Why did you do the study? Most designs for children today are based on folklore or guesswork. We wanted to see what normal kids do rather than what adults say they do. One of the reasons we have misleading myths is, too many industry people generalize from their own child–I can’t tell you how many conferences I’ve been to where tech executives say, “Kids have no problem; let me tell you about my 7-year old.”
Which result surprised you most? The response to advertisements. Children don’t distinguish between ads and content. To them, it’s all content, it’s all information. A grown-up user clicks on an ad banner maybe once a year, but children do it all the time. They see a banner with a Pokemon character and they think it’s a game. They don’t realize it takes them to a different site.
You also found that kids weren’t as naturally skillful on computers as we thought. We have this myth that children can just do it. That’s not true. For instance, because kids have literal thinking, they don’t scroll down the page. It’s “out of sight, out of mind.” And when they encounter error messages, they just ignore it and go someplace else.
Yet you found that kids will read directions, whereas adults usually skip them. Kids are more accepting of being learners. It’s almost as if it’s their job. But they are only willing to read a paragraph or so.
Why are many kids’ sites hard to use? Kids like colorful moving screens, but designers go overboard and make controls too complicated as well. Or they try to jazz up the interface, using an overly hip vocabulary in describing options you can go to. Designers think that because the users are kids, everything has to be dumbed down, but it’s not true.
Reassuringly, the kids in your study resisted attempts to get personal information. It’s surprising how much they are aware of privacy issues, and that they shouldn’t give out their name or phone number. Parents and teachers have told them in no uncertain terms about dangers of the Internet.
Now that kids have learned that, should we teach them how to deal with ads? This is where we have a big educational mission. My main advice is for parents to sit down with kids at the computer, teach them to recognize ads. A Disney character in an ad doesn’t mean that you’ll get a game or cartoon–it just means someone rented the character to sell a product.
