Full report on Pew Internet by Amanda Lenhart

Overview

o       Teens are fervent communicators. Straddling childhood and adulthood, they communicate frequently with a variety of important people in their lives: friends and peers, parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, and a myriad of other adults and institutions. This report examines the tools teens use to communicate, with a particular focus on mobile devices, and then places the use of those tools in the broader context of how teens choose to communicate with people in their lives.

o       The volume of texting among teens has risen from 50 texts a day in 2009 to 60 texts for the median teen text user. In addition, smartphones are gaining teenage users. Some 23% of all those ages 12-17 say they have a smartphone and ownership is highest among older teens: 31% of those ages 14-17 have a smartphone, compared with just 8% of youth ages 12-13.

About the Survey

o       The 2011 Teens and Digital Citizenship Survey sponsored by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 799 teens ages 12 to 17 years old and their parents living in the continental United States. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source, LLC from April 19 to July 14, 2011. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is ±4.8 percentage points.

o       In addition to the two surveys, this study conducted 7 focus groups with teens between the ages of 12 and 19 in the greater Washington, DC metro area in January and February 2011. Participants were recruited via word of mouth, email, schools, and non-profit organizations. A total of 57 youth participated in the focus groups, though each group averaged 8 to 14 people.

Also worth reading The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics by

Alice E. Marwick and  danah boyd

If I stated, “the weather’s changeable” you’d probably accept it without challenge, as every day the weather changes. If I asked you to find two snow flakes exactly the same, you would probably agree that’s an impossible challenge. However, if I told you that ScreenAgers know more about digital, media and social and than you (or me) I expect you would, in the politest way possible, move on and find something wholly more agreeable to your views. We have to learn to overcome our inbuilt and significant preference for news that plays to our fears (TED talk) and views that confer with our own views and opinions (Obliquity); we have to think outside of our comfort zone. ScreenAgers don’t have our old models to hang onto; it is worth seeing where they are going, so we can tag along.

Yes, there are new rules for engaging in a digital world that build on the social ones handed down from previous generations (33 new digital rules); but generally the digital age in which we live is creating change. This digital age is making things faster (PEW) and there may well be just too much information (Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice).  How we are dealing with it is widely debated (Nicholas Carr), and some business models and indeed businesses are being cast aside, thinkEncyclopaedia Britannica and Kodak this year. There are some very contentious issues that we love to debate: privacy, trust, identity and reputation management are the obvious ones that cross marketing, PR, brand, technology, law, regulation and economic boundaries.

Whilst we sit about debating our own personal views, the ScreenAgers are a group of savvy young communicators who have jumped into the fast flowing digital stream and learnt to swim. While they perfect their techniques, we are still deciding if it is safe, if the water’s the right temperature, how deep it is, if we’re insured, what to wear, who’s already in, what the risk is, and who will teach us about this unknown!

Given this change, what is the ScreenAger’s view on branding and trust and what can we learn from them?  Some primary research was undertaken in Q4 2011 by ScreenAgers Trust Model; and the output is quite uncomfortable for hard line traditionalists who still hang onto their management theory from a 1990s MBA. Even the father of corporate strategy, Michael Porter accepts he was wrong about profit being a primary driver (HBR) and his value chain ideal has been tossed into the bin (HBR).

Our findings suggest that ScreenAgers understand privacy and they understand brands. ScreenAgers ‘get’ that they are the product, and advertisers are the customer of their free services. In terms of trust, they have an expectation that brands will exploit their data, and indeed expect them to do so, if they want the brand’s free services and personalisation. However, their willingness to share (share infographic) about goods, services and products is built on trust (45%) and experience of the brand (35%).

The survey looked at what ScreenAgers trust, and the results showed that they understand the balance of what data should and can be collected.  They have expectations of who should get what data; and as regards analysing data and creating value from data for personalisation or customisation, they have strong views on who is good at it, and who is not.

So the message from this research appears to be that there needs to be clear alignment between brand promise and brand delivery, if you expect ScreenAgers to share with you and share your message. A refreshingly honest lesson for PR consultants to think about.

This was written for Firefly

http://www.fireflycomms.com/news/blog/what-pr-consultants-need-to-know-about-screenagers-brand-trust-and-reputation-management

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University published a new report from the Youth and Media project: “Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality” by Urs Gasser, Sandra Cortesi, Momin Malik, & Ashley Lee.

Building upon a process- and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities.

A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality—primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies—reveals patterns in youth’s information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation.

Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure.

Key Findings:
1. Search shapes the quality of information that youth experience online.
2. Youth use cues and heuristics to evaluate quality, especially visual and interactive elements.
3. Content creation and dissemination foster digital fluencies that can feed back into search and evaluation behaviors.
4. Information skills acquired through personal and social activities can benefit learning in the academic context.

To access the full report (150 pages) and additional material, please visit: http://youthandmedia.org/infoquality

Click here to download:

Bazaarvoice_Millennials_Infographic.pdf (1.38 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Bazaarvoice_Millennials_Infographic.pdf (1.38 MB)

By 2017, Millennials – those consumers now in their mid-teens to mid-30s – will have more spending power than any other generation. (5 years!)

Millennials lean on UGC (user generated content) to purchase major electronics, cars, hotel stays, travel accommodations, apply for credit cards, and choose insurance providers.

Gen-Y believes that other consumers care more about their opinions than companies do - and that's why they continue to share their opinions online.

Millennialls trust strangers over friends and family.

http://www.bazaarvoice.com/static/download/Bazaarvoice_Millennials_Infographic.pdf

Screenagers, generation Y, millenials, digital natives, the facebook generation…is a collective of young and digitally engaged communicators.

We heard from Jessica Riches,  Ellie Berney, Angelique Schierz-Crusius, James Hartt  - at the Summit

Another PR oriented write up from Firefly is here

Some highlights

1. They get private and know how to compartmentalise

2. They are sure who theirs friends are, but have not thought about the issues of professional friends (phew)

3. They are always social - even when with others and screens

4. They get brands, data and what is going on

5. They are the educators of us, younger siblings and grandparents

6. There is not a unified view of what you will use this for

If you are interested in this topic - please have a look at this survey ..... https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFHR3BF

A sneak peek from the screenagers survey, are they more aware about law than we think?

The survey is still live so have your say at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFHR3BF  We will send you the summary results if you complete it ! Read the  philosophy of Screenagers – Brands and Trust

The event is this week,

Theme:   Screenagers – what do they really think

Event:    Debate, presentations and insights

When:    Thursday 3rd November

Where:   Innovation Warehouse, 1 East Poultry Avenue, London.  EC1A 9PT  www.theIW.org

Timing:   From 10.30 to 15.30

Pricing:   From free if you bring a screenager, £35 as an entrepreneur to £95 for a corporate ticket

Register: http://www.summit.mydigitalfootprint.com/