Derek E. Baird, M.Ed.

Trend Watch: Kids, Technology and Privacy

Many parents are under the impression that it's just Google or social networking companies that are tracking and collecting data on their kids.

However, it's not just social and gaming apps who are collecting data on your kids.  There are many unseen players in the kids' media ecosystem--ranging from edtech companies to connected toys and digital assistants (hello, Alexa) and educational marketing companies, who are harvesting data on children and teens.

And while the new GDPR-K regulations (and the forthcoming CCPA) are a step in the right direction, in the U.S. it's time for our COPPA laws to be extended to protect the privacy of all minors.   

In recent years we've seen many high-profile data breaches, some involving children’s personal data, resulting from insufficient protections built into the emerging generation of smart devices and toys. 

Dr. Sonia Livingstone, a professor at London School of Economics, has authored a new study, "Children: A Special Case for Privacy" for the International Institute of Communications, that takes a deep dive into kids privacy. 

"Children’s voices are particularly absent, being rarely consulted or included in national or international deliberations. -Dr. Sonia Livingstone"

As this study points out, it's likely that the technology industry will get better at protecting the data of all its users, but their needs to be a conversation about the bigger issue of the "datafication" of our lives---especially when it comes to kids and teens---how or if their personal data should be used for commercial benefit.

 

AMAZE.org: Sex Ed YouTube Videos for Teens, Parents and Teachers.

You know that talking with your kids about sex and growing up is important, but it’s tempting to put it off. The reality is that these conversations can’t wait. AMAZE.org takes the awkward out of sex ed. Real info in fun, animated videos that give you all the answers teens actually want to know about sex, your body and relationships.

Fun, Factual & Less Weird Sex Ed

AMAZE.org  is creating fun, factual and age appropriate online sex education videos for young adolescents. AMAZE has collaborated with a group of incredible young animators who are enthusiastic about their mission to create edgy, innovative and compelling videos to help young people learn about reproductive health.

The series of sex ed videos are being produced in conjunction with youth health organizations Advocates for Youth, Answer, and Youth Tech Health and animation studio, The Moving Company, to help break the ice and start these critical conversations so that kids get the accurate information they need. 

Accurate & Non Judgmental Sex Education

In a time where "fake news" fills our kids social feeds, AMAZE.or provides provides kids, parents and teachers a happy medium between accessible, engaging sex ed materials that don't deviate from the purpose of sex ed in the first place: To provide accurate, non-judgmental answers to curious questions.

I was fortunate to work with the AMAZE.org team as a youth and social media analyst during the early phases of this project and I was was really impressed with all the different stakeholders and educators involved to bring AMAZE.org to life.

AMAZE is providing a critical resource for parents and teens and these videos will really help make talking about sex ed, sexual orientation and puberty much less weird and help shift these discussions into a more open, healthy and normalized.

Be sure to check out all the videos on YouTube!

Inc. Magazine Names Immersive Youth A Top Youth Marketing Blog

Our Immersive Youth team got some exciting news! Inc. Magazine has named us one of the Top Youth Marketing Blogs to watch in 2016! Needless to say, we are pretty excited to be in such great company with other digital youth firms like Ypulse and YouthBeat! 

The Inc article cites our Gen Z and Millennial Youthvine platform as a key differentiator from other digital youth agencies:

"What sets the company apart is Youthvine, its proprietary online community. Youthvine is a forum driven by young administrators.

It is coordinated to allow owners to communicate with next ­generation buyers. IYM's agency establishes the relationships, but Youthvine creates a unique experience to engage the new age."

Thanks to Dave Kerpen and Inc for including us on this list! And check out some of our work for a few of our clients, like Walt Disney World, Disney Yellow Shoes Creative Group and Funny or Die! And if you have a Gen Z or Millennial project you need help with, give us a shout out!

Welcome to Mars: Virtual Reality in the Classroom

There’s some very cool stuff happening out there with virtual reality in education! I've covered some of these classroom VR experiences in other posts, but Welcome to Mars---a new VR program for schools, created by Lockheed Martin, is among the coolest!

“The first people who will visit Mars are sitting in a school today. In fact, the first astronauts will arrive before today’s kindergartners graduate college. To help inspire these students, Lockheed Martin created a one-of-a-kind virtual reality experience.

The Mars Experience Bus is the first immersive VR vehicle ever built and it replicates the Martian landscape. Riders experience a virtual drive along the surface of the Red Planet.”

 

 

Related:

• The Social Life of Virtual Reality Learning Environments
• Oculus VR for Good
• Top Educational VR Google Cardboard Apps

 

REPORT: Ads and Media Contribute to Boys' Body Image Pressure

Credos, the advertising industry think tank, surveyed 1,005 boys from primary and secondary schools around the UK to explore their attitudes towards advertising and body image; focus groups with boys aged 8 to 18 and with teachers, youth leaders and parents added to understanding the roots, effects and solutions to boys' body confidence.

This report focuses on the way male models are portrayed in advertising and the media – particularly, whether boys are aware of digitally enhanced imagery and whether this impacts their behavior. 

The subsequent report, Picture of Health?, revealed that 53% of boys felt advertising was a major source of pressure to look good; only social media (57%) and friends (68%) exerted more influence, while celebrities (49%) were slightly less persuasive.

"This new research shows boys are increasingly worried about their appearance," said Karen Fraser, Credos director.

"We have to recognise that advertising and the wider media play some part in shaping how young people feel about themselves – both positively and negatively."

Key Insights

• And while most (80%) were aware of image-manipulation in the media, most appeared to associate this with the female form, as the study reported that they were surprised at the extent to which male images are altered
  
  
• Two thirds (67%) said it was not acceptable for brands to use digital techniques to change the body image of a model in their advertising
  
  
• But some secondary school-age boys (aged 11 to 18) suggested the way media portray men in their images could be healthy (33%) or even aspirational (22%)

• More generally, the study found that boys hold advertising in high regard, with 73% of secondary school boys agreeing that ads are important in letting them know about products

•  69% of 16-18 year olds said they had tried new products after seeing an advertisement

• Around one in four (42%) boys who thought the male images they saw were realistic also believed there is a "perfect body" to strive for, compared with just 16% of those who think male images are unrealistic

Picture of Health: Boys, Advertising and Body Image by Derek E. Baird via Advertising Association

State of the Kids Digital Space, Apps & Media

Alison Bryant and Paul Levine of children's digital research company PlayScience present their latest findings on kids and digital media at Casual Connect in San Francisco.

Not surprisingly, most children hear about new apps from their friends, especially as they get older, though younger children are more likely to learn about new apps from their parents.

Here's the executive summary of the PlayScience report:

PlayScience: Kids, Apps and Digital Media

Here's the video of the PlayScience presentation at the Casual Connect 2015 Conference in San Francisco.

 

Thanks to Scott Traylor of 360 Kid for the video!

Piper Jaffray: Instagram is the Top Social Network for Teens

According to the latest Piper Jaffray "Taking Stock with Teens" report, American youth are continuing to gravitate to Instagram and away from Facebook. 

Roughly three-quarters of respondents reported using the visual platform, up from 69% in the previous survey. By comparison, just 45% said they use Facebook, a significant drop from 72%.

Jaffray Piper also reports that friends and the Internet dominate teen influences and combine in social media environments. Instagram and Twitter are the two most used social media sites, implying teens are increasingly visual and sound bite communicators.

The Taking Stock With Teens survey is a semi-annual research project comprised of gathering input from approximately 7,200 teens with an average age of 16.0 years.

Teen spending patterns, fashion trends, and brand and media preferences were assessed through visits to a geographically diverse subset of high schools across 11 states and 14 schools, as well as an online survey that included 41 states. 

Piper Jaffray has also prepared an infographic that shows some of the key highlights from the Fall 2014 survey.

Taking Stock with Teens Fall 2014

Trend Watch: What do your Instagram posts say about you? It's high school all over again.

How you see the world is at the heart of Instagram, turning it into the digital version of high school, complete with its own cliques and cast of characters.

If you think about it, it’s not a surprise. After all, the idea at the heart of the social network is to use photos as a unique expression of your personality.

So when you choose what to capture and how to filter to get the right effect, you’re not just composing a shot, you’re revealing who you are. And like high school, those masterpieces peg you into broad archetypes, creating a Breakfast Club 2.0, if you will, for the 21st century.

Instead of jocks and cheerleaders roaming the halls or the cool clique smoking in the bathroom, you have visionaries, fashionistas, artistes and proud parents, each with their unique slant on the world, as well as hidden neuroses that make them human.

No matter what effect you lean towards or how much you crop, ultimately, you filter your sense of identity through the same lens that started to develop in high school — and it’s what you carry through life, whether you realize it or not.

So where do you fit in? What do your Instagram posts say about you?

Photo Credit: eminic23

Trend Watch: How Chatter Matters in TV Viewing

A new study from cable in­dustry as­so­ci­ation CTAM – and con­duc­ted by Nielsen – looks at how we talk about tele­vi­sion, what we talk about, when and with whom this chat­ter takes place, and how this dia­logue in­flu­ences TV en­gage­ment and tune-in be­ha­vi­or.

Infographic: Chatter Matters When Watching TV

Related articles

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Mobile Youth: Graham Brown on the Voices of a Mobile Generation

Good Question: How Much Time Do Kids Spend Watching TV?

Trend Watch: How Millennial 'Cord Nevers' Are Disrupting TV

Last week the Miami Herald ran a really interesting story on the impact that the shift of viewing habits from the TV to the web is having on both the broadcast and cable TV ecosystems. This new trend is being fueled by Millennials

The article sites a report from TDG Research, 'A Primary Profile of Cord Cutters and Cord Nevers', that found today, 87% of broadband households currently subscribe to a pay-TV service, a decline of almost five percentage points since 2010 but nonetheless a very strong indicator of the grip that pay-TV has an US households.

That being said, a growing number of broadband subscribers are now doing without pay-TV services altogether, having either “cut the cord” or never signed up to begin with in the first place.

Who are these 'Cord Nevers?" According to Jim Flynn, president of Massachusetts-based Overlook TV:

'They’re in their early 20s, just out of college, and for them, paying $100 or $200 a month for cable TV is just not an option. And they don’t feel bad about it. They’re part of this millennial generation who are perfectly happy getting all their video over the Internet.'

But then, other experts say this 'Millennial 'Cord Nevers' are destroying the TV and Cable TV business' conversation is a bunch of nonsense. What do you think?

Speaking of the Internet, Millennials and TV, here are some stats:

Internet & TV

• In the US, the rise of the internet as a frequent source of entertainment is most dramatic in the 18-34 group, rising from 27 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2010.

• In the US, 32 percent of 18-54 year olds look most frequently to the web for entertainment (compared with 58 percent watching TV). 

• The internet also ranked second in the UK, with 30 percent turning to the web most frequently, compared with 57 percent watching TV.

• Internet is second only to TV as a frequent “source of entertainment.”

Freedom of Content

• In the 2008 study, free content was the dominant issue.  This year’s study shows it is the ability to access content across devices, not cost, that is of significance to consumers.

• 65 percent of US respondents think it is important that they are able to access their entertainment on a number of different devices.
• 59 percent of UK respondents think it is important that they are able to access their entertainment on a number of different devices.
• 58 percent (US) and 53 percent (UK) of consumers state they would be willing to pay for content if they were able to move it across devices.

Related articles

Why "Cord Nevers" Don't Worry Me

Research: Pay TV customers will cut existing bills before cutting cords [NewTeeVee Station]

Could Cord Cutters (and Lena Dunham Fans) One Day Get a Crack at HBO?

The TV Industry is Alive and Well

Wayward Nation: A Cross-Country Journey to Find the Gen Y American Dream

Wayward Nation is a documentary series that follows Ethan and Mikey, an activist and a filmmaker, in a cross-country journey in search of stories that narrate how this generation is finding ways to rise to the challenge of becoming the next great generation.

By sharing these stories they hope to energize  and invigorate others into being extraordinary.

Wayward Nation takes us on a journey in search of the American Dream as defined by Gen Y. In these 5-10 minute episodes they will profile resilient Gen Y members who have found their purpose, be they a ground-breaking non-profit organization or someone who is just starting out.

Wayward Nation Kickstarter Campaign

Wayward Nation plans to film 12 episodes for its first season, profiling people, for example: those who are trying to eradicate youth-homelessness, one backpack at a time or an open community that is restoring land and living sustainably. This is more than a web-series, it’s a movement that is trying to convert Gen Y’s cynicism into optimism. 

They are the first to have the technology to change the world. They make up 30% of the US population and have been said to be influenced and motivated by their peers so, just maybe, Wayward Nation can excite and provoke others into doing something positive in their lives.

 

Wayward Nation is live on Kickstarter and is looking for backers who will help them get on the road and start getting the stories about these prodigious Gen Y individuals to motivate others to get off the couch and start being the best they can be. 

By pledging as little as $15, you can get a downloadable HD version of all episodes and a special featurette for backers only with unreleased behind the scenes footage.

Gen Y and the New American Dream

The creators, as members of Gen Y, were motivated to do this project because they said, "We see the old notion of the American Dream as not only unattainable, but undesirable.

We believe there is a NEW version of the American Dream, and that there are plenty of people out there who have already figured out what that is.”

 

The pioneers of this New American Dream are normal people, just like us, who do what they love, and use that passion to make the world a better place. Wayward Nation is dedicated to telling their stories because to us, it's no longer about where we get to in life. It's about the roads we travel.

Follow Wayward Nation on Twitter

Become a fan of Wayward Nation on Facebook 

OMG! Text Messaging Celebrates 20th Anniversary

You might not believe it, but text messaging is already past its teen years.

The thumb-numbing communications format that has become a favorite of teenagers and created a language of its own turned 20 on Monday.

The very first SMS was sent out on Dec. 3, 1992 when English engineer Neil Papworth, while working at the English tech company Sema, wrote "Merry Christmas" on his computer and sent it off to Vodafone director Richard Jarvis.

 

Related: Text Message's 20th Anniversary Finds Users Turning to Facebook

Kids Online: Opportunities and Challenges in Social Networking

What do we know about young kids and the online social networking sites in which they participate?

In a new report published by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center , Drs. Deborah Fields and Sara Grimes delve into landscape of kids and social media and raise some important questions that deserve more attention.

Kids Online: A new research agenda for understanding social networking forums

A growing number of kids at increasingly younger ages are engaging in online social networking today-a development that is leading to a surge of news stories, media attention, and economic investment.

In this paper, scholars Sara Grimes and Deborah Fields argue that these shifts in usage and public discussion demand a better understanding of the ways that social networking sites mediate kids' socializing and the opportunities and limits they place on kids' participation, particularly for young children.

The paper, Kids online: A new research agenda for understanding social networking forums, is a first step to documenting pressing questions about children's involvement online, namely:

° Which children are using social networking forums and what are they doing there?
° What do we know about how online experiences influence children's social, cognitive, and creative development?
° What kind of research do we need to do now, in order to understand more deeply who is going online, what kinds of things they are doing, and what opportunities or challenges are involved?
° And finally, what should designers, educators, and parents be aware of as they navigate these new environments and try to help children make the most of them?

Infographic: The Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silent Generation

Created by: Online Graduate Programs | View Large | Hat tip @ypulse

How to Report Suicidal Expressions on Facebook

Earlier this week, Facebook launched a new initiative to augment its response to potentially suicidal members by offering them the opportunity for a private chat with a trained crisis representative from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

This service will be available to people who use Facebook in the United States and Canada.

The new service enables Facebook users to report a suicidal comment they see posted by a friend to Facebook using either the Report Suicidal Content link or the report links found throughout Facebook.

The person who posted the suicidal comment will then immediately receive an e-mail from Facebook encouraging them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or to click on a link to begin a confidential chat session with a crisis worker.

Preventing suicide is everyone’s business. Nearly 100 Americans die by suicide every day, and in the past year, more than eight million Americans 18 or older had thought seriously about suicide.

Here's a free printable on this new program. Feel free to share it with teachers, parents, youth pastors or anyone else who works with youth.

Related Resources

• Reach Out USA (http://us.reachout.com)
• Facebook Safety Center (http://www.facebook.com/safety/)
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/)
• Facebook Help Center > Report Suicidal Content (http://on.fb.me/gkh2Hh)