Research Proposal

Title:                          Children’s Interactivity with Media

Rationale/ Motivations:

I have two younger sisters and< have had a large part in raising them.  I find it interesting to see how increasingly technologically advanced children are these days. It amazes me how some children can interact with video games or websites before they can even read well. I think it is probably an area that is less studied, but well worth the time to take a look at what has brought about this change. Those small children using those websites are the future flash creators and web designers.

For my capstone, I’d like to produce some sort of interactive children’s story. I feel like this research will lead directly into that and provide me a starting point on what works best and what is not effective. Also, this might help me to define my target audience.

Engagement with “Social Theory”:

Out of the proposed, in-class theories, I would say that the “Uses and Gratifications Theory” most closely relates to the major theme of my research project, and that is concentrating on the consumer. The consumer in this case being children in general, my project will take a close look at what makes the media “kid-friendly” and what makes it most exciting and useful for the children.

Methods:

I will definitely be doing some observation studies of what media features children react with more successfully. For instance, it would be interesting to find out if children prefer to use a mouse and click buttons for navigations, or if they work best with a touch screen; also, whether audio elements make a huge difference in the overall user-friendliness of a product for children.

Another method I may use is a survey from the parents to see how involved their children are with media on and everyday basis: how much they are allowed to be, how much they want to be, what types of media, (video games, computer games, websites, etc.) and how advanced they are with their technology.

An obvious research method to use would be empirical method, looking up different scholarly journals that have studies about similar topics to see what theories and outcomes they reached.

Lastly, a possible method may be to conduct an interview. If I could find one, it  would be extremely helpful to hear from some sort of children’s expert on their cognitive learning abilities or even social learning habits. Also, if I found an expert on the children’s programming that is out there and available for them to use. Getting an expert from either angle would definitely provide useful insight toward my research.

Outcomes/Novelty:

I hope to determine what kind of program I can make that will make me most marketable in this upcoming field of interactive media.  I think children are a huge demographic for companies to consider and I want to draw attention to that fact.

Right now I would make the prediction that 1. Children will respond better with a touch screen, especially the younger the age group, because touch screens have a greater instinct gratification. Children can activate it with just a touch rather than grabbing the mouse and moving and clicking. 2. I think that audio will make a huge difference in how they children are affected by the activity. For instance, we they get an answer right, they not only see a bright color but also hear a “ding” or some sound indicating that they got it right. Also, music has been found to be a natural stimulus for the human mind in general, for learning, entertainment, shopping, and all sorts of interacting.

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