LSN : News : Parents need more free play time with their kids

OkCupid taps into Indian Millennials’ new values

Find My Kind, OkCupid, campaign by BBH India

India – The dating app has revealed its first campaign in India, designed to reflect changing local attitudes to meeting potential partners.

The Find My Kind campaign focuses on a couple who reject more conventional attempts at finding a partner, such as arranged marriage or being set up by friends, and instead match with each other via OkCupid. Executed by BBH, the concept highlights the importance of personal agency at a time when younger Indian generations are challenging patriarchal values and strict gender roles in favour of freedom of choice.

The campaign builds on insights gleaned from user responses to questions on the OkCupid app, such as 92% of users in India feeling their values vastly differ from those of their parents, and 79% do not believe they echo their friends’ preferences either. ‘Today’s single Indian is battling ‘suitable’ recommendations by parents, friends, extended family or matrimonial services that don’t account for personal preferences,’ explains Shruti Gupta, brand manager at OkCupid India.

Recent campaigns in India for Bumble and Tinder have also targeted the country’s increasingly liberal young population. For more, read our Emerging Youth: India market.

Instagram unveils a user-generated AR tool

Spark AR on Instagram

US – With Spark AR, users can now design and share their own augmented reality (AR) effects and filters across the platform.

The tool is equipping Instagram’s creative community with the tools and resources to use AR to customise their photos and videos. In addition to being able to build and publish their own AR effects, users will be able to access the Effect Gallery, which includes niche AR filters from up-and-coming artists.

According to Facebook, more than 1bn people have already used AR effects and filters powered by Spark AR on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. ‘AR lets artists, creators and designers make customi effects to share with their communities and enable more vibrant forms of digital expression – and we’re happy to help bring the Spark AR community’s creative visions to life,’ reads a press release.

By seeking to simplify the process of designing, developing and publishing AR effects, Facebook and Instagram point to a future when consumer touchpoints will be increasingly fluid.

Parents need more free play time with their kids

Denmark – A new study by the Lego Foundation highlight that parents need to facilitate and spend more time playing with their children.

The study found that, on average, 17% of kids across nine countries – including Russia, Denmark, Mexico, Germany, France, the US and Saudi Arabia – report feeling like they don’t have time to play any more. Furthermore, 32% of those kids’ parents felt that they had little time to play with their children. The research showed that unstructured and imaginative play is fundamental to children’s emotional and creative problem-solving development, as well as their parents’ overall happiness and creativity.

‘You don’t need fancy toys. You don’t need a ton of time,’ says Sarah Bouchie, vice-president at the Lego Foundation. ‘You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to put in the effort and just a few minutes a day can make a big difference.’

A raft of new spaces aim to elevate the parent-child bonding experience, allowing them to discover, create and develop together. Read our Premium Play Spaces listicle for more insight.

Dads Who Play Barbie by BBDO San Francisco for Mattel

Stat: Kids ‘retire’ from sport due to cost pressures

A new survey of parents of youth athletes conducted by the Aspen Institute and Utah State University reports that the percentage of 6–12-year-olds in the US who regularly play sports has dropped from 45% in 2008 to 38% in 2018.

According to the Aspen Institute, the high cost of participation could be the cause, with the average amount of spending on sport about £562 ($692, €615) per child per sport per year. The average household income of these families is £73,968 ($90,908, €81,732), however – a notably higher figure from the US average of £48,038 ($59,039, €53,078).

'The gap helps explain why children from low-income families are half as likely to play sports as kids from upper-incomes homes, according to separate research from Sports & Fitness Industry Association. For these parents, even a few hundred dollars in fees can be hard to cover,’ reads the report analysis.