05/01/2013

How kids use tablets - an infographic

Infographics are wonderfully visual adaptations of data. The perfect example of what I mean is in this featured presentation by überflip, demonstrating how kids use tablets in the US.
Tablets and Kids: The Future Consumer
Despite infographics getting us wordsmiths pissed at their simplicity and popularity, showing at a glance what we strive to put eloquently into words, they're nonetheless very effective tools.


One of the reasons I chose überflip's simplistic infographic is because it not only portends the future, but also underlines the very point above. By understanding how children use tablets, us writers can adapt our style as such.

As the sub-heading of the 'how kids use tablets' infographic suggests, children are the consumers of the future. With buying power becoming ever-closer to a one-click process, us writers need to get in at the sharp end. And quickly.

The iPad, iPad Mini, Android or any other form of tablet you care to reference has indeed moved on from its predecessor, the Etch-a-Sketch. Drawing a circle, for one, is a lot simpler these days than back in the 70s.

How kids use tablets so effortlessly is baffling


As adults, we often marvel at how quickly children adapt to modern technology. Seeing how kids use tablets so effortlessly only serves to rubber stamps that theory. But it's not by chance that children seem to inherently understand this medium.

The simplification of the tablet interface for consumers who perhaps never bought into the laptop market has served a dual purpose. Firstly, it's made the personal computing experience accessible for a generation that may have otherwise missed out on computing altogether.

More importantly, simplistic navigation has made it a whole lot easier for children to intuitively get around a PC without wreaking too much havoc.

More than three quarters of kids use tablets to play downloaded games. Had that been the case with PCs, there may never have been the Playstation/Xbox market we see today.

Almost unbelievably, 57% of kids use tablets for education, 14% more than children who use them to watch television and movies. We'll see Big Bird down at the job centre welfare resource, then.

Education factors heavily in the tablet-buying process


How readily kids use tablets is also proving a boon for parents. Many parents are using them as distractions for children during travel, eating out or at other social engagements where kids may get 'bored' easily.

With so many apps for kids, it's hardly surprising to see both parents endorsing them as well as the willingness of children to use tablets. Indeed, educational value is behind the buying process of 90% of parents when choosing a family tablet.

On average, every iPad has 8 apps for kids. With more than 700 apps focusing on the junior market in the iTunes store, there's scope for that volume to increase almost 100-fold.

So, is how kids use tablets all that much of a mystery? Don't get me wrong, tablets do prevent many parents' headaches. But it's also imperative to understand that the manufacturers are working on the prevention being better than cure theory when it comes to customer retention.

Remember, an Apple a day keeps the doctor away, or so they'd have us believe...




Have Your Say:

  • Is children being exposed to so much technology so young a bad, evil thing?

  • Or by seeing how kids use tablets, can it pave the way for a more intuitive marketplace in the future?


Explore more infographics like the one above on the web's largest information design community - Visually.




1 comment:

  1. Tablets make the youth of today anti-social ... they have very little communication skills, it is apparent when you interview them for a job!

    Also, for me, it encourages cowards, that can bully through cyber space .... I will guarantee that there has been more suicides from cyber bullying than a good old fashion punch up.

    Moderate use is the answer with real education rather than everything done on laptop! ..... there's my thoughts

    ReplyDelete

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