content. Panelist David Chriswick, senior vice president and creative strategy lead at agency DigitasLBi, said that when doing research for Sprint, it was surprising to find that many millennial parents were going online to look for answers regarding smartphone-related issues with children.

"So many people are turning to Google and YouTube for advice on when they should introduce a smartphone to their kids or unlock their phones," Chriswick said. "That was really important because it unlocked a new audience for us."