While we’ve seen the corporate responses to the more recent demonstrations related to police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, one must consider the impact on the nation’s youth. Kids have noticed the tension and anxiety even if they’ve only caught snippets of the news. Black kids are particularly vulnerable to systemic racism directly impacting them.
At YouthBeat®, we consider our respondents to be part of our family. We couldn’t be prouder of the latest crop of high schoolers who are graduating this spring.
If you follow this blog and/or subscribe to our YouthBeat® syndicated data, you know that the team constantly has our ears to the ground, listening for the important themes that will guide the shopper and consumer needs of youth and family tomorrow and longer-term.
Life for youth in the U.S. has changed dramatically in the past few days. Many school districts have closed; in some states, all of them. If your brand serves youth, or you know a school-aged child, here is our perspective on the possible impacts you will want to keep top of mind:
It’s the year of inclusivity and sustainability on the toy front. We were impressed—the toy community has been listening to insights of the sort YouthBeat® provides.
Acceptance was all around the showroom floor. What’s your mood? Show it proudly from Confetti and Friends. YouthBeat® keeps saying we’re overdue for a bracelet trend…it could be this one.
Our YouthBeat® team was recently asked a question on social media from a real estate agent regarding what our research says that might help market real estate services better to Millennials and Gen Z. Given that we’ve had Millennials in our panels since they were in grade school, and Gen Z since they were toddlers, we know them very well.
What’s been interesting for YouthBeat® to observe over the last couple of years is how technology development has changed course. For most of the 20-tens, the race was on for toy and technology companies to introduce coding toys to increasingly younger children. Now that such options exist even for preschoolers, manufacturers are turning their attention to the ambience of the technology experience for kids and families.
The turning of one year into another is a good time to reflect—in a child’s world in the U.S., the advancing of the school year over the summer may be the more relevant measure of milestones, but we old fogies at YouthBeat® like to check in on the calendar as well. 2019 has been a dynamic year in youth culture, and one that portends importance for the coming year and years further in the future.
