Use of tablets among five to 15-year-olds in the UK tripled between 2012 and 2013, but they’re just getting started
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/apps-children-2014-mobile-generation
The idea of tablets as devices for children didn’t come from the manufacturers: it came from parents. Apple’s first iPad in 2010, and the first wave of Android tablets that followed, were aimed at adults.
Hand your powerful multimedia computing device with its breakable touchscreen over to a jammy-fingered toddler? Not likely. And yet that’s what parents proceeded to do in their millions, creating a strong demand for children’s apps in the process.
Fast forward to the start of 2014, and that kid-apps market is bustling, with established children’s brands and fledgling startups alike competing to offer educational, creative and/or playful apps for children of all ages.
We’ve also seen dedicated children’s tablets from manufacturers including Samsung, Kurio and LeapFrog, with others – notably Amazon’s Kindle Fire range and Tesco’s Hudl – benefiting from a clear appeal to parents, even if they’re still pitched as general-purpose devices.
The children’s apps market has also seen its fair share of controversy and debate, too. There is concern about the rise of “free-to-play” games, with some high-profile cases of children spending four-figure sums on virtual items without their parents’ permission – even if these often involve games that aren’t intended for children.
There has been debate about privacy – what information developers could and should collect from children’s apps, even if their intention is simply to use the data to improve their products – and most recently an outlandish online hoax about one of the most popular children’s apps, Talking Angela being a front for paedophiles.
On a more serious note, schools around the world, from independent colleges in the UK to Indian village schools, are getting to grips with tablets and apps as educational tools, encouraged by a mixture of technology companies, governments, charities and individuals.
In the UK, the shifts in children’s media usage are already becoming clear. Communications regulator Ofcom reported last October that the use of tablets among 5-15 year-olds had tripled from 14% in 2012 to 42% halfway through 2013. It also found 28% of 3-4 year-olds using a tablet at home.
This is causing concern in some quarters, particularly among parents, teachers and publishers who worry about the possible impact on reading. A survey of 2,000 British children and parents in June 2013 suggested that the percentage of children reading books for pleasure dropped by eight points between 2012 and 2013, as use of app and games rose, for example.
Perhaps it will be increasingly relevant to ask questions about whether children are reading something for pleasure rather than “books” – there are plenty of storybook apps designed to encourage a love of reading, for example. Other apps, with Minecraft being the most prominent example, are stimulating other kinds of creative skills for kids.
Top children’s app developers have pushed back at suggestions that apps are replacing physical toys and books, or indeed parents. “People are very concerned about the idea of an iPad as a device that becomes a full-time babysitter for their kids. Well, not if you don’t use it like that!” Bjorn Jeffery, CEO of Toca Boca, told The Guardian last year.
“As an app developer, our intention is never to replace the parent, and I’ve never met a developer who tries to replace physical play with digital toys. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, and they can even be combined.”
There are hundreds of developers making apps for kids, as well as the biggest brands in children’s entertainment – from Mattel and Disney to Moshi Monsters, CBeebies and Nickelodeon. But companies big and small can find it tough to make money from children’s apps. That’s because many parents prefer to download free apps, yet don’t trust those with advertising or in-app purchases.
“The tough thing is that a lot of people expect everything for nothing, or at least for very little. At the moment, it’s hard to say that the price these apps are commanding is a reflection for the effort, expertise and thought that goes into them,” Kate Wilson, managing director of publisher Nosy Crow, told The Guardian earlier this year.
That’s a challenge that remains to be solved in 2014, although as more parents buy tablets – to share within the family or specifically for their children – so it may become easier for developers of the best apps to find their audiences.
Why is that important? Because what children read, play and create with is important, whether physical or digital. Apps are no different to books and toys in that regard: the more people discover the good ones, the better. Not to mention the fact that some industry observers think today’s apps are sparking something even bigger for the future.
“It’s such an interesting time: you’re seeing the great transition as kids move from laptops and fixed devices to mobile. It’s one of the biggest transitions you are going to see probably over the next 20 years,” SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins told The Guardian last year.
“They’re growing up with devices and internet connectivity that we never had, but the notion that they are going to fold into the same old patterns is a mistake. They are going to create their own new patterns, and the old content, information and media companies are completely unprepared for this.”
• Now read: 30 best Android apps for kids in 2014
• Now read: 30 best iPhone and iPad apps for kids in 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/apps-children-2014-mobile-generation
The idea of tablets as devices for children didn’t come from the manufacturers: it came from parents. Apple’s first iPad in 2010, and the first wave of Android tablets that followed, were aimed at adults.
Hand your powerful multimedia computing device with its breakable touchscreen over to a jammy-fingered toddler? Not likely. And yet that’s what parents proceeded to do in their millions, creating a strong demand for children’s apps in the process.
Fast forward to the start of 2014, and that kid-apps market is bustling, with established children’s brands and fledgling startups alike competing to offer educational, creative and/or playful apps for children of all ages.
We’ve also seen dedicated children’s tablets from manufacturers including Samsung, Kurio and LeapFrog, with others – notably Amazon’s Kindle Fire range and Tesco’s Hudl – benefiting from a clear appeal to parents, even if they’re still pitched as general-purpose devices.
The children’s apps market has also seen its fair share of controversy and debate, too. There is concern about the rise of “free-to-play” games, with some high-profile cases of children spending four-figure sums on virtual items without their parents’ permission – even if these often involve games that aren’t intended for children.
There has been debate about privacy – what information developers could and should collect from children’s apps, even if their intention is simply to use the data to improve their products – and most recently an outlandish online hoax about one of the most popular children’s apps, Talking Angela being a front for paedophiles.
On a more serious note, schools around the world, from independent colleges in the UK to Indian village schools, are getting to grips with tablets and apps as educational tools, encouraged by a mixture of technology companies, governments, charities and individuals.
In the UK, the shifts in children’s media usage are already becoming clear. Communications regulator Ofcom reported last October that the use of tablets among 5-15 year-olds had tripled from 14% in 2012 to 42% halfway through 2013. It also found 28% of 3-4 year-olds using a tablet at home.
This is causing concern in some quarters, particularly among parents, teachers and publishers who worry about the possible impact on reading. A survey of 2,000 British children and parents in June 2013 suggested that the percentage of children reading books for pleasure dropped by eight points between 2012 and 2013, as use of app and games rose, for example.
Perhaps it will be increasingly relevant to ask questions about whether children are reading something for pleasure rather than “books” – there are plenty of storybook apps designed to encourage a love of reading, for example. Other apps, with Minecraft being the most prominent example, are stimulating other kinds of creative skills for kids.
Top children’s app developers have pushed back at suggestions that apps are replacing physical toys and books, or indeed parents. “People are very concerned about the idea of an iPad as a device that becomes a full-time babysitter for their kids. Well, not if you don’t use it like that!” Bjorn Jeffery, CEO of Toca Boca, told The Guardian last year.
“As an app developer, our intention is never to replace the parent, and I’ve never met a developer who tries to replace physical play with digital toys. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, and they can even be combined.”
There are hundreds of developers making apps for kids, as well as the biggest brands in children’s entertainment – from Mattel and Disney to Moshi Monsters, CBeebies and Nickelodeon. But companies big and small can find it tough to make money from children’s apps. That’s because many parents prefer to download free apps, yet don’t trust those with advertising or in-app purchases.
“The tough thing is that a lot of people expect everything for nothing, or at least for very little. At the moment, it’s hard to say that the price these apps are commanding is a reflection for the effort, expertise and thought that goes into them,” Kate Wilson, managing director of publisher Nosy Crow, told The Guardian earlier this year.
That’s a challenge that remains to be solved in 2014, although as more parents buy tablets – to share within the family or specifically for their children – so it may become easier for developers of the best apps to find their audiences.
Why is that important? Because what children read, play and create with is important, whether physical or digital. Apps are no different to books and toys in that regard: the more people discover the good ones, the better. Not to mention the fact that some industry observers think today’s apps are sparking something even bigger for the future.
“It’s such an interesting time: you’re seeing the great transition as kids move from laptops and fixed devices to mobile. It’s one of the biggest transitions you are going to see probably over the next 20 years,” SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins told The Guardian last year.
“They’re growing up with devices and internet connectivity that we never had, but the notion that they are going to fold into the same old patterns is a mistake. They are going to create their own new patterns, and the old content, information and media companies are completely unprepared for this.”
• Now read: 30 best Android apps for kids in 2014
• Now read: 30 best iPhone and iPad apps for kids in 2014
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