It's now clear that, where Americans' use of digital media is concerned, mobile rules. "The days of desktop dominance are over," declares top digital market researcher comScore in its latest mobile app report. Smartphones and tablets represent 60% of Americans' digital media time, and "the fuel driving mobile’s relentless growth is primarily app usage, which alone makes up a majority of total … [Read more...] about Mobile rules in the US now too
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The anti-EDIs social norm: A counterargument
They're more like DEDIs (digitally enabled displays of insensitivity) than EDIs (electronic displays of insensitivity), because the behavior is human not electronic. But that's beside the point. This NPR commentary suggests that EDIs are becoming a social norm. It cites an unscientific survey of 2,000 newsletter subscribers as finding that this insensitive behavior – people checking their phones … [Read more...] about The anti-EDIs social norm: A counterargument
New from ConnectSafely: ‘A Parents’ Guide to Mobile Phones’
It's hard to know exactly how many kids and teens have mobile phones right now, but we do know that over a year ago more than a third (37%) of US 12-to-17-year-olds had smartphones, up from 23% in 2011, and a whopping 78% had some kind of mobile phone. That's from the Pew Internet Project, one of the best US sources on youth and tech. We also know that mobile phones are how young people access … [Read more...] about New from ConnectSafely: ‘A Parents’ Guide to Mobile Phones’
How Yik Yak is different from other social media
Based on news reports and conversations with educators about troubles with Yik Yak, the location-based anonymous texting app, at schools in many parts of the US, three scenarios leap to mind…. Remember that kid at school (or maybe that frat house) who felt the need or the pressure to set off the fire alarm to see what would happen, test the system, get attention or whatever social … [Read more...] about How Yik Yak is different from other social media
Spreading out emotional risk in digital social spaces
It's a kind of digital-age product segmentation or mitosis (remember learning about how cells divide and multiply in biology class?), all the different communication options that have come with the rise of digital media – texting, liking, social gaming, social networking, tweeting, snapchatting, skyping, etc. Each one seems to be associated with a certain level of emotional investment and risk, … [Read more...] about Spreading out emotional risk in digital social spaces