Latitude 42s: an Open Innovation Series
Children’s “Future Requests” for
Computers and the Internet
CONTEXT
Kids as Innovation-Thinkers
Children are excellent problem-solvers. When
asked to generate novel concepts, they are
bound by fewer cognitive constraints than
adults; they are relatively unconcerned with the
perceived boundaries of what is practical and
what is possible.
The current study, which asked children to
ideate new digital technologies, found that their
“future requests” were surprisingly realistic. Only
4% of the products and services generated
would be impossible charges for today’s
developers (e.g. teleportation, time travel).
User experience designers, prominent
companies and academic institutions have
already discovered the applied value of
incorporating children’s creative input into their
innovation streams, especially insofar as
younger generations—digital natives—approach
technology with matter-of-course acceptance
and deftly intuited modes of interaction.
Thus far, accomplished thinkers have seen new
digital potential primarily in the realms of media
and entertainment; children, however, are
imagining how it might rejuvenate age-old
human routines, everyday physical tasks and
social activities.
1 “Interactive”
was defined as being continually reactive/
adaptive to the child’s input.
2 Percentage
from total number of concepts which
possessed a clearly discernible means of interaction (more
than half of all total submissions).
3 Response options were not mutually exclusive.
a,b,c,d,e See page 3 for examples of user submissions.
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What do children think computers
should be doing?
Children’s “Future Requests” for Computers
and the Internet is the second installment of
Latitude 42s: an Open Innovation Series, user-
Study Lead: Jessica Reinis powered research studies which unite
collective creativity and sophisticated
quantitative analysis to generate Web-based
solutions for the future.
KEY FINDINGS
Digital, Meet Physical
38% of children’s innovations called for more immersive content experiences than are standard at
present, with features like 3D effects (10% of all submissions) or seamless integration of digital and
physical spaces.a (In many cases, devices could create physical objects such as food, or facilitate
physical activities such as playing a sport.)d For children today, true synchrony between physical
and digital worlds is no longer a novelty but an expectation.
Intuitive Interaction
The majority of children (83%) desired interactive technologies (such as responsive virtual
environments, 3D games, “homework help” computers, etc.).1,b Children increasingly desire
“anthropomorphic technologies”—devices that offer human-level responsiveness.
Look, Ma, No Hands!
37% of children’s technology concepts did not include the traditional keyboard/mouse interface at
all.2 With an eye toward more “fluid” interfaces, 12% incorporated touchscreen features; 8%, visual
controls; and 4% imagined telepathy as a form of device input.3,c
Half of all participants visually represented themselves interacting with their invented technologies,
supporting the “iGeneration” understanding of device as merely an extension of oneself.
The Social World is Growing and Shrinking?
Social networking was especially salient for 10-12 year-olds, who contributed 56% of all socially-
enabling innovations.
In addition to close friends and family, some participants articulated a desire to interact with other
children in far-distant locales.e For kids today, the world, ironically, feels smaller and more accessible
—just as their awareness of its size, diversity, and possibility is increasing.
Confidence Through Creation & Creativity
31% of technologies proposed by children were a tool or platform for creating something (a Web
site, a game, a video to be shared, a physical object, etc.).
Interestingly, this drive to create—and the expectation that technology will facilitate creative
expression—was highly under-acknowledged by parents. Only 7% of participants’ parents chose
creation or design as one of their child’s favorite activities while, not surprisingly, 70% selected
gaming.3 Children’s own inventions revealed artistic design as a close second to gaming.
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 Children’s “Future Requests” for Computers and the Internet Latitude 42s: an Open Innovation Series

OPPORTUNITIES
Create Action, Not Just Information
Already well-versed in online game-play that
triggers offline actions and offers tangible
rewards (e.g. virtual currency that can be used to
make “real-world” purchases), today’s kids will
continue to break down the digital-physical
divide. This generation will expect to use real-
time technologies that anticipate and assist
action; they will demand more applications for
The Internet of Things (when objects are
connected to the Internet via RFID tags, sensors
and barcodes), optimized for everyday life.
Imagine: your car GPS knows your location and
estimated travel time with traffic; when you’re 30
minutes from home, it turns on the air conditioner
there.
To offer value to today’s children as they age,
companies across industries will need to reach Inspiration
beyond merely delivering information to sensing Children Solve Problems, Edward de Bono
and organizing information—then converting it to
intelligent action automatically. “Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media,”
University of California, Berkeley (2008)
Offer True Interactivity
Kids today expect interactive content
Scratch, MIT Media Lab
environments: a clear prediction that visually
immersive features (like 3D-enabled home TVs)
“What Influences Children’s and Adolescents’
alone won’t sustain any audience for long.
Understanding of the Complexity of the
As such, technology and media developers Internet?,” Zheng Yan (2006)
should construct ways for people to interact not
just with the technology but with the actual story “Young Swedes: The Next Generation of
being told through the device. Innovators,” Snilleblixtarna (2009)

For more information on this study and its applications to your business, email Neela Sakaria (nsakaria@latd.com).

THEMES IN CHILDREN’S FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

% of Submissions Incorporating Theme* Study Lead
*response options were not mutually exclusive Jessica Reinis is a research
analyst at Latitude.
30%

21% Study Partner

ReadWriteWeb is one of the
12% 12% world’s top 20 blogs. It provides
11% 10% insightful analysis of Web-related
7% 7% 6% 5% news and trends.
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METHODOLOGY (KALEIDOSCOPE™)
Using a Web-based survey environment, parents of participants aged 12 and under (n=126) from
across the globe answered a series of questions about their child’s knowledge and use of digital
devices and their engagement with various online activities. Basic demographics were also
collected. Children were then asked to imagine and pictorially represent a new technology product
or service of interest to them (see page 3 for examples):
“What would be really interesting or fun to do on your computer or the Internet that your computer
canʼt do right now? Please draw a picture of what this activity looks like.”
Images were uploaded into Kaleidoscope™, a Web application (part of Latitude’s Lumière Suite)
which allows users to contribute and interact with visual input in a behavioral environment. Latitude
developed a reliable coding scheme to delineate and quantify technology themes amongst the
submitted images (such as device interface characteristics, degree of interactivity, physical-digital
convergence, user’s desired end-goal, social characteristics, etc.).

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Latitude text research consultancy exploring how new information and communications technologies
an international
can enhance human experiences. Latitude’s user-centered research approach unites generative, media-based
methods with robust quantitative analysis to identify concrete opportunities for Web-based innovation.

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LIFE, CONNECTED

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 Children’s “Future Requests” for Computers and the Internet Latitude 42s: an Open Innovation Series

ON THE VERGE A FEW VERY FORWARD IDEAS

a d

“The computer becomes 3-dimensional and, instead

“I would like it if my computer could convert images
of a keyboard, it's controlled by voice.”
of food and make them real! I drew a picture of a girl
—Age 11, Copenhagen, Denmark clicking on an image on the computer and it came
real.”
b —Age 10, Pakenham, Australia

“It's like guitar hero (you could do drums too) ...

maybe with surround sound and the computer could
be touchscreen so that you can interact directly with
the instruments if you want. (That's not necessary;
you can hold a guitar in real life that controls it.)”
—Age 9, Miami, FL, USA
“I want to video kids on the other side of the world
using a different kind of language.”
c —Age 7, Warwick, RI, USA

“Help Computer: it knows what you are thinking and “Being able to watch (for a fee) movies currently
does it for you—both touch and voice controlled.” being screened at the cinema.”
–Age 8, Brisbane, Australia —Age 11, Sydney, Australia

Type tois enter

Latitude text research consultancy exploring how new information and communications technologies
an international
can enhance human experiences. Latitude’s user-centered research approach unites generative, media-based
methods with robust quantitative analysis to identify concrete opportunities for Web-based innovation.

content company social contact media

Latitude
LIFE, CONNECTED
Latd, Inc., 2010, (cc) some rights reserved.