Derek E. Baird

The Gen Z Frequency: Book Release Day

Today my book ‘The GenZ Frequency’, co-written with Gregg L. Witt, was officially published in the UK and the rest of the world by Kogan Page! The book will be published in the US on September 28th!

‪If I’ve learned anything during the process of writing this book, it’s that Gen Z is going to change the world.‬ Thank you to all the young people who were willing to talk to me during the writing of this book and helping me to tune into the Gen Z frequency. ‬

'The Gen Z Frequency' offers a comprehensive youth marketing guide for any brand or organization trying to reach this demographic, covering fundamental truths, content creation, connecting with youth culture, engagement strategies and tactics such as social media, experiential, emerging technologies (like AR and VR), kids privacy law, building online communities, edtech and much more.

Available on Amazon, iBooks and KoganPage

Infographic: Gen Z and the Future of TV

Gen Z is the first generation that has had access to on-demand television content for a majority of their lives. Yet, questions still remain around how these digital natives actually consume content, as well as what their attitudes are towards video advertising in comparison to Generation X and Millennials. That is until now.

In a quest to better understand Generation Z, Hulu partnered with Tremor Video to survey over a thousand respondents ages 14-50 on their TV and SVOD consumption habits and digital video advertising preferences. 

And, with the help of the Center of Generational Kinetics, the results provide a window into the variance in behaviors and preferences across three generations – Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

From binge-watching, to using TV as a social capital, the future of TV is intertwined across a range of Gen Z preferences and behaviors.

Here's some of the key findings from the Hulu Insights team:

• 70% of Gen Z respondents equate “watching TV” with watching via an online source.
• Gen Z is less likely to actively avoid watching advertising and over 50% said they don’t mind or actually enjoy watching TV ads.
• 60% of Gen Z respondents prefer to “binge” a show, watching multiple episodes at a time – compared to only 40% of Gen X.
• Gen Z is driven by a need to be “in the know” about TV in order to be part of the social conversation. 20% have posted about a show… without actually watching it!

Related

• Cornucopia of Children's Content Comes to Streaming Services
• Derek E. Baird Blog Category > TV
• Most Popular SVOD & TV Apps for Kids
• Disney's New Platform Could Be The Streaming King for Kids SVOD

Photo Credit:  Victoria Heath on Unsplash

Instagram Celebrates Gen Z Change Makers at #KindnessProm

In addition to the anti-bullying comment filter announced yesterday, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced that they are hosting the first ever #KindnessProm to celebrate young leaders who are inspiring their peers by helping kindness, acceptance and support grow on Instagram and in the world.

The prom is for students and “teen influencers” from around the country. It will be a “totally immersive, Instagrammable experience that focuses on positivity, kindness, giving back and community,” according to the Palm Beach Post.  Instead of choosing a prom king and queen, each guest will get a kindness award. Radio Disney Host and DJ Miss Lela Brown will play the music.

One of the teens invited to attend the Instagram Kindness Prom is Kayla Abramowitz, founder of Kayla Cares 4 Kids, a non-profit which supplies DVDs, video games, books, and craft supplies to children’s hospitals.

The Kindness Prom isn’t the first wellbeing initiative from Instagram to focus on teens, bullying, and social media. Last year Instagram launched the Instagram Together campaign which showcased their continued commitment to developing tools that address bullying, mental health, and other topics impacting tweens, teens and young adults.

 

• Related: Instagram pays it forward by throwing a "Kindness Prom" for teen influencers | ABC NEWS

Blocking Bad: Protecting Teens on Instagram

Yesterday, during the annual Facebook F8 Developer Conference, Instagram announced that they had launched new anti-bullying & comment filtering AI technology that will automatically filter out comments that “harass or upset people in our community.

As the number one social network for Gen Z teens, Instagram has been increasingly proactive in developing both technology and wellbeing programs that improve the lives of the teens. In addition, the new comment filter is focusing on protecting teen celebrities and influencers who are often the recipients of brutal attacks in the comment section on their social feeds.

We first got a sneak peek at this new filtering technology last summer when Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom sat down with CBS News to talk about how the social network is betting that limiting hate speech will encourage more expression on the platform.

"Is it free speech just to be mean to someone?" - Kevin Systrom, CEO Instagram

According to Instagram, "This new filter hides comments containing attacks on a person's appearance or character, as well as threats to a person's well-being or health. The bullying filter is on for our global community and can be disabled in the Comment Controls center in the app.”

As teens  increasingly turning to social media platforms, like Instagram, to talk about their mental health and find resources to help them through their personal struggles, it's more important than ever that social media companies realize that they play an increasingly vital role and responsibility in promoting kindness and supporting the mental health of teens in their online communities. 

 

Related: Instagram #KindnessProm

Trend Watch: How Gen Z Use GIFs to Convey Emotion and Celebrate Shared Cultural Moments

In the last few years, there’s been an explosion in the use of GIFS – those little-looped videos that seem to be everywhere. The GIF is often misunderstood as a component of modern communication. 

Gen Z navigates their anxieties by relying on visual-centric social media platforms, like GIFs, emoji, and memes, wherein they can both create and share visual content to express their emotions. 

On social platforms, they embrace memes, visual narratives, GIFs and emoji to create fan art and provide their visual interpretations of shared cultural experiences and project their own emotions into their social media feeds. The visual narrative content posted on these platforms can largely be employed, remixed, and re-appropriated across one another and be reused for multiple purposes across multiple moments in time.

This creates a form of unity in social narratives, situating visual materials as both conversational and archival, across the platforms while also positing disunity and the breakdown of platform exclusive vernaculars.

This episode of the Australian podcast, Future Tense, host Antony Funnell talks to digital researchers and linguists about the ways that people are using GIFs, emoji, selfies and other visual communication tools as narratives to express their ideas, emotions or as visual expressions and celebrations of shared cultural moments.

 

 

Related

Giphy builds transparent GIF library for Instagram Stories

Trend Watch: Facebook Freebooting

Here are all the new Animojis coming to your iPhone X (AAPL)

STUDY: The Role of Social Media and Technology in Peer Bullying

Top 10 best meme generator apps Android 2018

Josh Shipp: The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans

Josh Shipp has a pretty amazing story and is known for his really great advice for teens on, well — just about everything! MTV called his series “Hey! Josh” the Dear Abby for teens.

Full disclosure: Josh is a friend, so I know he’s too modest to list off his many accomplishments. But that doesn’t mean I can’t brag on him--here we go!

Josh has spoken at universities such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT & UCLA and to over TWO MILLION students around the country. He is a recognized teen expert for media outlets as MTV, CNN, FOX, The New York Times, 20/20, and Good Morning America. And Oprah. (Yes, that Oprah.)

“When it comes to understanding the minds of teens, there is no greater expert than Josh Shipp. I’ve witnessed firsthand the lives he’s transformed.”

// Ellen Rakieten, Emmy Award-Winning Producer of OPRAH

Josh is the author of the national bestseller “The Teen’s Guide to World Domination“ and he also was featured in the documentary TV series Teen Trouble (A&E) which followed his ground-breaking work with teens.

Growing Up Josh

Once an at-risk foster kid, he was facing down a bleak future that was likely to include prison or homelessness—until he met the grown-up who changed his life. Josh was passed around the foster care system, he was the class clown, a trouble maker.

He was written off, kicked out, and labeled every parents worst nightmare. Enter Rodney, the foster parent who refused to quit on Shipp and finally got him to believe in himself. And in doing so, changed the trajectory of his young life.

The Power of One Caring Adult

In March 2015, Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child released a study saying, “Every child who winds up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult.”

Maybe this child is 9 and in your Boy Scout Troop. Maybe she’s your 13-year-old step-daughter. Maybe he’s 15 and lives in your neighborhood. Whoever it may be, you have the power to make a positive and significant difference in their lives.

Here's how to be that caring adult for the kid in your life.

Step 1: Find out what they’re into.

Step 2: Spend time doing what matters to them because they matter to you.

Step 3: Your investment of time will lead to influential conversations.

If you’re interested in learning more about mentoring or finding a kid who needs a mentor, Josh has pulled together some resources:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• The Mentoring Project
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America

As Josh says, “Do for ONE kid — what you wish you could do for ALL kids.”

Grown-Up's Guide to Teenage Humans

On September 19th Josh's brand new book out for parents (teachers, uncles, aunts, youth leaders), “The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans”, a practical guide for understanding teens hits bookshelves around the country. 

His goal for this book is to help parents and other caring adults be there for the kids in your life, and let them know that you see under the surface of their troubles. You see what they can be—and what they can be is amazing. 

Josh challenges adults to be that one caring adult – that person who changes a kid’s life with a simple, caring act. It starts with you, and it starts now.

Stressing the need for mutual respect, trust, and encouragement, Josh identifies three key mindsets crucial to understanding teens.

He breaks down the distinct phases of teenage life, examining the challenges at each phase, and offers revelatory stories that take us deep inside the teen brain.

"Every kid is ONE caring adult away from being a success story." // Josh Shipp

Josh’s message is simple, clear and a refreshing change from the alarmist advice that is so often the default when it comes to discussing Gen Z teens. You can learn more about “Grown-Up’s Guide” and download a free chapter over on his website or order a copy from Amazon.

Connect with Josh Shipp

Twitter/JoshShipp | JoshShipp.com | FB/JoshShipp | YouTube/JoshShipp

Meet the Tweens of Gen Z

What sets Gen Z apart is an unrelenting relationship with information and technology, and their early independence, born of impatience and the confidence to act. These are the identifying traits of what will be the largest demographic in history.

And yet, their confidence and knowledge often out pace experience...which causes tension between an advanced intellect, and the reality of their actual age and emotional intelligence.

At the epicenter of this tension we find tweens—a complex subset of Gen Z. They are caught up in the turbulent transition from simply being a kid, to fending off the intricate pressures of teenage existence. They are the pivotal middle-ground of Gen Z.  

Tweens pose an interesting dilemma. Kids (5–8) are still largely influenced by and accessed through their parents.

Teens (14–18) are rapidly forming their own opinions and establishing independence from parents, and there are direct channels to reach them.

Tweens (9–13), on the contrary, are the hardest to reach, even while they are actively seeking cues and learning to form opinions. 

Because they are the least accessible, and arguably the most open to influence, tweens are an important puzzle to solve for companies marketing to Gen Z.

Gen Z is set to influence nearly $600 billion dollars of family spending and will comprise 40% of consumers by 2020. To succeed in marketing to this unique segment, any brand that wants in, has to be willing to play by their rules.

My colleague, Gregg Witt and I have co-authored a new book for Motivate Youth.

In this guide, you will learn key insights, strategies, and tactics your company can deploy to improve tween marketing efforts. You can download a copy of Meet the Tweens of Gen Z over on Scribd.

 

"Instagram Together" Showcases Mental Health

Instagram has launched an initiative called "Instagram Together" to showcase their continued commitment to developing tools that address bullying, mental health, and other topics impacting tweens, teens and young adults.

Teens and young adults are increasingly turning to social media platforms, like Instagram, to talk about their mental health struggles, so this is a much needed and welcome program.

As part of the Instagram Together campaign, several influential members of the community are showcased, sharing stories of how they use the Instagram ecosystem and hashtags (like #ItsOkayToTalk) to share their mental health journey with others to build (or find) a network of support.

Instagram is #HereForYou

As part of Mental Health Awareness month, Instagram announced a hashtag campaign called #HereForYou, which highlights how the social network has helped support its community members struggling with mental health issues.

 

Reporting Self-Harm on Instagram

Members of the community can also anonymously report others who they feel may be in need of mental health support.

The Self Harm Reporting feature allows users to report a mental health concern to Instagram and send the user a message with mental health resources in their country.  

These resources also display when someone visits a hashtag for a sensitive topic, like hashtags associated with self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide. 

This feature is very similar to the Facebook feature that allows people to report expressions of self-harm.

It's great to see Instagram taking active steps towards creating and fostering a safer, kinder experience by addressing the mental health, safety and well-being of their community. 

 

Related: How Texting Can Save Teen Lives

 

• If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Be Authentic! Immersive Youth & Youthvine Joins Motivate

Our startup, Immersive Youth, along with our Youthvine platform, have been acquired by Motivate ROI and together we are launching Motivate Youth!

Motivate — the leading specialized insights and media partner for reaching Multicultural, Youth and LGBTQ segments — announced today its acquisition of Immersive Youth, an insights-driven agency that connects brands with tweens, teens, and young adults.

The acquisition supports Motivate’s strategy for aggressive expansion into its targeted growth markets: Multicultural, Youth and LGBTQ.

By adding Immersive Youth’s expertise, and dynamic team and leadership, Motivate reinforces its culturally-focused service to world-class brands and agency partners. Post-acquisition, Immersive Youth will be rebranded as Motivate Youth.

“Gen Z is the most ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history, being 47 percent multicultural,” said Trevor Hansen, CEO of Motivate. “Bringing on Immersive Youth is in response to the demand from brands to reach the largest demographic group today.

Immersive Youth’s approach to connecting brands with Gen Z is rooted in firsthand audience dialogue and analytic decisions that inform not only the strategies, but also the visuals, messaging and activation experience.

The team’s rigorous insights-to-activation process comprises a set of guiding principles that are proven to drive results. We are excited about the possibilities that will arise from this union.”

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!

It's Approved! New Kids & Social Media Patent!

One of the patents I worked on while at The Walt Disney Company (TWDC), Dynamic Trust Score for Evaluating Ongoing Online Relationships, was just approved by the U.S. Patent Office! It was a team effort and centers around kids, privacy and social media. I've included a copy of the full patent below!

 

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for a dynamic trust score for evaluating ongoing online relationships. By considering a plurality of user data variables and using validation data from internal and external database sources, a trust score with a high degree of confidence may be provided for establishing and verifying online relationships.

Since the trust score may be dynamically recalculated periodically or on demand, the trust score may also validate over continuing periods of time, as opposed to conventional verification systems that only validate at a single point in time.

Thus, a higher degree of safety, reliability, and control is provided for online services directed towards children or other user classes that may require greater protection.

 

 Dynamic Trust Score for Evaulating Ongoing Online Relationships by Derek E. Baird on Scribd

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

YA Book Review: Dumplin by Julie Murphy

Dumplin’ Will Steal Your Heart

YA author Julie Murphy’s writing shows a deep understanding of creating characters and a stories that readers will care deeply about.

Anyone who picks up this book, but most importantly teen readers, will relate to the main character Willowdean’s insecurities and learn how to get past their own.

This charming novel has a big dose of West Texas culture, a deep appreciation of the master storyteller Dolly Parton, and a wildly unforgettable heroine — Dumplin’ is a stunning debut novel.

Read the entire review over on Medium.com/derekeb

STUDY: The Role of Social Media and Technology in Peer Bullying

Recently published research in the journal Psychology of Violence,  from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC),  – “The Role of Technology in Peer Harassment: Does It Amplify Harm for Youth?” (pdf)  conducted a survey  of 791 young people aged 10-20 to find out the role of technology and social media in peer bullying.

The big take away from the study is that the negative impact of online bullying is "significantly lower" than bullying behaviors that occur face-to-face.

• "...That those seeking to prevent the most detrimental forms of peer harassment might focus less on cyberbullying per se and instead [consider] prevention programs that teach youth to handle negative feelings and to de-escalate tensions."

• “Compared with in-person incidents, technology-only incidents were less likely to involve multiple episodes and power imbalances.”
   
• “They were seen by victims as easier to stop and had significantly less emotional impact.” So, no, the idea that tech amplifies harm, is not supported by the data."

While many researchers have been concerned that cyberbullying could actually be worse than facing a victim offline and in person, the study actually provided opposite results.

"Technology-only incidents were less likely than in-person only incidents to result in injury, involve a social power differential and to have happened a series of times," Kimberly J. Mitchell, lead author of the study, said in a news release.

"Mixed episodes, those that involved both in-person and technology elements, were more likely than technology-only episodes to involve perpetrators who knew embarrassing things about the victim, happen a series of times, last for one month or longer, involve physical injury and start out as joking before becoming more serious. It is these mixed episodes that appear to be the most distressing to youth."

This study represents a big shift in thinking about social media bullying and should make everyone involved in working with kids and teens shift more focus on to the bullying behaviors that take place in the classroom, home and playground.

The Role of Technology in Peer Harassment: Does It Amplify Harm for Youth?

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