6 Thoughts on Technology from Teens in 2016
With 2016 just beginning, technology is improving and growing at a faster and more exponential rate than ever before. Everything around us is beginning to be labeled “smart” and connects with everything else. It’s a great time to be alive right now. It’s an even greater time to be working on this rapid growth. Being a designer myself, I know how important it is for us to improve the lives of our fellow humans in the most seamless and delightful ways possible. We’re solving problems we never even knew existed just five years ago. That being said, we have to constantly learn new ideas and iterate on old solutions. One of the biggest problems I’ve personally noticed is that sometimes, we can get stuck in traditional methods. We stick to old patterns because of previous experience but this doesn’t give us the opportunity to be “innovative”.
So I thought, hey, what can help us open our eyes a little more and think about new ways to solve new problems or even some old problems? Who would be better to talk to about getting rid of accustomed ideas than some people who haven’t been around very long? I decided to chat with two teens: my sister, Alondra Tacuyan and one of my good friends, Erik Finman to see how they really feel about technology today and of the future. Here’s a summary of what I learned after these conversations. Hopefully, their thoughts can help you become a better designer. After all, they are going to be a big percentage of the people you design for in the near future.
1. What’s a device?
When a teen hears the word “device”, it can mean anything from your TV to your Oculus Rift headset. I spoke with Alondra about this and she described a device as a piece of technology that can:
- bring more convenience to your life
- increase productivity
- be used for entertainment
She added “I would also count things like my wireless mouse, bluetooth speaker, and even my hair straightener as devices.” What are some keywords here? Convenience. Productivity. Entertainment. When designing experiences for these products, make sure there is intentionality and utility in them. Teens want their devices to enhance their lives.
2. A world beyond the mobile phone and desktop computer.
A 2013 study says “One in four teens are ‘cell-mostly’ internet users, who say they mostly go online using their phone and not using some other devices such as a desktop or laptop computer.” Mobile phones are so integrated into their life that they don’t see it as a cool technology so they are getting bored with its features today. They’re ready for the next wave of technology and innovation. “I would love a device for my closet that has a picture of every article of clothing I have so I can plan outfits,” mentioned Alondra. “If my phone could talk to my desk at school, I would be able to place my phone flat on the center of my desk, and a keyboard would pop up under it. I can convert my desk into a screen and use my phone as a mouse.”
Let’s talk about a product thathas done a good job getting us ready for this connected world, Nest. Nest has a very cohesive ecosystem. One example that proves this, as you can see here, is color. When you see certain colors, like green, on a Nest device, this means the same thing no matter which device you are looking at. Having this unified language helps users learn how their devices are speaking to them without having to put too much thought into it.
Because of all these devices around us, teens like to multi-task and jump from one to the other. “I’m usually texting my friends on my phone, shopping for clothes on my computer, and watching TV, all at the same time.” We want having multiple devices to simplify the lives of people, not make them more difficult. How can we make all these devices and products communicate and work together for people like Alondra, who like to multi-task across platforms?
3. Trust and privacy.
There have been a lot of conversations online about privacy and the NSA. A lot of people don’t like sharing their location or having all their data stored online with the risk of it being shared all over the place. Teens today believe that technology is here to help and I personally agree with that. For the most part, I believe that services want access to your personal information to make sure they are giving you the most out of your experience. Alondra added “I don’t have to worry about losing anything important because I know it’s safe in the cloud!” and this shows that teens are giving their trust to these connected devices because they know how much more productivity can come from them.
Erik understands that technology can make our lives easier so we can focus on our work, instead of little mundane tasks. He mentioned “It would also be cool to have everything in hearing range be searchable. Like if someone told me directions, I can search for times I met with that person. Or text that was said.”
That being said, teens still want their privacy. They might trust companies and technology, but what they don’t trust are the people on the other sides of the screens. They have specific people in mind when thinking about who their audience is so products like Snapchat are working well today because teens know that their parents aren’t watching their Stories.
4. Ads suck…or not.
There was a recent article I read titled “Teens Can’t Tell the Difference Between Google Ads and Search Results” where it talked about how teens weren’t aware of the nuances of how the web works. I don’t think that they don’t understand. I believe that they don’t see ads as a negative thing. Personally, I actually love scrolling down my Facebook Newsfeed and seeing ads to some awesome games I could play or some sick shoes because these are actually things I love and I can see that they are targeted towards me.
Alondra believes “it would be awesome if I was walking down the street and the billboard could recognize what I look like and choose an ad that I could actually find useful. Like recognize that I’m wearing a scarf and show me that Forever 21 is having a sale on scarves. That would be so cool!” Erik added “If I have a smart fridge, suggestions for what I should get cheaper or better would be nice. And if it’s just blatant ads I’d like to be getting something free or subsidized like a Kindle or Youtube.” Teens understand that ads can be bad but when they are actually helpful and relevant, then they can actually make lives easier.
5. Don’t design gimmicks.
Teens want technology to do things for them. Just like Google Search did for the 2000s, think about what we want do for them in the 2010s and 2020s. “Having a world of connected devices would eliminate a lot of stress for me,” said Alondra. “It can really save me a lot of time and keep me organized.”
Erik brought up a comment again on how technology can record his life for him. He would love to be able to “search through his life just in case he forgets something”. Alondra was full of ideas including “a hamper that knows when it’s full and sends your clothes to your washer and dryer to get cleaned,” or “being able to see what’s in your fridge when you’re at the grocery store so you can see what you need to buy” which is funny because I believe I saw something just like this announced at CES this year.
6. Teens accept change.
What happened to the innovation that Steve Jobs and Apple had back in the day? Teens want the tech world to kick it up a notch. Alondra admits “I love change and I love being able to incorporate new technologies into my everyday life. I think it’s crazy when people are ‘scared’ of new technology or don’t want to have to learn how to use new things. I think every new technology was made to be innovative and to make the world better, so I’m open to all new features and devices. I wouldn’t mind gradual change or an abrupt change. I think both would be cool. A gradual change would keep me excited every day because I would get to use something new every now and then. An abrupt change would be cool too because I would have so much excitement and joy learning about every new technology and getting used to it being in my life. So, I guess I don’t really care how the change occurs, as long as it happens.”
Erik agrees that we could do a lot better. “Honestly I haven’t been impressed with any of the ideas I’ve seen so far. Everyone just seems to make things 1.1x better and not 10x better,” and Alondra joked “If we can have driverless cars and VR headsets in the world today, why do we still need cables to charge our phones and connect our computers to our TVs? “
Technology is changing at a faster rate than it ever has before and we, as designers, have to keep up with this rate. In a world of connected toasters and virtual assistants, we have to make sure these experiences enter our lives in seamless and simple ways. So hopefully, some of these ideas have inspired you or have given you some ideas of your own to craft some really awesome experiences. Take these thoughts from these teens with a grain of salt though, because, at the end of the day, they are just teens and studies have shown that what we want and what we say we want can actually be totally different things. They also are still growing too so their preferences may or may not change over time. :)
Check out this article on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter! Be sure to also follow Alondra and Erik to keep up with their opinions on tech today. Also, feel free to comment below about your thoughts on designing for a world of connected devices.
Opinions expressed here are my own and not affiliated with Google Inc.
