Marcy Magiera

The convergent son

With the new year, a new age of media consumption has started in my home. It doesn’t have anything to do with consumer electronics given for the holidays or New Year’s resolutions. It’s simply that my oldest child turned 10.

It started a while back, actually, when I noticed he intuitively programmed the cable DVR to record, with no help from his parents. He and his friends spent more time watching the Mentos/Diet Coke and eBay (Weird Al) videos on YouTube and trolling for stuff they want on Amazon, when they aren’t on Webkinz.

He, and every other kid over the age of 8 on our block, asked Santa for a cell phone. (“I don’t even want to text, Mom.” “Yeah, right.”)

Then over the holidays, he spent most of a long car ride listening to music on his Nintendo DS. For his January birthday, he got an iPod Nano and he has already played games as much as music on it. He made the rounds of my office the other day carrying a “Will work for iTunes gift card” sign.

I know, as a reporter, that this is the convergent digital life of kids these days, but as a mom, I’m just beginning to experience it.

I take solace in the fact that I’m not alone.

According to “Kids & Digital Content III,” a new report from NPD Group, a growing number of young kids, like teens and adults, are shifting their entertainment consumption from physical product to digital. The percentage of kids ages 2 to 14 acquiring music in a digital format rather than a physical one, for instance, grew 10% just between 2007 and 2008.

Convergence is on the rise, with more kids using cell phones to listen to music and send images and using portable media players to watch videos, etc. (Just like teens and adults.)

The most dramatic increase in usage of digital entertainment devices happens at about age 9, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Bingo!

While the vast majority of movies consumed by kids are still on physical media, the percentage of 9-to-14-year-olds accessing movies and TV shows digitally is growing steadily. (Just like teens and adults.)

I know that DVDs with digital copy are going to be the only kind sought by my son and his friends soon.

A mom like me may still buy CDs and be content to take the portable DVD player along in the car, but my boy won’t settle for such inelegant solutions. Not now that he’s 10.

Posted by Marcy Magiera on January 9, 2009 | Comments (0)