Digital Kids on
Branding, Privacy
and Technology Bias
PSEWeb Conference 2013
@andrewsmyk
#digitalkids #pseweb13
Digital Kids on
Branding, Privacy
and Technology Bias
PSEWeb Conference 2013
@andrewsmyk
#digitalkids #pseweb13
Andrew Smyk
Sheridan College
Program Coordinator
PSEWeb Conference 2013
@andrewsmyk
#digitalkids #pseweb13
“People two, three or four years apart
are having completely different
experiences with technology,”
Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tocaboca/5523596357/
10 - 6 - 3
11 - 7 - 4
the research
the research
54 interviews
3 birthday parties
2 girls soccer team
2 class room visits
the research
historical view
the research
the research
technology clusters
We preselect the technology
we give to kids
Kids select the technology
with the lowest level of
abstraction
the research
“They have their own brand new one.”
- Goldstone
“My daughter had her own iPad since
she was 1 years old.”
- gary2kool
“Kids hand me down went to the
grandparents.”
- themiss
methods
A/B Testing
A/B with Tablets
2 iPads (I & II)
2 Android Tablets
same apps installed
outcome
variation
iPad Only
children ages 3 to 5 years
old, know which logo and
products correspond with
which brand.
A/B with Web Sites
Two versions of a site created
(desktop vs. responsive)
95%
abandon rate
content
content
technology
Technology is neither good nor bad;
nor is it neutral. Kranzberg’s six laws of technology.
“This is my iPad.”
Hands on. Minds on. Authentic?
kids
“Why is there a phone in your camera?”
•Folding Chalk Board
+
•Face Time
•Folding Chalk Board
+
•Face Time
Technology associations
phone = camera, Kindle = book
“digital” is disappearing
“download” is disappearing
“play” terminology is changing
Kids prefer eReaders over
traditional print books
Except when reading is done
with a parent
Adapting Technologies to
their needs
Kids 2 to 6 are task focused,
not necessarily goal focused.
analog and digital
worlds
“The movement between digital and traditional analog
tools as means of expression and creation comes
naturally to kids. Their movement is seamless and
effortless; we’ve lost this skill as adults.”
- Andrew Smyk
www.andrewsmyk.com/research/kids-and-robots/
Prototyping
Collaborative drawing
Final Version
adults vs. children
branding
name some search engines?
Google
the internet
There are other search
engines.
“Really? Why?”
genericTM
privacy
16 girls
16 iPods
16 girls
16 iPods
16 girls
16 iPods
16 girls
16 iPods
Within the peer group,
there was no privacy
bias
Touch over type
adaptive/responsive content
mobile over desktop
Google SEO
- Josh Clark (@globalmoxie)
“Every Desktop Design Has
To Go Finger-Friendly"
http://alistapart.com/article/future-ready-content
“Future-Ready Content”
Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Content First
Mobile First
Orbital Content
other research areas
Under what conditions do
children have this gesture
bias?
With which devices?
What age does this emerge?
Between them and their
parents?
For which kind of activities?
my details
• twitter: @andrewsmyk
• blog: andrewsmyk.com/research
• Feel free to tweet, write, etc.
Thank You!

Digital Kids on Branding, Privacy and Technology Bias - PSEWeb13