Children are the future - what are they saying

We recently met with a group of sixth-form students to get their views on the digital landscape – everything from viral content, influential people, consumption habits.  Today’s youth are the future writers, designers, developers and innovators who’ll grow up and change this landscape, so can their views shed any light on what directions they might take it in?

Based on our conversations (facilitated by their teacher), we’ve drawn together a few key points of discussion that were raised.  

‘We’re on viral content most of the day.’

Students estimated that they spent three to six hours on viral content each day – mainly Vine or YouTube, in particular, for the latest viral features (YouTube is ‘the biggest’ platform by their account). They told us that they can do other things while consuming such content.

Digital usage in general is ‘unbelievable’ – it’s slowly increased to be present in every aspect of our students’ lives. It’s automatic now for tools like Google to be incorporated into lessons (deliberately or not) by both teachers and students.

‘There’s a competition of who’s seen what first, and who has the most knowledge…the amount of content is exhausting.’

In a culture of frequent updates and instant gratification, trending is a huge issue and a source of frequent competition. Teenagers will always feel pressure to conform and be up-to-date with social peers, but with an increasing amount of content available (it’s ‘like a black hole’) it’s difficult to stay on top. Everything is moving faster.

The trend is to be ‘niche’ and ‘unique’ – paradoxically, standing out is the new conformity.  This is tricky and confusing, especially when there is so much to be passionate about (though extreme passion is still not as cool as being nonchalantly niche). But, there is a trend for each individual to have a ‘thing’ that they are experts on. ‘Vloggers are more influential than celebrities…you could be Zoella, but you couldn’t be Beyoncé’

Kids are the future

The sixth-formers we spoke to had a certain awareness of their entertainment/digital landscape, including the role of the media.  They know that Photoshop can be used to distort images, music production polishes natural talent (or lack thereof), and that many of their favourite video bloggers (who’ve spawned their own noun, ‘vloggers’) such as Zoella are paid to endorse brands and products – does this awareness mean they will be inherently sceptical of, or less receptive to, such marketing activity?

This is important when considered alongside the acknowledgement that they feel ‘closer’ to somebody like Zoella because she seems like a real person (compared to Kim Kardashian, who is too old and can’t relate to them).  The intimacy and down-to-earth style of vloggers produces dedicated, highly-engaged fan bases. 

The influence of vloggers goes beyond their online existence (an effect of social media recently discussed in a comprehensive IPA guide and report, ‘The Short Guide to Measuring Not Counting’).  A couple of students mentioned the Swedish gaming vlogger PewDiePie, whose nonsense language and ‘random’ words are starting to be heard in conversation – and, of course, the rate at which such language can be adopted has vastly accelerated.

However, the content vloggers produce is often unedited (or simply cut), and goes through little to no approval process. This is sometimes necessary to quickly produce content that is then just as quickly disposed of – but how has it affected the quality?  Does such a quick cycle of see-scan-dispose make us lazy in our viewing habits, encourage a shorter attention span, or engagement only on a shallow, surface level?

‘Personality is becoming bigger than looks’

Celebrities who are comfortable demonstrating their personalities are more likely to remain popular.  This isn’t down to celebrities being associated with particular eras – Beyoncé is still a familiar figure because she is visible and has an active presence on new channels, such as Instagram.  

Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson are also praised by this particular group. Emma Watson has gained respect recently: our students like that she has moral values and are aware of her work in fighting for gender equality.  Following the lives of Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are more of a guilty pleasure.

‘Anyone who posts a photo is influential’ (or has the potential to be)

There is no formula for viral content – anything can suddenly become popular and is catapulted into the public eye.

The widespread use of tools such as Photoshop to doctor images is known and assumed.  However, this can have a binary effect – Photoshop becomes a default defence mechanism and can warp the understanding of the fact that some people are simply lucky and do happen to be slim and beautiful in reality. 

It is known that the media interprets information with specific angles, but a lack of consistent points of reference makes it difficult to know who, or what, to trust - ‘anything can be a headline and be twisted’, everything could be a lie, so it’s hard to know what you can believe. 

Authoritative tones blend with contradictory content, meaning that what is pushed towards young people is incessantly changing – the mixed messages are frustrating, and it’s ‘too tiring to keep up’.

‘It’s so easy to say the wrong thing’

This is surely a sentiment that most teenagers are familiar with already – with the permanence of online presence it’s now easier to be caught out, for words to be remembered, and for others to comment on what they disagree with. In an ideal world, this would lead to healthy, respectful debate – but, there is, of course, much evidence to the contrary.

Grammar pedants, morality preachers and self-righteous commentators are everywhere, poised to assert their views on anything said in error.  Does this mean that public online media is lacking in space for young people to experiment, to try out different views and think about who they’ll be in adulthood?  This is, after all, a crucial age for experimentation and self-discovery.

These views aren’t, of course, indicative of the demographic as a whole, but are extremely interesting as potential signifiers.  While some perspectives may change as teenagers mature and insecurities are confronted, looking at their consumption habits and how they approach, receive and perceive new platforms and the existing landscape can be incredibly insightful.

As digital natives, our teens are almost instinctively aware of the differences in both new and traditional media – this reinforces how much thinking is required to ensure marketing messages are accurately communicated, using the most appropriate channels for respective audiences.

Drop us a line if you'd like to find out how to best use different media formats to reach your audience or check out our digital marketing pagefor an overview of the services we offer.

View More
Lisa is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is dynamic, an excellent writer, who makes it simple to understand. If you are looking for some fresh air when it comes to content, look no further.
BP
Hitesh Parmar - Learning Innovation Director
View More
It felt like digital potion were an extended part of the before nine team – partners rather than suppliers.”
Before Nine
Dr Aarti Anhal - Founder
View More
Digital Potion took the reins, leading us through the full rebrand process before building a completely new website, from the ground-up and to our specific requirements. I am very happy with the new website. It has raised our game and is leading to new and exciting global opportunities.
Vineet Khandelwal, Owner, Diamond Rocks
View More
Digital Potion are awesome! We have used them for our website and digital marketing for about 5 years now, and are extremely happy with their service.
Odyssey Travels Group
Marc Harris - Founder
View More
We have partnered with Digital Potion for more than five years. During this time they have always taken the lead on project direction and technical development. They have a great track record of delivering on their promises and have successfully maintained our projects with the technical expertise and high standards our requirements demand.
The Telegraph
Alex Jones - Group Agency Director
View More
Digital Potion have their finger on the pulse! Their technical expertise and knowledge of SEO push them far ahead of any other company and we have never felt in such good hands. Every member of the team is a pleasure to work with.
Davidson
Claudia Davidson - Marketing Director
View More
If you want passion, total commitment and great expertise look no further than Ed Davison and his team at Digital Potion.”
David Duggan Watches
David Duggan - Founder
View More
I really couldn't recommend Digital Potion enough, the team are fantastic at what they do and really have such a passion not only for their task but also your business.
William Loughran
Juliette Loughran - Director
View More
In a world full of jargon, DP has been the only company I have met who has been able to explain what SEO actually means and then had the expertise to put words into action. Our organic traffic is up thus reducing our reliance on Adwords for new enquiries.
London Orthotic Consultancy
Julian English - Marketing Director
View More
Digital Potion managed to get my website to no.1 on Google listings for the majority of my keywords. Since then we have so much work that I can't find enough staff to physically do the typing and have to turn work away!
TypeOut
Jason Laborde - Founder
View More
The Digital Potion team quickly understood our business objectives and the challenges associated with being a young start-up, and proposed an effective way forward.
Kerry Henning, Marketing Executive, Fotech

WORK WE’VE DONE

Overhaul for Diamond RocksView more
Creative Design + Development + SEO

Overhaul for Diamond Rocks

Diamond Rocks needed to pro-actively boost Google rankings to promote healthy ecommerce sales. Our brief was to create a modern, user- and mobile-friendly website. It needed to deliver a seamless, inspiring experience for customers.

Revamping digital strategy for tech pioneerView more
Creative Design + Development

Revamping digital strategy for tech pioneer

Digital Potion has enjoyed a relationship with bp for many years. Using our knowledge and skills in this space, we quickly identified that a complete overhaul was the best way forward.

Content refresh & digital rebrand | before nine View more
Development + SEO + Content

Content refresh & digital rebrand | before nine

Digital Potion pride ourselves on our ability to deliver value-adding digital services for every client’s business. Join our project deep-dive and see the value of our collaborative approach with a very special client.

Why creating organic content is important View more
SEO + Content

Why creating organic content is important

With millions of websites jostling for Google’s attention every minute of every day, a well-executed content strategy is a number one priority when it comes to getting a search engine’s attention

The Search Engine Marketing minefieldView more
SEO + Search Engine Marketing

The Search Engine Marketing minefield

Where is the balance between organic long-tail content strategies and paid campaigns? How do you cut through inconceivable amounts of noise to get your business noticed? Digital Potion provide some of their insights.

Why AMP is making a big noise in mobile optimisationView more
Development + SEO

Why AMP is making a big noise in mobile optimisation

We have improved our clients’ search rankings using Google’s AMP framework. Find out how it could help you.

x
This website is using cookies. More info. That's Fine