ABSTRACT
Today's generation of 'digital natives' is growing up in an always-on media environment, where texting, gaming, posting updates on social networks, and sharing videos are routine pastimes. The children's media landscape continues to expand and change, fueled by young peoples' ongoing engagement with digital media and their persistent value as a lucrative market for advertisers. The media and advertising industries have shifted their strategies to take advantage of these changing cross-platform engagement patterns. The Big-Data paradigm is shaping the core business models of contemporary media, and spurring the proliferation of new, sophisticated data-driven digital marketing practices. Privacy and children's advocates have made some headway in educating policymakers about the special needs and vulnerabilities of adolescents, contributing language that has been included in official reports pertaining to youth under 18. The 'privacy by design' model, which has been proposed by US and Canadian policymakers, calls for best practices and other safeguards to be built into the operations of digital media companies.
