Winner of the Writing Competition: The Child Consumer by Grace Chuan
Grace Chuan is the winner of the 2019 Writing Competition. Chuan is a current junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she is studying Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science. Her interest in technology led her to intern this summer at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington D.C, where she worked under the Chief Technology Officer. As a side hobby, she also enjoys singing and is a mezzo-soprano for the MIT choir. Her winning piece, “The Child Consumer,” focused on technology’s increasing impact on childhood and the children’s consumer market.
It is commonly said that the world is becoming a “smaller place” as communicative technologies become increasingly more accessible. While the world itself is not actually shrinking, it feels as if the practical barriers of traveling, retrieving information, and consuming entertainment are minimizing for everyone—including children. Children are now, more than ever, an increasingly reachable audience for digital services. A growing number of online businesses and industries are creating platforms that specifically target younger audiences to capitalize on their growing profitability.
For the first time in human history, children are growing up with access to the internet and social media through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. According to a report conducted by Common Sense Media in 2017, children on average are spending the same amount of screen-time per day as they did in 2011. However, the portion of time devoted to mobile devices increases each year. 42% of the children surveyed had their own devices, undoubtedly contributing to the decrease in traditional television usage.
With the newfound autonomy such devices provide, children, as a demographic, can be considered as an emerging consumer class for the mobile media and telecommunications industries. Nowhere are companies optimizing for the viewership of young consumers more prominent than within the “app economy.” YouTube Kids was created in response to the public’s demand for kid-friendly services on the internet. It now fosters an environment that cultivates a multi-billion dollar industry in the form of delivering children-specific content. A whole new wave of viable businesses and entrepreneurship has come from this form of digital media . Five out of the ten top YouTube channels are family-labeled, and channels displaying the latest new children’s toys or streaming cartoons earn millions of dollars in revenue every year.
While carving out safe spaces within the internet seems to be a healthy (and lucrative) solution to the challenge of integrating technology into children’s lives, a new problem emerges: privacy. When using digital services, a child, like any user, is subject to data-producing algorithms. In 2018, the New Mexico attorney general filed a lawsuit against game developer Tiny Lab Productions for sharing sensitive location and personal information about their players — most of whom are underage and protected by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act — with third-party advertising companies.
This may sound alarming—and anyone who has seen even one Black Mirror episode would view these recent transgressions as a case against the development of consumer-based technology aimed at children. Many are also concerned over the impact of digital connectivity on children’s ability to communicate with others, as well as childrens’ mental well-being. For example, Facebook’s Messenger Kids was met by worries about disrupting kids’ traditional socialization by introducing online relationships and media usage too early. Some even called for it to be discontinued.
Shielding upcoming generations from screens and technology is unlikely, as the trend towards complete interconnectivity shows no sign of stopping. It would also be foolish to resist this trend. Complete interconnectivity comes with a wealth of invaluable potential when it comes to children’s development and education. Major investments in tech education can help children from lower income families grow their human capital and digital services can lower barriers to information and knowledge. Mobile technologies can be viewed as a globalizing agent and they are already starting to bridge the digital divide across the planet. We therefore must capitalize on these benefits by mitigating negative externalities like privacy violations and exploitation.
It is clear that there is not just a growing demand for technology, but for technology that is compatible with our values and supplemental to the human experience. This is an important business opportunity and indicator for how technology should be designed in the future. Providing new platforms specifically for children could be a step in the right direction. However, not only should they be created in response to shortcomings, developers and managers should be proactive in protecting their users, especially if they include children. For example, SuperAwesome, a company dedicated to making kid-friendly technology, is addressing this issue by providing gaming companies services and tools that help keep the child user experience safe. This includes a “kid-safe” advertising platform, parent consent portals, and certification programs on the legal parameters when designing games aimed at children.
While it is unclear what childhood will look like in the future, businesses across the globe should innovate while accounting for social implications. Who is responsible for educating consumers and what that education should look like is a conversation necessary within the consumer technology industry. How do games verify the actual age of the user, and therefore initialize specific protocols that would comply with child protection laws and regulations? These are tough questions, and they add an interesting layer of social complexity. However, if addressed well, we can envision a future full of empowering, rather than disruptive, technology.
“It is clear that there is not just a growing demand for technology, but for technology that is compatible with our values and supplemental to the human experience. ”