"Wrist Socialization":A Study On The Behavior Of Children Using Smart Watches For Communication

In the ever-changing online world,electronic media has become the material bearer for social members to participate in and use the network.With the rise and popularity of wearable devices,the figure of smart watches is gradually emerging in the public eye.At the same time,the issue of children’s media use has become the focus of attention in academia and society.Therefore,this article combines social hot media and social focus groups,taking a subset of them,and focuses on the current situation of smart watch use among children."Post 90 s use QQ,post 00 s use Soul,and post 10 s use imoo" is a popular Internet joke nowadays.Therefore,this paper takes the imoo brand as the entry point,and through interviews with 17 children aged 9 to 12,as well as the author’s personal experience and participant observation,uses the case study method,participant observation method,and in-depth interview method,and employs theories of use and satisfaction,and strong and weak relationships,as a way to explore the relevant propositions between smartwatch use and children,specifically: what are children’s motivations and needs for using smartwatches,what is the role of smartwatch use on children’s interpersonal interactions,and so on.Through a series of investigations and analysis by the author,the following conclusions are drawn:First,from the perspective of user use,watches as a medium mainly meet the user’s information needs,entertainment needs,monitoring needs,consumer psychological needs,and social needs.Secondly,focusing on the social needs of children,within the framework of the theory of strong and weak relationships,based on the current social situation of children’s watches,the introduction of the RED APP as a social communication platform,and an integrated exploration of the transformation and flow of children’s virtual and real,familiar and unfamiliar communication relationships under the use of watches,as well as the resulting specialized and niche circle relationships.Therefore,the use of watches plays a certain role in the formation of children’s social relationships.Thirdly,the use of watches also has a positive or negative impact on children.On the one hand,it promotes children’s social interaction and social integration,constructs their communication space,provides a place for self performance,expands the range of users’ friends,promotes the process of children’s socialization,and normalizes children’s media interaction;On the other hand,while manufacturers of smartwatches seek to create an exclusive social "utopia" for children,the actual use of the watches by children for social interaction,negative phenomena such as information harassment,media dependence,circle empowerment,social burnout,and children’s adulthood also occur,and have negative consequences for their ego and other emotional connection fields.Finally,based on the current situation of children’s use of smartwatches,the author tries to propose response strategies from the family,school and society levels in order to optimize the environment of children’s smartwatch use,improve children’s watch media use behavior,maximize the positive role of the watch media,make smartwatches better protect children’s healthy growth,and make the media better serve humanity in a more far-reaching sense.