Interest
Shibuya 109 Survey Reveals Hardcore Spending Habits of Young 'Wotaku' Women
posted on by Kim Morrissy
In July, youth marketing research institution Shibuya 109 lab carried out a survey among 230 women aged around 20 (i.e. 15-24) today regarding "wotaku activities." ("Wotaku," as defined by the survey, refers to a "fan" or "person who spends a lot of time and money [on one's hobby].) The results of the research were released on Shibuya 109 lab's website on Tuesday.
According to the survey, 72.6% of respondents identified as "wotaku." The most popular interests were Japanese male idols/celebrities (38.3%) and foreign male idols/celebrities (12.6%). Anime, manga, and games were at 4.2%.
The survey's respondents spend a large amount of money on their hobbies. 15.6% of respondents spend over 150,000 yen (US$1,400) per year on their fandom. This was also the most popular answer. The second most popular response was between 10,000 to 20,000 yen per year (15%).
How fandom is expressed was also a topic addressed by the survey. The most popular options were going to events/concerts (85.6%) and gathering information on Twitter (73.1%). Most respondents found fellow wotaku friends by posting under the relevant hashtags (59.3%) and searching the hashtags (55.7%). Respondents who bonded with others over their wotaku activities would typically exchange information over social media (62.9%) and/or meet up at concerts (59.9%), among other things.
The results of this survey have crossover with a survey conducted by Rakuma earlier this year, which found that over 80% of high school girls identified as an "otaku" of something.
Source: Shibuya 109 lab (Mai Osada) via Nijimen
