Kids...using Search Engines

Nowadays, my siblings don’t have to take their bikes and do a 45-minute ride to the library or have our parents give them a ride to the library, nevertheless, stay after school to search information at the school library. Yeeks!

That has been somehow my situations in the past. However, my siblings don’t have to suffer in that sense because they have and future generations of kids will have search engines that will appeal to a young generation on what they are researching [would be school project or just surfing on the web!]. Now, what motivates the young generation to use search engines?

The first thought that would pop to someone’s mind would be the fact that kids use search engines for school homework. According to Elana Broch’s article, a graduate student at Rutgers University, “thoughts are commonly centered externally on ‘what does the teach want?’” However, kids are not completely motivated because they lack “a sense of ownership” so they usually don’t fulfill the adequate information for their school project or they don’t do it at all. Of course, if businesses decorate their websites with great graphics and multimedia format so that students may clearly understand the topic their researching about and enjoy their projects a little more. J

In other news:

Even though the Internet has been a great help to kids so far, some still unfortunately have difficulty searching and locating personal interest information or researching for their projects. Google has now updated [and they keep updating let me tell ya!] their search engine more than adults [and kids!] know. Google offers a cluster of benefits to kids by improving the search engine and making the search hunt more simple and efficient to users. Google works for what consumers want, not for money; they work for the billion of customers who needs help finding a particular topic. In other words, specified age groups are satisfied with their needs thanks to programs such as AdWords and AdSense. Google satisfied the need more effectively, efficiently, and trustworthy by helping advertisers with analytic.

Google is influencing the world of advertising industry and small businesses, not to mention that Google’s main source of revenue comes from advertising. Google is bringing all kinds [small or large] of businesses and customers together. With the many programs that Google offers advertisers, like AdWords or AdSense, and Google analytic, customers [kids] are able to receive advertising relating to what they were searching for in the first place. For example, Google would place an ad using AdWord of Disney, Universal or Six Flags theme parks information if a kid was reading articles on theme parks because they feel like going to a theme park in the summer! In addition, Google has improved the program by targeting audience specifically-more the young generation. For instance, if the user types in the search engine “Hotels in Orlando, FLAdWord. The data collected illustrates what a user does after clicking on the ad, purchase funnel, and how many and what kind of customers visit the company’s website- narrowing their target segment. Google analytic guides the business to improve their conversion rate. In other words, if a business increases their conversion rate that would benefit them by investing more on cost per click- this is an advantage towards their competitors. This really helps when any kind of businesses have the intention of targeting a specific age group. Unlike offline advertising, Google helps business understand on what precisely they are spending by breaking it down, providing the particular customers reached, and what the customers would do after clicking on the advertising. Additionally, Google is further uniting the young generation and future generation to businesses through YouTube. So there you have it…search engine has been shaping the kids generation and will continue to the point that doing school projects or personal interest will be done in less than 20 minutes. Like to know more on how Google works and other cool facts on kids’s behavior on the Internet/Search Engine?? Just click on one of the links J

*https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=adwords&hl=en_US&ltmpl=regionalc&passive=false&ifr=false&alwf=true&continue=https://adwords.google.com/um/gaiaauth?apt%3DNone&error=newacct&sacu=1

*https://www.google.com/adsense/www/en_US/tour/

*http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume32000/childrens.cfm#childrens

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Internet

The Internet has been there when a student needs to solve a homework problem or when a person needs to find a specific restaurant, or even when a company needs to target more audience. The Internet has many industries facing a challenge or from becoming completely obliterated, like Blockbusters or Borders for example. However, kids use the Internet to satisfy all kinds of needs and depending on the need of the kid, Internet may affect a family’s bond by facing a serious challenge or by breaking a family’s connection if not corrected.  In other words, Internet has its good side, its bad side, and just its plain ugly side!

The Good ->

The Internet’s development started from 1958 and has been improving up to the present. Has technology and the Internet brought communication closer? Of course, it has! It’s called Globalization. Meaning my mother doesn’t have to keep calling to her country to talk to her family and receive a bill later; but, with the expansion of the Internet my mother can connect with her family through Skype, facebook, MSN messenger, etc…without costing her a penny! While parents would say, “Back in my day I had to walk 1.5 miles every day to the library just to find a piece of information for my project!” nowadays, a kid [of any age] can search and find information on the Internet to finish the project without having to waste time walking 1.5 miles every day. Google, the famous search engine, offers a cluster of benefits to users by improving the search engine and making the search hunt more simple and efficient to users- like kids for example. Since elementary school, kids learn how to use a keyboard and a mouse to know how to use the computer. When maturing, kids learn how to use the Internet that enhances many abilities. Based on an article from verdick.org, kids are able to improve their cognitive skills. For instance, when searching for information on a project, a student is able to work their memory and critical thinking to know where and how to find information. For example, my brother has found a way to search for the information needed in the matter of seconds. He first reads the topic, then he reads it again but this time he highlights the key words or phrases that may sum the entire topic. Once he types the key words/phrases in Google, in the matter of seconds he has found a least two articles relating to the information needed. Lastly, kids’ social communication improves because they can chat, e-mail friends, or make new friends from other countries. For example, my mother’s family resides in other country [Guatemala] and I from time to time communicate with them through facebook. Since I have most of my cousins listed as cousins in facebook, I have met and become good friends with a few of my cousins’ friends! :)

The Bad ->

Perhaps too much technology for kids is bad for many reasons. For instance, it affects a student’s writing abilities. My sister is currently a senior in her high school. However, I remember when she told me that her 10^th grade English teacher informed the class that he could not believe how the majority of students failed to write an essay. When my sister and her classmates were appalled, the teacher read aloud most of the essays. A good percentage of students had written their essays as a text/e-mail message instead of a well thought-provoking essay. It seems that kids forget to know how to write when they can simply learn how to write a high school or college essay over the Internet. So why have they not done so? The possible answer may be that kids may become lazy and become inquisitive about other unnecessary topics. For example, my brother has admitted that when he becomes bored- which is mostly at times- he starts playing games on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, or surf the internet by looking at some cameras or Nike shoes that are probably too expensive or chat with friends through facebook. Now, the internet is used as a medium to search or interact with the world for kids, but this may affect their performance in school and their communication towards the family.

The Ugly ->

The ugly side of the Internet towards kids has a long extensive list. According to allbusiness.com, Corporation for Public Broadcasting conducted a survey and found:

“In July 2002, 78% of family households with children have Internet access at home. A survey by Yahoo and Carat showed that children ages 12 to 17 used the Internet an average of 16.7 hours per week in 2003 (Indiantelevision, 2003).”

 From violent video games to fake advertising to sexual solicitation are ways to fool kids of any age. Most video games are free on the Internet. However, most parents complain that their kids prefer to play games on the internet instead of playing outside with them or just to hang out together at dinner. The situation not only starts there but it gets worse if parents do not know what their kids actually do on the Internet. Some violent video games bring fake advertising that either informs them to write their full name, address, birth date- enough information for the perpetrator to pass as the person- or advertises sexual solicitation. According to Finkelhor et al., the survey reported that a quarter of kids from ages ten to seventeen receive unwanted sexual solicitation and a “19% received a sexual solicitation online.” (allbusiness) Unfortunately, the survey also informed that 30% of parents have not sat down with their kids and guide them of the wrong and right there is and the consequences for each.

Does the internet really hurt families or does it depend how strong a families’ bond is? Well, according to my family, my parents have guided me about the Internet. Once I started to learn how to use the computer and the Internet, both of my parents told me that the Internet is like being out there in the world only virtually. The difference is only that, one is virtual and the other reality. I believe the one who has the most power to stop and know what’s really important in life is kids. For each family, the channel of communication varies [communication, religion, activities, etc…] so there are many ways to still keep a strong bond with families and use the Internet.

“So, take care of yourself, know how to manage and where to go and know when to leave not unless you want stick around to for the consequences, you hear?” That is somewhat what my parents keep telling me now [and I’m 21 years old!]. For my siblings, the conversation with them is a bit longer the way it was when I was their age. The results? We don’t have poor performance in school, we know where to go and we’re not curious about the bad and ugly side of the Internet, and we don’t focus on the technology because the ones that we can interact, achieve great information, and have trust within is….family! :)

Want to learn more about the positive and negative consequences and learn if the Internet really destroys, family or it’s just we [as family] that need to do something about it? Then read the following articles in the hyperlinks…

- By 3KidsProduction

http://www.verdick.org/child-development-and-the-internet/child-dev-pos

http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-technology/867440-1.html#ixzz1XfhTWfue

http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-technology/867440-1.html#ixzz1XftPxbxb

http://www.healthylifestyle9.com/internet-safety-for-kids/

http://kiptip.com/letters/dear-kip/01/26/2009/family-destroyed-by-pc/