A new generation of digitally-aware 8-14 year olds has been identified in the biggest ever pan-European study of tweens. These children, who have never known a world without the internet, and who in turn have a heightened awareness of their future and that of the planet, have been labeled Generation XD – the Digital children of Generation X.

Named ‘Generation XD’ and commissioned by Disney as part of ongoing research for the new kids TV channel Disney XD, the study interviewed over 3,000 8-14 year-olds in six countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain). The results shatter many myths about children’s relationship with the internet and attitudes towards the family and celebrity culture.

Fundamentally different to previous generations due to its digital upbringing, Generation XD – children born between 1995 and 2001 to parents of Generation X – has witnessed more technological developments than any other generation and never known life without digital entertainment, mobile phones or social media channels.

Victoria Hardy, Executive Director, EMEA Research, Disney Channels, commented: “As we enter a new decade, the XD report redefines the popular image of today’s tweens and shows them as a positive, community-minded generation who uses the technology that surrounds them to make a positive impact on their lives and the world around them.”

The study reveals the following trends as a consequence of this unprecedented connectedness:

– Digital Generation – while completely at ease with technology, XDs use it to enhance rather than replace face to face social interaction

— Face to face contact is still the most preferable way to meet up with friends (30%) over and above texting (15%), online chat (14%) and mobile (8%)

— 95% feel that the internet and computers are important to them

— 53% feel the internet improves their life by helping them talk to their friends outside school

— 44% say the internet makes it easier to stay in touch with friends

— Homework (59%) scores second only to gaming (74%) for most common uses of the internet

– Mini-Preneurs – despite the credit crunch, which is in part a result of the credit-and-debt culture of Generation X before them, XDs are establishing good financial habits early

— 70% are saving their pocket money rather than spending it immediately

— 64% of XDs would much rather work for themselves than for someone else when they grow up

– Generation Aspiration – despite the celebrity dominated environment that XDs have grown up in, they have strong family values and aspire to traditional vocations rather than the pursuit of fame

— The top five future professions are vet, teacher, footballer, doctor and police officer

— Topping the poll in every single country as the person they admire most in the world is mum at 43%, with dad coming second at 30%

– Green Tweens – Generation XD say caring for the environment is important

— 97% of XDs believe it is important to look after the planet, with 74% already recycling regularly

Tom Dunmore, Consulting Editor, Stuff said: “As the kids of Generation X, who embraced all mod cons in their twenties, you’d expect Generation XD to be fully versed in how the internet can help them. What’s interesting though, is how they are embracing both cutting edge technology and traditional family values in their approach to life. While David Beckham does inevitably get a mention, fame and celebrity are secondary to family and they aspire to be vets and teachers rather than singers and celebrities, which is both surprising and encouraging. Indeed, Generation XD is remolding the traditional definition of youth as we know it”.

Concluded Victoria Hardy: “Generation XD kids have a heightened understanding of socio-economic issues, deep family values and are already demonstrating behavioural patterns that will have a deep impact on the future. As the world leader in family entertainment, Disney invests heavily to ensure we continue to understand our audience, to help us produce content that is aspirational for them and, critically, that is available when and where they want it in their digital universe, both of which are central to Disney XD.”

Disney XD is a boy-focused, girl-inclusive TV channel for kids aged 6-14 – the first of its kind in the world – which launched in UK in August 2009. It features a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure, music and humour. Find out more at (www.disneyxd.co.uk).

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/generation-xd-disney-releases-biggest-ever-study-of-tweens-in-europe,1113468.shtml##ixzz0fbkWm3Bo

Feedback is very helpful, young people are usually happy to oblige!
Live feedback after an Aim Higher Talk at Sheffield College Nov 2009 by leejackson

When I speak to young people across the UK – I meet amazing, passionate and often misunderstood young humans. And when I deliver teacher training I often talk about the world that young people live in alot, as understanding their world and not what ‘The Daily Mail says’ is so important if we are going to reach this generation…this project is a real help…

“Journalists, politicians, academics, police and parents all have a point of view on what the ‘kids of today’ are like.

But has anyone ever asked the young people themselves, and not just in a focus group in Edmonton, but in an open and transparent way and on a national scale? And has anyone done anything smart, cool or fun with that data, that might, just might, make the truth about young people be heard?

These questions were the starting point for Voicebox; a project which aims to curate the views of 16-25s, visualise the results in creative ways, and then set that data free. Over the coming months, we’re going to try to find out how young people spend their time, what they care about, how many carry knives, what they really think about the area they live in and much more.

The more people take part, the more detailed picture we get. Each month, we’ll have new themes, and you’ll be able to play with the results by age, gender, location and ethnicity. And remember, this isn’t our data, this is your data. So we are inviting people to use our data and do fancy things like cross-tabbing, create their own visualisations, pick out random statistics for the community or get campaigning.

The project is being run by V, the national youth volunteers service who want to increase the number of 16-25s in the UK who volunteer. Our aim with Voicebox is to better understand young people, so we can deliver programmes better suited to their needs. For that reason, we are only ever going to use data for this age range and in the UK, but the project is open to everyone to take part, however old and wherever they live.”

via :: Vinspired Voicebox :: About Voicebox.

Hang your head in shame. A major survey of public attitudes towards dishonesty has revealed a nation dominated by chancers, cheats and petty thieves.

More than two-thirds of people have stolen stationery from work, copied CDs for friends, or kept quiet when undercharged in shops, a study by British criminal lawyers shows. Meanwhile, significant numbers confessed they would make fraudulent insurance claims, deceive people online and plagiarise internet articles for college assignments if the chance arose. Others said they would steal DVDs or use a colleague’s account to shop online.

The lawyers asked more than 15,000 people in England and Wales to give their views on morally dubious scenarios, from picking up coins in the street to setting fire to one’s garage to claim the insurance.

They found stark differences in attitude, with women and older people taking a generally dimmer view of events than males and younger people. Opportunistic theft, especially from large corporations, was common despite broad agreement that it was dishonest.

“It’s almost part of human nature. If we think we can get away with something that’s not causing a huge amount of harm to an identifiable person, we do it,” said Stefan Fafinski, who helped devise the survey carried out at Brunel University.

Details of the “honesty lab” survey will be announced at the British Science Association festival in Guildford this week.

The lawyers set up the survey to investigate whether “ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people” existed. The phrase, a cornerstone of criminal law in Britain, is used in the Ghosh test to help determine whether a defendant has behaved honestly. The survey found that even when it came to clear crimes, such as burning down one’s garage to claim the insurance, some people argued the act was not dishonest or worthy of conviction.

“The Ghosh test assumes there is a standard of reasonable and honest people, but even in extreme cases there are disagreements about what is honest. What we can say for sure is that the test is based on an unattainable standard of honesty in society,” said Fafinski.

Participants watched videos of actors describing scenarios and then decided whether they had behaved dishonestly and whether the offence was serious enough for a conviction. After watching one scenario 66% said it was dishonest to cash a winning lottery ticket they found in the street but 41% said they would do it.

The next phase of research will use mock-up courts to see whether private views change when people join a jury and are required to discuss their opinions.

via Honesty not best policy, survey of public attitudes suggests | Science | The Guardian.