Tiffany Salone Tag

03 Jun

Posted at 18:25h in Children's Media, Conferences, Evaluation

We’re proud to announce that our research study on Dicey Escape, a PBS Kids digital math game, has been accepted to the International Communication Association (ICA) 2026 Conference — one of the leading global forums for communication research. The paper’s first author, Nancy A. Jennings, PhD from the CHEER Lab at the University of Cincinnati, will present the research findings at the conference in Cape Town, South Africa, June 4–6, 2026. Allison Caplovitz, PhD and Tiffany Salone, M.Ed from Fluent Research and Kelly R. Merrill Jr, PhD from University of Cincinnati are co-authors.

The research was conducted when PBS KIDS engaged Fluent Research to answer a straightforward but important question: does the Odd Squad Dicey Escape game actually improve math skills in young children, and how do kids respond to it overall? The study followed children ages 5–7 over a three-week period, measuring their math knowledge before and after gameplay. The findings — and their implications for app design and parenting decisions — are available on our website.

The ICA acceptance brings this work to an international research audience and reflects the broader significance of the study’s findings. The article provides a deeper look at the methodology, results, and what they mean for educators, parents, and digital content developers. Read the full text here: Digital Games and Math Skills Development: Leveraging Digital Play with Early Math Trajectories in the PBS KIDS’ Odd Squad Game Dicey Escape.

22 Oct

Posted at 21:24h in Kids, Research

It’s Media Literacy Week, and this year’s themes are Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act. As a researcher studying how children and families interact with media and technology, I see the need for media literacy in nearly every project we work on, so I thought I’d reflect on how each of these themes have shown up in our work.

Access:

How, when, where, and how often people have access to the tools, technology, and digital skills necessary to thrive.

Access to media literacy education is key to all of our work. Too often in the media and technology space people assume that everyone has equal access to the internet or to quality devices. On top of that is the assumption that having technology is the same as understanding and being skilled with technology. Engineers and researchers make this assumption, but parents often make it as well. Remembering that everyone has something to learn as they access and navigate technology and digital spaces—not just parents or technophobes, but kids and early adopters as well—helps to check these assumptions, be more inclusive, and ask good questions in our research.

Analyze:

The process of asking questions about a piece of media in order to identify authorship, credibility, purpose, technique, context, and economics.

Imagine taking everything you read at face value, trusting everything as true and right, and starting that process over again with each new piece of information without weighing it against the first. It sounds like an anxiety-inducing, exhausting existence, one bound to create confusion or a tendency to jump to conclusions as you try to make sense of the world. I’ve seen this firsthand when talking to parents who have teens and tweens with access to the internet. What threats are out there? What controls do you have to protect against them? How can you protect others when you feel helpless yourself? The parents who seem the least harried are the ones who know how to analyze information and who arm their children with the skills to analyze for themselves.

Evaluate:

Drawing one’s own meaning, judgment, and conclusions about media messages based on the information gathered during media access, thoughtful analysis, and self-reflective interpretation.

One key component of recent children’s media research has been the power of co-viewing. One of the benefits is being there to help young children evaluate what is happening and draw connections between what they are seeing and what happens or could happen in their own lives. These evaluation skills go beyond children’s media—the idea of taking those separate pieces of information and drawing one’s own conclusions seems basic but should actually be something everyone considers with each swipe, each article, and when interpreting data.

Create:

Media creation is a form of expression. It encompasses learning how to express ideas through media and communication tools and using that power to create media narratives beyond those that exist in mainstream media.

Creating media is actually at the heart of so much of Fluent’s work. Every time we ask a participant to submit a written response, we have to assume that they have all of the other media literacy tools at their disposal before considering our questions and developing their own unique responses. It’s a skill we often take for granted, but we benefit so much from those who have facility with media creation.

Act:

The culmination of accessing, analyzing, and evaluating media messages.

This one is my favorite because it’s the one we do as researchers and as human beings all the time. Taking in the information around us and making sense of it, to ourselves, to friends and family, to coworkers and vendors, and to participants, is something we do every day. It is a privilege to be able to act on the information we have at our disposal, one that we can do best when we are media literate. This is why it is so important that everyone can analyze, evaluate, and create their own ideas and their own story.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Media Literacy Week!

By Tiffany Salone, Senior Researcher.

18 Oct

Posted at 06:44h in Children, Conferences, Kids, Qualitative Research, Technology

Recently, we attended the Digital Media and Developing Minds International Scientific Congress in Washington, DC, which was organized by the Children and Screens Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. This unique event brought together clinicians, advocacy leaders, teachers, and researchers. Expertise among attendees included medicine, developmental psychology, and experimental psychology. The conference aimed to foster collaboration and exchange of ideas concerning children’s health and safety in relation to digital media use.

Key Themes

During the three-day event, which featured more than 15 talks and panels, several key themes emerged:

The Impact of Screen Media on Minoritized Youth

Discussions revolved around both the positive and negative effects of screen media on LGBTQ youth and youth of color.

Challenges of Under-Connected Youth

There was a focus on the limitations faced by under-connected youth and the need for equitable access to digital resources in the global south.

Data Deficiency on Young Children

Participants noted the lack of comprehensive data on young children’s digital media usage.

Privacy and Security Concerns

Topics included discussions on data ownership (parents vs. children) and the need for improved privacy and security measures for children online.

Updated Policies

There was a consensus that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is outdated and that age gates alone are insufficient to safeguard children in today’s digital landscape.

Mental Health Implications

Speakers addressed the impact of digital media on the mental health of youth, including externalizing behaviors and bidirectional effects.

Youth Advisory Panels

Experts highlighted the value of involving youth in decision-making processes and participatory design research.

Parental Support and Contextual Influence

Panelists discussed how the context of home environments has impacts on children’s media use and potential dependence on screen time.

We found the conference  thought provoking and inspiring. It was a great opportunity to listen to interesting figures in the field and gain new perspectives that will inform our future work. This event served as a reminder that stepping away from daily tasks to attend conferences may lead to new ideas.

 

By Allison Caplovitz & Tiffany Salone

24 May

Posted at 11:06h in Children, Kids, Research

One of the most consistent findings I have noticed while studying families and digital media over the years is that parents want their children to be less dependent on them. At the same time, however, parents must also supervise their children and ensure their children’s online safety. In various studies about educational apps, children’s media, digital gaming, non-digital play, and reading, many parents have admitted that whatever the medium, they want their children to be both safe and independent. Therein lies the parenting conundrum.

Parents tend to opt for solo activities and resources for their children that can offer the safest options and the most autonomy. For example, while co-reading is important to parents to allow time to bond, they also want their child to grow to love reading and eventually choose to read independently on their own. Similarly, parents often prefer to send their children to the yard (if one is available to them) instead of a public park, since they can provide supervision while getting other things done at home.

While this idea may seem like a no-brainer (especially to parents), the solutions that research offers as the best and safest options for children—co-viewing and co-playing, for example, which we fully support—can admittedly leave parents feeling that they have to make a hard choice. They feel they have to choose between what they should do to be a “good parent” and what they end up doing in reality, which is often pushing their child toward the easiest solution that gets them out of their hair. We have heard from many parents that they struggle to balance their children’s need for activities that are educational, fun, and physically active —activities that often require supervision—with their own need for time to do what they need to do, which often requires their child to act independently.

According to our research, the capacity for independent play is one of the key drivers for parents to allow technology use among young children, beating out most other anxieties parents report having about screen time and active time. This is a particularly interesting finding to see come up time and again, especially given the vats of ink spilled over screen time since the debut of the iPad in 2010 (not to mention the invention of the television). Complicating the picture further, the levers for safety and autonomy are different for each family. A family most concerned about exposure, for example, might allow their 11-year-old to access any video game they want as long as their device is not connected to the internet. Another family concerned about contact and location might give their 11-year-old a phone so that they can be reached wherever they are, with less concern about how the child uses it.

Regardless of each family’s situation, however, there are certain takeaways tech companies might consider to help parents feel more confident in their child’s safety when using technology independently. Ideally, with this peace of mind, parents might be less anxious about not striking the balance between wanting to engage with their children and needing time to be more hands off.

1) Support the balance of learning and fun.

We have heard from many parents that, if their children are going to be on a screen anyway, they want the time spent to be as educational as possible. For some parents, an engaging educational app is a relief, since the alternatives are “mindless” apps that just waste time. But above all, we have heard that parents take cues from their children about what is engaging for them and worth spending time and money on. If it is educational but no fun, it is not going to be worth the time, let alone the money. App designers should strive for the happy medium. Note, however, that the desire for educational apps seems to change over time: as older children have increased responsibilities at school, parents want their children to relax and are more okay with “mindless” fun.

2) Support parents’ search for appropriate content.

We have likely all experienced the inundation of choices that have resulted from the proliferation of streamers, channels, and podcast networks. The children’s media landscape is no different. There is no shortage of options for devices, apps, or shows to choose from, and parents are operating on a combination of word of mouth, pre-vetting (using the apps themselves for a while), and trial and error. Issues with app store rating systems have been well documented, but in addition to overdue changes to those systems, parents need to be made aware of websites like Common Sense Media (CSM) that include parent and child reviews and media research. Outlets such as CSM can also help parents differentiate high-quality, research-based content from popular apps that claim to be educational. This information can help parents make their own decisions about what is right for their family.

3) Support parents’ efforts to keep their children safe.

Parents trust devices and apps that help them maintain control over what their children are exposed to. While they can control most of what comes into their home in other ways, technology can be a conduit to the wider world that parents have comparatively little control over. We have found that parents are not completely comfortable with company-imposed or set-it-and-forget-it filters, so we suggest clear controls that allow parents to customize and revisit the boundaries they’ve set over time.

4) Support regulations on children’s time.

Although parents like that technology can occupy their children’s time, they also fear and dislike the complete and utter takeover of their attention. Parents we have talked to complain about being excluded from engagement with their child while they are on devices. While some parents have outsourced being the screen time “bad guy” to timers and house rules, many parents wish apps and devices integrated periodic breaks after an appropriate amount of time. This feature would make transitions between activities smoother for everyone.

5) Support optional parent participation.

Although parents want and need their children to be independent, they still see the value of co-engagement and participation in their interests. Multiplayer modes and prompts for optional parent participation in activities invite parents to engage with their children in digital spaces rather than exclude them. Portals or logins that give parents a view of what their child is doing and the progress they have made also help parents feel connected without interrupting their child’s screen time.

Conducting research with parents and children provides me and my colleagues at Fluent with the opportunity to advise tech companies on how their products and services might have a positive impact on kids and their parents. These are some of the most common insights we have heard from families across our research studies. I look forward to seeing how Fluent Research continues to help make new innovations even better for them.

By Tiffany Salone*

13 Jan

Posted at 07:37h in Children, Content, Employee News, Qualitative Research, Research

January 13, 2023 (New York, NY) – Fluent Research, a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm, announced today that Tiffany Salone has been promoted to Senior Researcher. In this role, Tiffany will oversee a wide range of global research studies, informing the development of educational products and programs that benefit children, youth, and families.

“Tiffany excels at managing complex research projects, and she is an expert quantitative and qualitative analyst,” said Nellie Gregorian, Founder and President of Fluent Research. “Tiffany’s promotion acknowledges her contribution to our success and continuing growth.”

Tiffany has a deep background in technology and education. She is passionate about designing and conducting research that supports increased and equitable accessibility to education and technology, especially for young learners and their families. No matter what type of project she is working on, she is a consistent advocate for users, particularly those who are low-income or live in underserved communities around the world.

Prior to joining Fluent, Tiffany worked as a researcher in educational media and technology. Before working as a researcher, she spent eight years as a video producer, videographer, and editor of short documentaries and feature films.

About Fluent Research
Fluent Research is a data and insights-driven strategic consulting firm. Since 2006 Fluent has leveraged understanding of human behavior to help the world’s best-known brands and organizations advance worthy causes, innovate transformational products, and successfully navigate change. Fluent’s work centers around three practice areas: thought leadership research, formative research and evaluation, and social impact assessment. Fluent has applied rigorous and innovative research solutions in service of promoting children’s access to and quality of education, and gender equality in the U.S. and in over 70 countries around the world. Fluent’s creative arm, Fluent Productions, is an award-winning producer of original documentary content that harnesses the power of visual storytelling to bring attention to important issues facing our society, to build empathy and inspire action.

Contact: Stefanie Cousins
[email protected]