The age of the digital native is here
Issue #19
Before I started working in the kid-tech industry, I would have guessed that the most popular brands among kids would be names like Disney, LEGO, Barbie, or some current flavor-of-the-month fad. Up until a few years ago, I might have been right. It’s much different today. Youth and family research firm Smarty Pants conducted Brand Love Studies in 2018 and 2019 and found that the most popular brand among US kids ages 6 to 12 is YouTube.
In 2018, other top-ten brands included Netflix, iPhone, iPad, Xbox and Google. In 2019, some of the tech brands had dropped down the list, but all were still represented in the top fifty with the exception of iPhone. It’s fascinating how “old standby” engagement vehicles for kids have tumbled so far down the list, and it reiterates we are in a digital age. Kids are using technology, they know all about it, and they’re not waiting until they’re older to dive in. It's even more important that we acknowledge this fact in the age of COVID because technology is even more intertwined with our lives than before.
According to the Common Sense Media Census for Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight, kids in this age range use about two and a half hours of screen media a day. And, 48% of kids in this age range have their own mobile device. Tech is here, and kids are on it. It’s not a question of if we’ll let them engage with it, but how. We as parents must ensure that we are facilitating the right structures and asking the right questions. Rather than wringing our hands about the amount of time kids are spending on screens, we should shift our focus to education, mentorship—and thinking about how we can empower our kids to thrive in the digital world. Because technology is here—and it isn't going anywhere.
A deeper dive
Here are a few helpful resources in case you want to really dig into today's topic:
If you're interested in seeing which brands are the most beloved by kids, check out the full top-fifty list from Smarty Pants. It's telling that a technology company like Google ranks higher than Disney—and goes to show how pervasive the platform is in our lives and the lives of children!
And, if you're curious how kids from zero to eight are using media, the Common Sense Media Census offers a great snapshot. It's especially interesting to compare how kids are using screen media against the recommendations. (Hint: there's a gap between the recommendations and reality.)
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
The narrative about screen time before the pandemic used to be one of moral panic. Experts talked about "addiction" and we were largely conditioned to think about screen time as a choice and not a necessity. That all ended with the pandemic. According to the Washington Post, "[a] year of everyone turning to technology has shown us that the worth, or danger, of devices has less to do with the glowing screens themselves, and more to do with how they are used. What appears to matter most is the support systems that children and their parents have available to them." To be honest, lots of us were making this argument before the pandemic, but I'm glad to see it catching on more these days.
One of our fundamental beliefs at Kinzoo is that kids deserve respect. They're smart and capable and we strive to treat them accordingly. That's why it's cool to see the New York International Children's Film Festival curating content that meets children where they are. The festival's program director said that, after a year of concurrent crises, the initial inclination was to offer light-hearted content. But ultimately, she said "I don’t think that fully does justice to kids. Kids need time to process grief and think about loss in ways that are developmentally appropriate.” The festival this year is streaming across the US, and you can learn more here!
And lastly
Here are a few more pieces of original writing from me and my team—just in case you're keen for more:
Online gaming is one of the ways that kids are keeping up with friends in the era of social distancing. If your family uses an Xbox console, you may have questions about how to keep your children safe while they're online. Our team put together a handy guide to help make sense of the parental controls that are available for the Xbox Series X and Series S.
There are a lot of apps out there, and it can be tricky for busy parents to vet everything their kids want to download. So, if you're not sure whether a game or platform is the right fit for your family, check out this helpful advice for choosing apps for children.
Okay, that's it from me until next week. If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know of another parent who would as well, please feel free to forward it along.