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Teenagers

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Teenagers in The Times

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Ms. La Fortune Reed, a graduate of Rutgers University in Newark, said she was inspired to start Girls on Bikes when she was riding around the city one day and a man called out to her: Keep it up, he said. There aren't enough girls on bikes. Credit Credit Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

The start of the new school year brings the return of Teenagers in The Times, a roundup of the news and feature stories about young people that have recently appeared across sections of NYTimes.com. During the school year, we publish a new edition on the first Friday of each month. Here is August's edition. It might be especially useful if you are participating in our new challenge, Show Us Your Generation: A Photo Contest for Teenagers.

For ideas about how to use Teenagers in The Times with your students, please see our lesson plan and special activity sheet, both of which can be used with this or any other edition.
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A reader finds that it's easy to connect with people who are different. We just have to listen to each other.

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Teenagers in The Times The start of the new school year brings the return of Teenagers in The Times, a roundup of the news and feature stories about young people that have recently appeared across sections of NYTimes.com. During the school year, we publish a new edition on the first Friday of each month.

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It seems that on a regular basis, we hear about Millennials, their habits, likes and dislikes, and how businesses can best market to them. But believe it or not, it's time to start looking at the next generation. Generation Z , who were born approximately between 1995 and 2014, are the first truly digital generation. They have grown up with technology from day one, are very adept to communicating on social media, are tech savvy, and have always had high-speed internet (how lucky).

Whether you refer to them as iGeneration, Net Gen, Digital Natives, or simply Gen Z, their presence as consumers and in the workforce is changing online marketing as we know it.

Marketers are spending millions across all of the major social media platforms to gain followers and increase brand awareness. And just a couple of short years ago, that was the way to go because it worked. However, with Generation Z coming up economically, the old strategies just aren't cutting it. Or if they are still working, it's costing a lot more to make the same impact.

With an extremely saturated online marketplace, the competition is stiff, making it tougher to stand out.

So how can you grow your audience, increase brand awareness and turn online users into leads without spending a fortune in this new age of Gen Z digital native buying power?

Make it easy for the younger audience to engage.

On average, Gen Z spends between six and nine hours per day consuming media. And they use an average of five screens - smartphone, TV, laptop, desktop, and tablet - switching among them for different purposes. As a comparison, millennials use three screens on average.

This could be why they lose interest very quickly, no matter how good your content is. If it takes more than a step or two, you'll lose the attention of most younger people. And that means that they won't opt in, they won't share your post and they may not come back to visit your website. So, the goal is to make it easy for them to engage.

"Add social sharing buttons to everything, and add a bunch of them. Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram, Twitter, the list goes on. Give your Gen Z audience the option to share to any and all the platforms they may use, because that's what they are inclined to do. When it otherwise would take a lot of effort to share your content, these buttons only take two steps. Now everything from your blog posts to paid offers can be shared easily, which means they will be shared more often," says Vin Clancy, online entrepreneur and influencer who recently released a new eBook, Ace the Game . Hisbook includes online marketing strategies that entrepreneurs at all levels can digest and easily implement.

"Only add one strong call-to-action. If you add a bunch of links or ask more than one thing of your visitors, you will lose them. Make it simple and let your visitors know exactly what you want them to do, whether that is comment, reply, purchase or opt-in," adds Clancy.

Gen Zs are in a hurry and typically don't spend much time reading an entire email or article. That's why it's important to keep headlines, titles for blog posts or webinars, and offers, clear and catchy. They need to be attention-grabbing and let readers know exactly what they will get for investing their time.

When social media strategies get popular, they also lose effectiveness.

While Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are among the social networks with the most users, they also have a lot more competition and aren't the only options out there.

The younger generation (and potential followers) are on other social media platforms and websites that aren't as well known. In fact, only 10% of Facebook users are under 24 years old. If you are trying to reach the Gen Z consumer, Facebook would not be your best option.

Pinterest users are not only slightly younger, but it's a great platform for marketing because one image can keep working for you time and time again.

You can also head over to Quora, a site where people ask questions about anything they want to know, and answer questions related to your industry. "Quora has proven to be a great way to not only gain followers but to also boost your credibility and brand," says Clancy.

The key is to analyze many different social networks to determine where your target customer spends their time and develop a strong marketing strategy for that platform.

Optimize your content the right way.

There is so much content pumped out on the internet these days, it's important to optimize that content so it gets widely read. In fact, you should spend 80% of your time promoting your content, and only 20% of your time actually creating it. There's no point in publishing content if no one ever comes across it. Make sure you are driving traffic to your site or blog through all available means.

"Most people are familiar with how to use Google, but few really understand how it works. You need to understand it and then optimize your content for it. In order to do that, you need to understand what your potential followers are looking for online," says Clancy.

Once you've analyzed what your target customers are searching for, use that search data to come up with long tail keywords, which are three or more highly targeted words, and optimize your site for those phrases. This will get you more web traffic, and as a result, more potential clients.

When marketing to this generation who are high on likes, were too young to actually remember 9/11, and who see no difference between friends they've met in real life or only know online, it's important to consider their unique upbringing and relationship with social media so you can deliver a marketing message that resonates.

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Online Marketing As We Know It Is Changing With The Rise Of Generation Z

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It seems that on a regular basis, we hear about Millennials, their habits, likes and dislikes, and how businesses can best market to them. But believe it or not, it's time to start looking at the next generation. Generation Z , who were born approximately between 1995 and 2014, are the first truly digital generation.

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There was a contest for teenagers 13-19 years old

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2. Each student can send in one submission, and each submission can include up to three photos, plus a short artist's statement (350 words) about the work.

3. If you send in more than one image, they can be a related series, or they can each stand alone. Your artist's statement must include them all, however, as you respond to our prompt ("Tell us about your images and how they depict some aspect of teenage life that you think may be misunderstood, ignored or largely unknown by adults and/or the media. How might your images help give a more interesting, nuanced, complete or real view of your generation than typically portrayed?")

4. We are equally interested in your statement and your images, and in the ways they work together, as our rubric shows. You do not have to be an experienced photographer to participate in this contest since technical excellence is just a part of how we will judge your work. We are chiefly concerned with the ideas and insights you offer about teenagers today.

5. What you choose to depict can be negative, positive or neutral. It can be specific only to a very particular group or type of teenager (like your friends, or a team you're on, or a club you're in), or it can show something you've noticed about people your age in general. It can focus on an aspect of everyday life that you think deserves more notice or a different point of view, or it can depict something special, like a holiday or event. We just want you to show us your world, as you see it. The list of questions we pose in Part III of this lesson plan might help you think about the ideas that interest you most.

6. Keep in mind, however, that the work you send in should be appropriate for a Times audience.

7. Photographs can be made on any kind of camera, although if you are using a cellphone camera please do not use filter effects. Please keep digital manipulation and postprocessing to a minimum in general. (That is, you may use editing software for minor corrections such as one might make in a darkroom - cropping, adjusting brightness, balancing colors, etc. - but please do not alter the reality of the photo in any way.)

8. Submissions should be in jpeg files between one and five megabytes.

9. Your work will be judged by professional photojournalists and photo editors as well as The Learning Network staff.

10. What is the "prize"? Having your work published on The Learning Network and being eligible to be chosen to have your work published in print in the November 2018 Learning special section.

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Show Us Your Generation: A Photo Contest for Teenagers

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2. Each student can send in one submission, and each submission can include up to three photos, plus a short artist's statement (350 words) about the work. 3. If you send in more than one image, they can be a related series, or they can each stand alone.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Thinking about the lives of young people today and what they need most.

By Kathleen O'Brien

Ms. O'Brien is a staff editor for the Opinion section.

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Elsie Fisher as Kayla in the film "Eighth Grade." Credit Credit Josh Ethan Johnson/A24

I watched the superb movie "Eighth Grade" this week, a film about the awkward inner life of a girl about to finish middle school. Her agonies made me squirm and recall my own emotional roller coaster at that age. The mom in me wanted to let her know that everything would be O.K.

So this weekend I wanted to share some favorite recent pieces on the fraught teen years. Several I found revolved around the anxiety many teens feel. What can adults do to understand what they are going through? What should we remember as we try to guide them through rough times? These might be a starting point for answers.

Other writers were grappling with issues like racial bias and the cultural forces that contribute to school shootings. All I could think was that our young people deserve a better world than the one we're leaving them - and I hope we can create it. One of my favorites in this collection argues for lowering the voting age to 16. A little power at the ballot box could go a long way.

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Credit Anna Parini

Teenagers are struggling with anxiety more than any other problem, perhaps more than ever before, the psychologist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary writes. There's a good chance that it is anxiety that is driving teenagers (and the rest of us) to escape into screens as a way to flee fears.

There is a darker side to adolescence that, until recently, was poorly understood: a surge during teenage years in anxiety and fearfulness, the psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman writes. Largely because of a quirk of brain development, adolescents, on average, have a harder time learning how not to be afraid than either children or adults.

Also from Laurence Steinberg: We lament the delayed entry of young people into adulthood. But prolonged adolescence, in the right circumstances, is actually a good thing. It fosters novelty-seeking and the acquisition of new skills.

Josephine Sittenfeld, a photographer, was sorting through her high school bedroom and created this poignant photo essay about what she discovered. "My takeaways from a weekend visiting my former self? I was boy-crazy. I worked really hard in school. I yearned for a bigger, more exciting life."

After the March for Our Lives rally, the historian Jon Grinspan wrote about times that young Americans changed the country's politics, even in periods of bleak partisan divide. Will they do it again?

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Opinion | Weekend Reads: Those Terrible Teenage Years

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Thinking about the lives of young people today and what they need most. By Kathleen O'Brien Ms. O'Brien is a staff editor for the Opinion section. I watched the superb movie "Eighth Grade" this week, a film about the awkward inner life of a girl about to finish middle school.

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"Lit" is over - and other things you could pay teens to tell you

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"Lit" is over - and other things you could pay teens to tell you

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Consulting firms like JÜV are helping grown-up brands talk to young people without condescending to them.

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Employees of JÜV, a consultancy firm run by teens and college kids, lived and worked in a loft-like apartment in Brooklyn for the summer. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times

When CJ DeLeo founded his record label, Right Coast Music, he knew that reaching teenagers would be crucial to its success. But rather than thumbing through Instagram to figure out how to talk to 10- to 21-year-olds - or, Generation Z, as the demographic after millennials is sometimes called - he reached out to JÜV Consulting.

The company is one of several new marketing firms that illuminate the inner workings of kids these days without condescending to them. How? JÜV Consulting is staffed entirely by young people who range in age from 14 to 22.

"I was honestly quite skeptical when I found out they were teenagers," Mr. DeLeo admitted. "After the first call, they blew me away. They could walk into a regular business setting with people in their 30s and 40s and be completely comfortable. They are living the demographic we were targeting."

That's the whole point. The employees at JÜV (named for a combination of the words "juvenile" and "rejuvenate") are out to teach brands, companies and nonprofits what it means to be a young person by commodifying their own quality time.

JÜV's creative director, Nico Trigo, 18, left, and the director of marketing Jacob Chang, 19, in their shared bedroom. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times

"Don't talk about teenagers, talk to teenagers," said Ziad Ahmed, 19, JÜV's C.E.O. and a rising sophomore at Yale (major undecided). He co-founded the consultancy firm in 2016 with Nick Jain, 19, the company's C.O.O. and a rising sophomore at Princeton and Melinda Guo, 19, who goes to Stanford and serves as a member of the board.

This summer, Mr. Ahmed, Mr. Jain and six other members of the executive team lived and worked in a loft in Brooklyn, where they would meet with clients and then just hang out. In addition to an executive team, JÜV has five senior partners, 15 junior partners and 90 consultants on staff, all of whom (it should perhaps go without saying) are paid. Their de facto informants consist of friends - and friends of friends - from around the world.

"Gen Z moves fast, and so do the trends," said Jacob Chang, 19, JÜV's director of marketing, and a rising sophomore at the University of Chicago. A big part of his job is flagging memes and whatever is catching viral fire on Twitter. "There are a lot of things coming in and out of favor," he said.

JÜV's co-founder and chief executive, Ziad Ahmed, 19, confers with Shaina Zafar, 18, the company's chief of staff. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times

For example, "'Lit' isn't really cool anymore," said Mr. Ahmed. "Even though a lot of us still colloquially use it, if a company did it, that's cringey. Because lit, our parents now know it." On the other hand, he said, "if you were to, in a tweet, use a word like 'hella,' no one's going to be like, that's so cringey, because that's just how we type."

"Generation Z is Generation We," said Mr. Chang. "We love sharing experiences with each other. And that's why memes have taken off, because it's like the short, shared experience of our humor."

To be clear, the JÜV team scoffs at the idea of a "Gen Z expert": anyone who pretends to speak for a generation, whether that's a peer or adult. They aren't a research firm, they say. They aren't a focus group. They are, according to Emma Himes, JÜV's 18-year-old director of development and a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, "a really diverse group of trained teen consultants who can help you."

That approach has earned them work with big-name clients like Viacom and Edelman, as well consulting gigs with smaller nonprofits and businesses. One of the company's most appealing offerings is helping clients navigate social media to avoid the kinds of pitfalls that might make them infamous overnight - or canceled, in the lingo of the day.

JÜV teens, at work and at play. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times

"We grew up on social media. That's kind of the way we describe it to clients," Mr. Jain said. "The vast majority of us are fluent in it."

Before the executive team disbanded this month to go back to their colleges (where they will work remotely on a part-time basis during the school year), they would host clients at their loft in Clinton Hill.

The space looked like a hangout spot from a high schooler's dreams. There was a long desk in the middle of the light-filled room, where the team plugged in their earbuds and got to work, and a comfy sectional in the corner, where the team would occasionally stop working long enough to watch The Bachelorette. There were walls covered in Post-it notes (both to organize work tasks and delegate chores among the roommates), and pool floats were flung about the space as decoration.

Credit Karsten Moran for The New York Times

For meals, JÜV employees ate a lot of pasta. They would gather together at a high kitchen table, debating the efficacy of subway ads and whether Kim and Kanye might divorce with equal passion.

Liz Toney, a JÜV client who is the head of brand and engagement for a social media start-up launching this fall, described a typical meeting:

"One minute there are Nerfs, card games and inflatable pool toys," she said. "The next our laptops are out and it's focused, brilliant conversation, and two hours of exciting brainstorming."

For a room full of students who have yet to experience the existential dread of graduating? Sounds about right.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page ST5 of the New York edition with the headline: Things You Can Learn From Teenagers: 'Lit' Is No Longer Lit. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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'Lit' Is Over, and Other Things You Can Pay Teens to Teach You

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Consulting firms like JÜV are helping grown-up brands talk to young people without condescending to them. When CJ DeLeo founded his record label, Right Coast Music, he knew that reaching teenagers would be crucial to its success.