Notes from The Sandbox Summit: For Today's Kids, the Medium Is As Important as the Message

Last Monday afternoon I hopped on the Acela and headed up to Boston (Cambridge) to attend The Sandbox Summit, iPlay, YouPlay, WiiPlay, a conference focused on "how play is changing media and media is changing play." It was one of the best conferences I've attended in that it lined up fascinating speakers, offered hands-on workshops, and was intimate in that it was a smaller summit and provided plenty of time for follow-up discussions and networking amongst academics, toy developers, researchers, publishers, marketers and media. It was a summit to share research, discussion, ideas and predictions.

I'll touch upon some of my favorite aspects of the summit that I was fortunate enough to attend (thanks to the team at 360 Public Relations) in various posts over the next few weeks. Though for now, I wanted to share some of what I learned at an interactive workshop led by Stacey Matthias, child development expert and founder and Co-CEO of Insight Kids and Insight Research Group, as an example of what the summit offered. Stacey's hands-on workshop explored the physical, cognitive and emotional development of kids at ages 4, 7 and 11 and which media has the most impact at which ages. Here's what I learned:

Moreso than any other generation, today's kids are living in a world driven by media and technology and this impacts how they communicate, think and play.  Stacey explained that there's no curriculum for integrating technology into young childrens' lives, so today's kids are vastly teaching themselves how to use the new technology, and in many cases teaching their teachers and parents how to use it. There's no 3rd grade curriculum for researching online virtual worlds and video games, or an 8th grade class about social media for kids like there's English and math curriculum, so kids are exploring the online virtual worlds and social media themselves - in a vacuum.

Older kids are navigating Facebook as a social media tool without much instruction as to the consequences of what they're communicating to whom via Facebook walls vs. text messages, phone calls or  instant messages. Stacey said that in their research, of all the communication platforms available to kids today, the most enjoyed and effective was still face-to-face communication. She also shared that for kids 11-24, different modes of communication have their own meaning beyond the message being communicated. (Ex. "He texted me" (rather than called). Or, if a girl posts something to another girl's Facebook wall instead of privately messaging or texting the message. Or if someone asks another out on a date via IM, or claims Facebook relationship status, what does choosing that method of communication say, and what are the repercussions?) So this generation of kids is actually learning the appropriateness of each communication mode along with learning how to socialize, discover their own identity and still fit in with their peers along the way. . .

Stacey began the workshop with something anyone reading this could try themselves. She had everyone close their eyes, sniff a crayon and note what pictures or memories came up. People shared their memories: one man remembered coloring and drawing at a desk where the seat is connected to the table/desk on one side; for a woman, the smell of crayons reminded her of sharpening crayons; and for another woman, the crayon scent reminded her of tearing off the wrapper as the crayons grew flat. Each person who volunteered a crayon memory did so while making hand motions that demonstrated their memories - arm propped up on the desk coloring, twisting your fist sharpening a crayon in the sharpener on the back of the crayon box, etc. (Try this and you'll see that you do it too when explaining the memories that come up for you when smelling a crayon! I know I did when explaining the workshop to c2cDad in the car.) Stacey shared that their research showed that this is because four-year olds explore their world with all of their senses all of the time. So the scent of crayons evoked powerful memories for people who spent time coloring or drawing at that age - and the scent brought back the physical movements, taste, the feel, etc. of the crayon.

Stacey's team had nicknamed the four-year-old stage as "curious crafters:"

• Testing their environment and using their bodies to make things;
• Don't like transitions (they often need a count-down for when an activity is over);
• Like to show you what they're doing as they do it;
• Turn-taking is difficult to master;
• Are easily frustrated;
• Are imaginative and silly;
• Are process-oriented and product-oriented as toddlers;
• Are mastering cause and effect;
• Can easily identify colors and numbers;
• Are learning their physical abilities and developing fine motor skills;
• Explore the world with all of their senses all of the time.

In their research, Stacey's team found that engaging media for four-year-olds is nurturing. It includes:

• Familiar settings and activities (think Sesame Street);
• Predictable format (think Dora the Explorer, The WonderPets);
• Clear take-away messages (think SuperWhy or Max & Ruby);
• Engaging but relatively simple look and feel (think Blues Clues).

Then we moved on and were told to create a person out of the crafts on our table. I cut out hair, and drew in a face with no body, while two others at my table drew whole bodies, one utilizing stickers, another not. We compared and contrasted our people. Stacey referred to the seven-year-old crowd as the "try, try againers." They have tenacity and learn by trial and error to master skills:

• Becoming increasingly sensitive and need less competition and more encouragement (that they can't do something "wrong");
• Are building social attachments while getting a sense of themselves;
• Collecting is a big impulse at this age (think the Silly Bandz craze);
• Thrive on order and orderly thinking;
• Incorporate more real world thinking and less symbolic play;
• Find similarities and differences;
• Can write in complete sentences;
• Process-oriented, no longer product-oriented;
• Developing inferences based on concrete observations;
• Have refined motor skills (can use a Wii remote well);
• Have uneven and incomplete muscle development (may have mastered using scissors, but not chopsticks, eventhough the skills utilize the same muscles).

Engaging media for a seven-year old offers safe risk-taking:

• Humor that's appropriate for their age (SpongeBob, Monsters vs Aliens);
• High stakes situations (think Star Wars);
• Breaking the rules...a little (think Suite LIfe of Zack and Cody);
• Offers interactive control (Toy Story Mania Wii game).

Then our activity to associate ourselves with the mindset of an 11-year-old, was to collaboratively create a playlist for a road trip. We learned that choosing media is a huge identity statement for this age and that there's a vulnerability when suggesting songs for the group to approve or disapprove. Each song suggestion branded the person creatively, but the intent was also to fit in with the entire group. Stacey labeled the 11-year-olds "collaborative collectors:"

• Are more social and enjoy being with peer groups of their same sex;
• Are connecting more with social media and technology;
• Can recognize delayed gratification (create a playlist to enjoy later on a trip);
• Can think about the future;
• Can understand concepts without direct experience (struggle with the idea of someone being good, but also doing something bad);
• Categorize with more abstract and complex thinking;
• Dealing with body changes;
• Have improved coordination and reaction time;
• Increased hand dexterity and body strength.

Engaging media for 11-year-olds supports their transition into adulthood:

• Comfort zone with younger programming that they grew up with (but not with new shows for younger kids) as it still lets them be a kid;
• Model social behavior (iCarly, Degrassi)
• Edgier, more rule-breaking (YouTube, Call of Duty)
• Aspirational (Taylor Swift, Top Chef)

The fascinating thing is that as I was involved with each activity, I was whisked back into my memories of that age. The most interesting thing for me was realizing that although I take for granted the variances and power of the medium being the message (per my public relations education); I hadn't considered the potential struggle for kids navigating those lessons on their own at such a vulnerable age when defining themselves induvidually and still staying connected to their peers. It underscored my desire to stay on top of developing technology so that I can do my best to support Li'l Boo's social learning before, during and after those stages. As if those tween and teen years weren't thorny enough for parents.

 

Comments

[Charlotte]

What a great summary of a phenomenal 2-day event- I also attended Stacey's workshop! My head is still buzzing, so many thanks for helping bring some order to all the ideas that are still swirling!