Smartphones for kids today are as common a part of growing up as the

marbles or yo-yo’s of yesteryear, so it comes as no huge surprise via two

new studies by Nielsen that more kids than ever before have
smartphones—and are glued to them; and that millennials are also
struggling with the same challenge.

First up, the state of mobile youths, as released as the 2017 Mobile World
Congress is underway in Barcelona. Nielsen’s latest Mobile Kids
Report surveyed parents of US kids ages 6-12 in the fourth quarter of last
year about their offspring’s mobile habits.
The topline findings: Slightly less than half (45%) of mobile-using kids
received a service plan at 10-12 years old, with the predominant age being
10 (22%), followed by 8 years old (16%) and ages 9 and 11 tied at 15%.

More boys (56%) than girls (44%) aged 6-12 own a mobile device, with one
in five being Hispanic.
Among 10 to 12-year-olds, the highest percentage of age represented was
age 10 at 34%. The vast majority (93%) are on a shared wireless plan
with their parents, and 72% have all-mobile wireless services including
voice, messaging and data.

Ninety prevent of parents surveyed identified being able to reach their kids
as the top reason for wireless service before the age of 13—with the
advent of middle school in the US a big motivating factor—while 80% of
parents said it also allows them to track his or her location.

For kids with wireless service, speaking on the phone is the least attractive
part of a smartphone; top activities include text messaging (81%),
downloading apps (59%) and accessing websites (53%).

Parents’ concerns about kids and mobile devices include how easily the
phone could be lost (77%), how much of a distraction it could be (72%);
and concerns (expressed by 71%) that kids will spend too much time on
it. Sixty percent of parents also report their child began asking for wireless
service before the age of 13 – repeatedly.

According to parents surveyed, the antidote to these concerns include

better safety controls and features to block inappropriate content (55%),
better usage controls to limit access (48%) and better service plan options
for children (34%).

The findings are in line with a study published last year by Common Sense
Media found that 50 percent of children admitted they were addicted to
their smartphones. Additionally, it found that 66 percent of parents felt their
children used mobile devices too much—and 52 percent of children
agreed. Nearly 36 percent of parents said they argued daily with their
children about device use.
“Mobile devices are fundamentally changing how families go about day-to-
day lives, be it doing homework, driving, or having dinner together,” said
James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense. “As a society we all
have a responsibility to take media use and addiction seriously and make
sure parents have the information to help them make smart choices for
their families.”

Nielsen also this week released its first comprehensive and cross-platform
look at Millennials — and yes, they’re pretty much as distracted and glued
to their mobile devices as kids (and everyone else) these days.

As Nielsen notes, “Millennials—now the largest generational group in the

U.S.—have grown alongside advancements in technology and media
platforms, placing them in intriguing territory with regard to media habits.
When it comes to television, their eyes are glued to the screen. With
commercials, they’re still tuned in—but their eyes are on their cell phones.”
Nielsen’s inaugural Millennials on Millennials report is unique in two ways: It
offers critical insight into the evolving media habits of this highly digital
demographic, and it was produced by a team of Nielsen Millennial
associates keen to help clients engage and reach a generation that every
modern marketer is seeking a connection with.
As marketers and advertisers look for the best opportunities to reach this
demographic, they need precise insight into the evolving viewing and
consumption habits of Millennials, which are closely watched and coveted.

Three key trends that the report uncovered:

MILLENNIALS LOVE TV-CONNECTED DEVICES: TV still constitutes
the majority of video consumption, but every other screen is much more
valuable to Millennials. TV-connected devices (DVD players, VCRs, game
consoles and digital streaming devices) compose four times the percentage
of Millennials’ total video minutes than adults 35 and older: TV-connected
devices account for 23% of Millennials’ total time with video, compared with
just 6% for consumers 35 and older. And as a result, Millennials spend
about 27% less time watching traditional TV (89% among 35+ vs. 66%
among Millennials).
MILLENNIALS ARE A DISTRACTED AUDIENCE: The report looked at a
handful of popular, primetime TV programs to understand the dynamics of
multi-tasking and attention among Millennials compared with other
generations. During premiere episodes of various primetime programs in
the fall of 2015, Millennials were least likely to change the channel during
commercial breaks.
Less than 2% of 18-34 year olds changed the channel during commercials,
compared with 5.5% of 35-54 year olds and more than 8% of viewers 55
and older. Given their engagement with other devices, however, Millennials
had the lowest program engagement and lowest ad memorability scores
during the studied shows.
Knowing that audiences, including Millennials, may opt to skip advertising if
given the choice, content providers often disable ad-skipping features in
their VOD content. In terms of openness to advertising, however,
Millennials are quite open to viewing ads as long as the content they are
viewing is free on their mobile devices. As a result, marketers and
advertisers have a notable opportunity to present their value propositions to
young viewers who are tapping into the realm of content available via their
connected devices.

Upon further review of Millennial habits during commercials, these viewers

report that they’re most likely to use their phones—a prime outlet to engage
with social media. Smartphones provide a plethora of ways users can
engage with other forms of content and social media serves as a notable
slice of that pie.
Given their engagement with social media during commercial breaks, it’s
not surprising that Millennials score lower than older generations when it
comes to ad memorability. Nielsen’s recent Millennial Media Advisors
Report notes that TV ads have an average memorability of 38% among
Millennials, 10 percentage points lower than among Gen X’ers 35 and over
(48%).

The low memorability rates, however, don’t stem from a dislike of

advertisements. Rather, Millennials understand the necessity of ads in
order for brands to inform the public of their products and services (79%)
and many say that overall, ads don’t bother them (46%)—especially if the
content they’re viewing is free (75%).

SOCIAL MEDIA STARS ARE “CELEBRITIES”: Among Millennials, social

media stars are becoming synonymous with the word “celebrity.” In a write-
in section of our custom survey, numerous respondents named several
social media stars multiple times when asked: “Please list your current top
five favorite celebrities.” When tested against mainstream stars, social
media stars hold their own in terms of celebrity status. For example,
according to Nielsen’s N-Score, a measure of a celebrity’s marketability,
male Millennials have a higher opinion of trending social media stars than
they do for sports stars, pop stars, actors and actresses.

Parents are often told they need to get their kids outside to play to combat childhood
obesity - which is more widespread than ever. But outside play isn’t only important
in combating childhood obesity. And too much “screen time” does more than just
make our kids fat.

Too much screen time

Kids are spending more and more time looking at screens. Flickr/Honza Soukup, CC BY
Spending prolonged periods in front of screens isn’t only bad for weight management
in kids, it has also been shown to be detrimental to cognitive
development, psychological health and sleep.

A smorgasbord of studies points to more than two hours of screen time per day as the
perfect recipe for a fat and unhappy child (see here, here and here).

More play time has benefits beyond the waistline

What is less well known is the cognitive and psychological benefits of physically
active play.

From a psychological perspective, children get a kick out of feeling effective and in
control of themselves in their surroundings. (Remember the look of glee on your
child’s face when they took their first steps, mastered a puzzle, first kicked a footy?)
Most also prefer to exercise free will in choosing activities that appeal to them.
These two crucial factors in building psychological well-being are referred to by
psychologists as “competence” and “autonomy”.

The playground holds critical life lessons.Flickr/cryptic_star, CC BY

Providing play opportunities that increase physical activity, alongside promoting
both competence and autonomy, will result in genuine skill development, as well as
creating an enhanced sense of self-efficacy and psychological well-being.

Sounds so simple! Enter the barrier to providing said play opportunities: the fearful
and risk-averse parent, strongly backed by Australia’s litigious compensation
schemes.

But are parental fears of harm and injury justified? The notoriously reckless
researcher Professor Paul Tranter introduced children to a “playground” filled with
ropes, 44-gallon drums, milk crates and all manner of certain death traps. The
result? A reduction in fighting and bullying and, interestingly, an increase in the
social status of the creative kids.

Not to be outdone, our Kiwi cousins banned playground “rules” in several primary
schools. Kids were allowed to climb trees, negotiate play and choose their own
adventure. Their results? A similar reduction in bullying, as well as a drop in
vandalism and serious injuries. I repeat, a drop in serious injuries.

Why? Because the kids are learning self-discipline and self-control, taking personal
responsibility for their own risk and ability evaluation, thereby increasing autonomy
and competence.

In stark comparison, what are we doing in Australia? Imposing increasingly absurd

safety “interventions” like banning kids from doing cartwheels, which drives down
both autonomy and competence in one fell swoop.

At a seminar of landscape architects I recently attended, we had the obligatory

presentation from the fun police, trawling through the meticulous safety standards
for playgrounds in Australia. He noted a key difference between Australia and New
Zealand is litigation (or lack thereof) in response to playground/sporting injury (long
story short, NZ residents are covered by an insurance scheme that doesn’t rely on
lawsuits). He quipped that it was no wonder the All Blacks are such an unbeatable
rugby team:

If you can survive a New Zealand playground, you can go onto achieve anything.
He doesn’t know how right he is.
You can’t sue a tree if you fall off and break your arm. Flickr/Mike Prince, CC BY
The architects were particularly interested in the benefits of nature play. Why?
Because, as yet, you can’t sue a tree. Therefore nature remains the last bastion of
genuine challenge; where children can test their effectiveness (competence) in a real
rather than a sanitised, hyper-protected and restricted play environment.

If we withhold from our children the ability to take risks, evaluate consequences,
innovate and solve problems in the face of challenge or failure, how on earth can we
expect them to develop into effective, successful adults?

We should realise the damage we are doing to our kids by stifling and sanitising
every possible play experience, as well as the legal processes we have in place to
support this.

By Claire Carter
12:31PM BST 06 Apr 2014
British children are losing their sense of adventure Ben Fogle says, as a quarter spend less than
30 minutes a week playing outside.
The weather, computer games and concerns for safety have been blamed for children spending
less time doing outdoor activities.
Around 80 per cent of parents admitted they have never taken their children star gazing or fishing
– despite the majority saying they are concerned their offspring do not get outside enough.
Around half of parents said they do not let their children play outside because of concerns about
their safety, while 60 per cent said there is now more for them to do indoors – such as watch
television and play computer games.
 Ben Fogle, an adventurer, writer and broadcaster and father of two, said the dwindling amount of
time children are spending outside is a worrying trend.
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He said: “It is clear that for various reasons kids just aren’t getting out and about as much as their
parents did when they were young. From computer games to the lack of local green spaces, we
have lost our sense of adventure a little as a nation.
“Some of the things I loved as a boy, such as crabbing and star gazing, are starting to die out
which is worrying for the next generation of adventurers.”
The study of 1,000 parents revealed 90 per cent had never made a tree house with their children
and 37 per cent had never taken their family looking for wildlife.
The majority admitted their children did not play outside as much as they had during their own
childhood, with 26 per cent saying they spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outdoors.
The survey by Mothercare revealed that parents also felt homework commitments and a lack of
green spaces also stop children being able to go outside to play.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/10747841/Children-spend-less-than-30-minutes-playing-
outside-a-week.html

Menurut Samuel.P.Huntington dalam bukunya yang berjudul”The Clash Of Civilization” Westernisasi

adalah Proses yang mengikuti segala bentuk gaya hidup bangsa barat. Adapun pengertian lain,
Westernisasi adalah suatu perbuatan seseorang yang mulai kehilangan jiwa nasionalisme yang
meniru atau melakukan aktivitas bersifat kebarat-baratan.
https://www.academia.edu/11704557/Westernisasi_Yang_Terjadi_Di_Masyarakat_Indonesia

Anak-anak zaman sekarang makin sedikit yang suka bermain di luar rumah. Ini bukan sekadar
kesimpulan pribadi, namun sesuai dengan hasil penelitian Sandra L. Hofferth, Ph D, Profesor di
Department Family Science, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Amerika Serikat
(2006) yang menyebutkan bahwa waktu bermain outdoor rata-rata anak telah menurun lebih dari
9 jam per minggu dari tahun 1981 hingga 2003. Mereka lebih asyik main di dalam ruangan
dengan perangkat elektronik atau nonton TV ketimbang mencari kesenangan di alam bebas.

Padahal, acara bermain bebas di luar ruangan punya segudang manfaat bagi pertumbuhan dan
perkembangan diri anak.

1. Memperbaiki Mood dan Mengatasi Stres

Saat bermain di luar, paparan sinar matahari mengaktifkan kelenjar pineal yang mendorong otak
menghasilkan serotonin. Serotonin adalah neurotransmitter yang bertanggung jawab
meningkatkan suasana hati dan energi seseorang. Inilah mengapa, saat anak-anak aktif di luar,
mereka juga akan lebih bergembira, tidak stres, mudah tertawa lepas, dan bersemangat.
Jika anak tengah rewel, sering menggerutu, dan mudah mengamuk, mengajaknya ke luar
ruangan dan mendapat sinar matahari juga dapat memperbaiki suasana hatinya. Bisa jadi, inilah
alasan para orang tua zaman dahulu menyuruh anaknya bermain di luar saat sering berbuat ulah
di dalam rumah. Ketika tahun ajaran sekolah dimulai, ajaklah anak-anak beraktivitas di luar
ruangan setiap akhir pekan. Penelitian menunjukkan, aktivitas luar ruangan terutama di alam
dapat menurunkan kadar hormon kortisol atau hormon stres.

2. Meningkatkan Keterampilan Sosial

Saat anak bermain di luar dan bertemu dengan teman sebayanya, mereka akan belajar banyak
hal. Bermain di luar dengan teman sebaya memungkinkan anak mengembangkan
kemampuan problemsolving dan keahlian untuk bekerjasama dengan orang lain. Bukan hanya
bermain bersama, saat bermain sendirian di luar pun anak dapat meningkatkan keterampilan
sosialnya. Pengalaman bermain di luar sendirian dapat meningkatkan kewaspadaan dan disiplin
diri. Kedua kemampuan ini adalah keterampilan penunjang untuk mengembangkan hubungan
interpersonal anak kelak kemudian hari.
3. Merangsang Kreativitas dan Kemandirian
Saat anak bermain di ruangan terbuka, mereka belajar untuk melakukan hal-hal secara spontan
dan independen untuk menghibur diri sendiri tanpa selalu mengandalkan orang dewasa.
Misalnya, saat di halaman dan melihat batu, kayu, atau daun, mereka akan berpikir bagaimana
caranya memanfaatkan benda-benda tersebut untuk bermain. Permainan yang dimainkan pun
bisa beraneka ragam, tergantung kemampuan kognitif dan emosional anak.
Berdasarkan penelitian, permainan yang tak terstruktur, seperti bermain apa saja di alam, sangat
mengasah kreativitas, imajinasi, dan inovasi anak sejak dini. Hasilnya, kelak anak yang banyak
bermain di luar akan semakin kaya akan pemikiran yang bebas, penuh inisiatif, tidak takut
mengambil risiko, dan terlatih dalam memecahkan masalah. Bahkan, bermain di luar juga dapat
mengasah kemampuan kepemimpinan terutama bila anak kerap bermain dengan teman-teman
sebaya.

4. Meningkatkan Kemampuan Bahasa

Anak-anak yang terlalu sering bermain di dalam ruangan cenderung pendiam dan pasif.
Sementara sebaliknya, anak-anak yang memiliki banyak kesempatan bermain di luar relatif
mengalami kemajuan kemampuan berkomunikasi yang lebih baik. Ini disebabkan, anak yang
bermain di luar memiliki kesempatan yang lebih besar untuk melatih kemampuan bahasanya.
Setidaknya, ia harus mengutarakan keinginannya pada orang lain saat berada di luar rumah.
Terutama pada anak laki-laki, mereka cenderung menemukan ‘kata-kata’-nya dari luar ruangan
ketimbang mempelajarinya dari orang tua di rumah. Agar anak tak lambat bicara, ajak anak
untuk sering bermain di luar dan bertemu dengan banyak orang serta teman sebaya.

Biarkan anak belajar berkomunikasi tanpa harus diperintah. Saat ia bertemu teman sebayanya
dan bermain bersama, anak akan belajar mengikuti aturan main sekaligus berkomunikasi. Atau,
pancing dengan mendeskripsikan apa yang dianggapnya menarik dari lingkungan luar, seperti
mendeskripsikan tekstur dari benda-benda di alam, cuaca, warna, dan sebagainya.

Tidak hanya itu, bermain atau beraktifitas di luar rumah memiliki manfaat dalam membantu
meningkatkan kecerdasan sosial anak-anak.

Menurut hasil pelitian sejumlah ahli di University of Minnesota, anak-anak yang sering bermain
diluar rumah terbukti memiliki tubuh yang lebih sehat, kreatif, suka berpetualang, dan
mempunyai hasrat untuk mengekspolarasi kondisi lingkungan sekitarnya.

“Dapat dipastikan bahwa anak-anak yang senang bermain di luar rumah, kepribadiannya akan
lebih kuat dan lebih berani mengambil keputusan,” tulis hasil penelitian tersebut.

Saat berada di luar ruangan, anak-anak dapat memainkan sejumlah permainan yang memiliki
banyak manfaat seperti berpikir cepat untuk menentukan strategi dalam mengalahkan lawan,
melatih ketangkasan, membedakan orientasi ruang dan arah, serta menumbuhkan kerjasama
dalam tim.

A large-scale poll conducted in the United States by the National Sleep

Foundation (PDF) reported in 2013 that 72% of all children and 89% of teens have at
least one device in their sleep environment. Most of this technology is used near
bedtime, that same report found.
According to Carter and his co-authors, this omnipresent technology negatively
influences children's sleep by delaying their sleep time, as they finish watching a
movie or play one more game.
Light emitted from these devices may also affect the circadian rhythm, the internal
clock timing biological processes, including body temperature and hormone release,
the researchers explain. One specific hormone, melatonin, induces tiredness and
contributes to the timing of our sleep-wake cycles. Electronic lights can delay the
release of melatonin, disrupting this cycle and making it harder to fall asleep.

How an early bedtime can have lasting effects on kids

Carter and his co-authors also suggest that online content may be psychologically
stimulating and keep children and teens awake far past the hour when they turn off
their devices and try to sleep.
"Sleep is vital for children," said Dr. Sujay Kansagra, director of the pediatric
neurology sleep medicine program at Duke University Medical Center, who was not
involved in the new analysis. "We know that sleep plays a crucial role in brain
development, memory, self-regulation, attention, immune function, cardiovascular
health and much more."
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/31/health/kids-sleep-screens-tech/index.html