Merging Media and the Market

“My kids idea of a hard life is to live in a house with only one phone”

George Foreman

This week we’re discussing the ethics and effectiveness of corporate Web sites and other new media applications that target children.  When it comes to advertising to children the consensus seems to be that it’s generally acceptable if it’s a public service announcement, education, or health-related message: but ultimately the parent’s job to monitor their children’s activities.  As such, many corporations that manufacture items for children often try to align their products with marketing messages that promote education and health.

Yet, the digital age has propelled us into a society with extremely wired children: in the sense that more and more children are using digital media.  Overall, children between the ages of two and 18 spend an average of almost five-and-a-half hours a day at home watching television, playing video games, surfing the Web or using some other form of media.  Some parents and critics are beginning to worry about the amount of time that their children spend with new-age entertainment and what messages their children encounter through new media.  While some studies have been conducted on this topic; the effects that new media have on children are still widely unknown and require further research. 

Educators know that when children are engaged, they learn more.  Interactive digital media are engaging more children at younger ages. How much they are learning from this exposure remains an open question since many products are developed without benefit of the principles of child development and little research into their educational effects exists.  Children often encounter interactive media first in the form of digitally enabled toys and story books. By the time they’re in preschool, the majority can use a computer mouse and can even load CDs and DVDs in the family computer. And since most television shows children watch now have web sites, they are gravitating to the Internet at younger ages. Especially with the invention of live gaming and virtual toys like Webkinz.  There are five major market trends that are shaping the digital landscape that targets children:

1.  Virtual Worlds – Simulated environments (such as Club Penguin and Webkinz) that children inhabit and interact with one another through digital representations of themselves known as avatars.

2.  Video Games – Makers of gaming platforms such as Nintendo’s popular Wii are shifting some of their focus to casual gaming. Likewise, online or live versions of these consoles allow children access to their computer, the internet, and live chat. 

3.  Video on the Web – Spurred by the success of video web sites such as YouTube, media companies have developed youth-oriented video destinations such as Kid Videos.

4.  Youth-Generated Content – User-generated content such as blogs, wikis and podcasts, which originated with adults, are finding applications in children’s media.

5.  Media Convergence – Television shows, radio broadcasts and movies are no longer confined to the television set, radio or theater. Children can receive them on computers and portable media, enabling a multi-platform delivery of educational programs.

Some argue that these trends are limiting the quality of sleep and physical activity of that children receive; others say that these experiences can truly be educational – offering children opportunities to explore the world, form communities with other children, and create their own works of art and literature. For the most part, however, the heavily promoted commercial sites, sponsored mainly by media conglomerates and toy companies, are overshadowing the legitimately educational sites.  While everyone has their own opinion about our society of wired children; the emphasis that new media puts on shared interests rather than social or physical characteristics can be empowering for all people, and especially for members of disadvantaged social groups, those who may be geographically isolated, or physically disabled. 

But if you’re worried about your child’s many digital experiences keep in mind that several new media applications allow parents to control the content of child’s experience.  If your children are using social networking sites you can ease your concerns by creating an account of your own and having your children accept you as a ‘friend’ so you can monitor their interaction and youth-generated content to ensure that their activities and contacts are age-appropriate.  Furthermore, the ‘Three C’s” Approach to Kid’s Media’ serves as a great compass in helping you decide whether or not your child’s interaction with any given new media application is beneficial based on your child’s individual situation:

Content – What is the basic premise of application? How is it designed? Does it have repetition? Are new words defined by pointing or labeling? Can you control the content? 

Context – Who is interacting with the child? Do you talk to your child about what’s on the screen? Is the child learning through a game, then applying that in another activity? Is the child telling stories about what he or she has experienced?

Child – How much stimulation can this child take? What scares her? What types of media trigger the most curious questions, playful reenactments, engagement and joy?

-Arin