Convergence for Tots

Watch these clips from CBS news on advertising aimed at kids.
(Watch critically, what assumptions are the guests & hosts making about the inevitability of advertising for kids. )

See (from PBSKids) "Don't Buy It": strategies to teach kids to become aware and critically challenge advertising.

Web sites extending contact with childrens' television programming:

• Nick Jr,
  
• Noggin (both owned by Viacom)
• Disney
  
• PBSkids.org (run by PBS)
  

Consider how the push to target a younger and younger demographic, making them loyal costumers "from the cradle to the grave," is rapidly making its way to the on-line experience.

"A new wave of interactive play sites for a young generation of Internet users, in particular girls." Read about it in N Y Times article

Visit sites:

• Wenkinz,
• Cartoon Doll Emporium (See also their "fashion" dolls)
• Club Penguin (ad-free, subscription-based, recently acquired by Disney)
  

Take a moment to consider: What are these sites teaching kids?
Or, put another way, what are kids learning by interacting with these sites?
Is it all about selling, or is there something bigger at play? (consider Jenkins)

Finally, refer to Leslie Shade's article "Young Canadians talk About the Internet" (published in a "Life On Line"-themed issue of the Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol 30-4). What digital literacy skills does she encourage?

"[W]e must ask: with regards to the internet, how do children and young people see themselves? Do they see themselves as citizens or do they see themselves as mere consumers, with their ability to interact with friends and access an array of content? ... Given that children and young people are active users and potential shapers of furure digital content, developing a critical and creative education and awareness campaign that involves their input into its design and outreach is vital."