13 Things to Know About Teens and Technology Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project July 23, 2014 ACT – College Enrollment Planners Chicago Email:

13 Things to Know About Teens and Technology

Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet ProjectJuly 23, 2014ACT – College Enrollment Planners ChicagoEmail: [email protected]: @Lrainie

Dispelling myths

1) No playbook for new environment

2) No sure cure for making contact

StupidNarcissistic

Privacy indifferentMaterialistic

Anti-socialMean

Especially savvy ‘digital natives’

3) Teens are not an alien speciesTeens are more _____

What is different about them does tie to technology

4) Teens have tech-saturated lives

• 95% use internet / ~ three-quarters have broadband at home74% access internet on mobile device – 25% “cell mostly”

internet users• 78% have cell phones / 47% have smartphones– 80% have desktop/laptop– 23% have tablet computers

• 81% use social networking sites – 76% use Facebook - 24% use Twitter– Approx. from young adult data: a quarter of teens use

Instagram; 1 in 7 use Pinterest; 1 in 10 use Tumblr

5) This has networked information

• Pervasive / portable / persistent

• Personal via new filters• Participatory / spreadable• Linked

• Replicable and editable• Immediate• Timeless / searchable• Given meaning via networks /

algorithms

Implications for learnersand information seekers

6) Information is a ‘third skin’

7) Teens have a new attention layer – “continuous, partial”

8) Teens have a fifth lobe

9) Teens participate in the ‘fifth estate’

10) There is a Yin and Yang story when it comes to the way this affects teens’ research

Online survey of 2,462 Advanced Placement and Writing Teachers

77% of teachers surveyed say the internet and digital search tools have had a “mostly positive” impact on their students’ research work

87% agree these technologies are creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans”

76% of the teachers in this study strongly agree “the internet enables students to access a wider range of resources than would otherwise be available”

76% strongly agree that internet “search engines have conditioned students to expect to be able to find information quickly and easily”

65% agree to some extent that “the internet makes today’s students more self-sufficient researchers”

83% agree that the “amount of information available online today is overwhelming to most students”

90% agree that “the internet encourages learning by connecting students to resources about topics of interest to them”

71% agree that today’s digital technologies “discourage students from using a wide range of sources when conducting research”

Grading students’ research skills

Ability to recognize bias in online content

Patience and determination in looking for information that is hard to find

Ability to assess the quality and accuracy of information they find online

Ability to use multiple sources to effectively support an argument

Understanding how online search results are generated

Ability to use appropriate and effective search terms and queries

0% 50% 100%

1%

1%

3%

3%

5%

6%

7%

6%

11%

12%

19%

20%

20%

15%

26%

26%

29%

36%

38%

35%

37%

39%

26%

29%

33%

43%

24%

20%

21%

9%

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

What is the future of learning?-- Shana Ratner (1997) “Emerging Issues in Learning Communities”

New: Learning as a process

Knowledge is objective and

certain

Old: Learning as transaction

Knowledge is subjective and

provisional

New: Learning as a process

Learners receive knowledge

Old: Learning as transaction

Learners create knowledge

What is the future of learning?-- Shana Ratner (1997) “Emerging Issues in Learning Communities”

New: Learning as a process

Knowledge is organized in stable, hierarchical

structures that can be treated

independently of one another

Old: Learning as transaction

Knowledge is organized “ecologically”-disciplines are integrative and

interactive

What is the future of learning?-- Shana Ratner (1997) “Emerging Issues in Learning Communities”

New: Learning as a process

We learn best passively, by listening and

watching

Old: Learning as transaction

We learn best actively doing and managing

our own learning

What is the future of learning?-- Shana Ratner (1997) “Emerging Issues in Learning Communities”

New: Learning as a process

Our “intelligence” is based on our

individual abilities

Old: Learning as transaction

Our “intelligence” is based on our

networks

What is the future of learning?-- Shana Ratner (1997) “Emerging Issues in Learning Communities”

How will hyperconnected Millennials live?http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Hyperconnected-lives.aspx

Vote for …

Millennials’ future• In 2020 the brains of multitasking teens and young adults

are "wired" differently from those over age 35 and overall it yields helpful results. They do not suffer notable cognitive shortcomings as they multitask and cycle quickly through personal- and work-related tasks. Rather, they are learning more and they are more adept at finding answers to deep questions, in part because they can search effectively and access collective intelligence via the Internet. In sum, the changes in learning behavior and cognition among the young generally produce positive outcomes.

… or …

Millennials’ future• In 2020, the brains of multitasking teens and young adults

are "wired" differently from those over age 35 and overall it yields baleful results. They do not retain information; they spend most of their energy sharing short social messages, being entertained, and being distracted away from deep engagement with people and knowledge. They lack deep-thinking capabilities; they lack face-to-face social skills; they depend in unhealthy ways on the Internet and mobile devices to function. In sum, the changes in behavior and cognition among the young are generally negative outcomes.

Millennials’ future

Change for the better

52%Change for the worse

42%

11) Theme - Supertaskers

12) Theme – New winners/losers

13) Theme – The distracted are toast

6 media zones

1) STACKS

How it works• Motive – learning, mastery, productivity • Content – actionable info, how-to

sensibility, links and other resources• Device – desktop / laptop • Engagement – full attention – vertical

reading• Influentials – trusted brands and known

experts (professional and amateur)• ~ Mindshare – quarter to a third of media

time

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy– Search optimized / findable– Acting as information sherpas– Problem solving mindset– Cut and paste– FAQs– How-to videos– Feedback friendly

2) SIGNALS

How it works• Motive – real-time awareness• Content – headlines, new information, first

impressions matter most• Device – smartphone, tablet• Engagement – glancing OR galvanized• Influentials – brands• ~ Mindshare – < 5% of media time

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy– News, especially scoops– Deals– Location enabled– Insights from analytics

3) SNACKS

How it works• Motive – killing time, beating boredom• Content – gamified, bite-size headlines, link-

dense• Device – smartphone • Engagement – distracted, quick-twitch• Influentials – brands, quality of social network• ~ Mindshare – 5%-10% of media time

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy – Apps– Immediate connection– Predictable and compelling home screen– Grabby copy / activity– Clear and consistent Return on My Attention

4) STREAMS

How it works• Motive – catching up / checking in / curiosity• Content – news (broad definition), social updates• Device – any / all• Engagement – continuous partial attention /

horizontal scans / sharing• Influentials – editors, social networks• ~ Mindshare – quarter to a third of media time

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy– Apps– Smart curation– Customizable filters– Compelling ecosystem of content– Tagging and saving for future immersion– Social network mediated– Serendipity encounters

5) SOCIALS

How it works• Motive – friend grooming• Content – social, personal, entertaining • Device – all• Engagement – partial, browsing• Influentials – super-networkers / primary nodes

in the network• ~ Mindshare – 10% of media time

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy– Social networks are gatekeepers– Spreadable content– Treat central network nodes like traditional media

influences– Enable participation and feedback

5) SYNTHESIZED SPACES

How it works• Motive – my permissions• Content – personalized, anticipatory • Device – my surroundings• Engagement – immersive, invisible• Influentials – my past behavior, analytics,

algorithms• ~ Mindshare – most waking hours

Implication for message makers

• Engagement strategy– Selective product placement and messaging– Permission-based monitoring / interactions– Careful of privacy sensitivities– Careful of too much “monetization”

Marketing Myopia

What business are you really in?

-- Theodore LevittHarvard Business Review (1960)

Be not afraid