I was recently joking with a co-worker that at the rate things are going, babies will soon be born texting on little BlackBerrys while listening to music on Apple iPod Nanos.
Apparently, I wasn’t that far off.
Ars Technica reports a recent study by a market-research firm has concluded that the average age that a child first uses consumer electronic devices has dropped from 8 years old (in 2005) to approximately 6.5.
The NPD Group says that young children are becoming extremely adept at using digital media players, portable video games, digital cameras and more.
One reason for the toddler tech-savvy: Many of today’s new parents grew up on video games and earlier mobile devices (portable CD players, Walkmans, cell phones) and are comfortable letting their children do the same.
Other kids find such devices are recognized as status symbols among their peers, so they are quick to ask mommy and daddy for one.
I currently don’t have any kids, only a dog, so I’m cool. I can’t imagine my dog wanting to use my cell phone or laptop, however, she is pretty smart. Hmm…
- Gates Says iPod’s Success Won’t Last | May 12, 2005
- Video Games Officially Good For Kids – Says Unbiased Sony Study… | October 21, 2008
- External Laptop Battery : Power Injection for Your Laptop | November 26, 2008
- Solar Charger Powers Any USB Gadget | July 5, 2007
- iPhone Makes Watching Video More Like Reading A Book | July 3, 2007
when i have kids i am going to force feed them SEO so they can start to make me cash at an early age. instead of doing their homework they will have to spend 30 minutes every night optimizing my shit before watching barney.
yes i said barney: get them while they are young.
I had a dog who liked to bark along to “Who let the dogs out”. Does that count?