Teens and Technology 2013

Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project and the Berkman Center for Internet and; Technology have jut released their 2013 report on Teens and Technology. Read the whole 19-page report or remain blogbound with the summary here: 

Overview

Smartphone adoption among American teens has increased substantially and mobile access to the internet is pervasive. One in four teens are “cell-mostly” internet users, who say they mostly go online using their phone and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.
These are among the new findings from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey that explored technology use among 802 youth ages 12-17 and their parents. Key findings include:

• 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011.
• 23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult population.
• 95% of teens use the internet.
• 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home. Seven in ten (71%) teens with home computer access say the laptop or desktop they use most often is one they share with other family members.

“The nature of teens’ internet use has transformed dramatically — from stationary connections tied to shared desktops in the home to always-on connections that move with them throughout the day,” said Mary Madden, Senior Researcher for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and co-author of the report. “In many ways, teens represent the leading edge of mobile connectivity, and the patterns of their technology use often signal future changes in the adult population.”

Special Issues Roundup

A few journals to cross my desk with themed issues, all available as e-journals on library homepage:

Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism (Volume 37, Number 2). Scholars, educators, and activists contribute to this special issue on Media Literacy in a journal that is always in the media vanguard.

Journalism (Volume 10, Number 5, October 2009) is devoted to Newswork, the work that journalists, i.e. newsworkers do in a time when 'journalists are expected to do more with less time, fewer resources, and fewer colleagues" to quote issue editors Mark Deuze and Timothy Majoribanks.

Continuing the theme of newswork, the Fall 2009 Nieman Reports (Volume 63, Number 3) is devoted to social media, Let's Talk: Journalism and Social Media, with articles on the role of blogs, tweets, Facebook, etc. in today's news business.

Communication Research Trends (Volume 28, Number 3, 2009) features the topic, Children's Rights and the Media, guest edited by Katharine Heintz. The issue includes an extensive bibliography of resources on the topic.

October CommQuote

Sarah Nardi's comment on the virtual lives of Japanese youth in the November/December (#86) Adbusters on The Virtual/Natural World:

"In his seventh book, Last Child in the Woods, journalist Richard Louv speaks to a young boy who sums up the sentiment of younger generations with one sentence: "I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are." Louv cites several studies-one shows children are better able to identify Japanese cartoon characters than common animals and plants; another reports that the radius from the home which children were able to roam freely was nine times greater in 1970 than today -as evidence of a nature deficit disorder. He argues that disconnecting children from the natural world, through overwrought parenting, urbanization and a reliance on electronic distraction, has resulted in generations of children prone to obesity, depression and attention deficit disorder. Their intellectual, creative and even physical development is stymied by a sedentary existence. Far from striking out into nature and discovering the world and themselves, they are leashed to their home by cords-seemingly as umbilical as they are electrical."--Sarah Nardi

IZI-Datenbank.de

IZI-Datenbank.deIZI-Datenbank.de is the literature database of the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television (IZI). This international bilingual (English/German) database gathers research on

* children's television
* youth television
* educational television

The IZI documentation center researches, collects, and uses controlled vocabulary for indexing internationally relevant sources (books, journal articles, university publications, research reports, conference papers and grey literature).

The database is updated regularly. A search for our own Dr. Amy Jordan results in 25 documents ranging from 1992 to 2008, more hits than the search I did on her name in EBSCO's Communication and Mass Media Complete (12 hits). For students and researchers of children and youth television, this database should definitely not be overlooked. Some of the best things in life are open source!

Teens More "Normal" Than You Think, According to Nielsen

At the annual What Teens Want Marketing conference in New York (June 24-25), The Nielsen Company presented How Teens Use Media, to a rapt audience of post (and post post)-teens. Among the findings are that while teens are madly texting away they are still solid consumers of traditional forms of media such as television, radio and even newspapers. The love their internet but actually spend less time browsing on it than adults. And don't tell them this, but their favorite TV shows, websites and genres across media are mostly the same as their...parents.

This free report combines insights from Nielsen’s global research in television, internet, mobile, gaming, moviegoing, radio, newspaper and advertising research.

International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media

The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media (formerly the UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen) was established in 1997 by The Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research, Nordicom Göteborg University Sweden). Financed by the Swedish government and UNESCO, its website is a must-bookmark for anyone interested in research on children and media. "The Clearinghouse informs various groups of users about research on children, young people and media, with special attention to media violence research and practices regarding media education and children’s/young people’s participation in the media measures, activities and research concerning children’s and young people’s media environment." (website)

A centerpiece of Clearinghouse activities is their yearbook. Children, Media and Consumption is this year's offering (currently on order for ASC Reference).

Their current newsletter, News on Children, Youth and Media in the World, is available as well as an archive of all previous issues going back to its inception in 1997.