I have a 3-year-old son who is obsessed with YouTube. He has had an iPad or iPhone in his hands since he came out of the womb. Okay, not really, but you get the idea. Don't judge too quickly - we focus on innocent, educational content, i.e., what sound does an oboe make, where do wolves live, etc. When my 12-year-old nephew stayed over recently, I spotted him searching for "motorcycle crashes" on YouTube, which startled me a bit, but it also got me thinking more about kids today and their comfort level with tablets, cell phones, and computers from …

Is Facebook losing its cool factor?

Compared to accessibility teens enjoyed a decade ago, the teenagers of today's generation live in a world where exposure to the media is right at their fingertips. Teens are inundated with advertising and messages all day long, and on many different platforms. Ironically, the attention of this digitally-connected audience is challenging for marketers to capture. They choose what advertising they engage with, not vice versa.

When you're a teenager, there are few days of the year as momentous as the first day back to school. After months off, they re-enter the social realm of school and just about every youth marketer is on hand to help today's teens strut their stuff with a fresh look and new gear. Here are five back-to-school marketing trends we're seeing this year that will help you make the grade with teens.

Recently, MTV unveiled its findings of a study examining young Millennials-those between 13 and 17 years old who will soon move into the sweet spot of MTV's core target demographic of 18-24 year olds. In a nutshell, MTV found that today's teens-what the report calls the second wave of Millennials-are experiencing their life stage very differently than their 20-something counterparts did. Today's teens, according to the report, are a harder-edged group, shaped by harsh economic realities and less made to think they're special, like the older Millennials stereotypically were.

Last week, I attended my nephew's high school graduation. As I watched the students toss their caps into the sky and pose for photos with family, it struck me how profound that moment really is ... the beginning of the rest of their lives. The next few years is where they truly learn independence, how to fend for themselves, manage a budget, soothe themselves when they're sick, choose what products to buy, and the list goes on. Academics are a primary component, but the college experience runs so much deeper. Such an influential period in their lives, it's no surprise …

Our culture has ingrained in us the need to constantly look forward and chase the next best thing. The grass always seems to be greener on the other side of the fence, and this notion trains us to continually think ahead for what's to come. In high school, you're dreaming about the years of college freedom that lie ahead.

Back in the pre-digital age, teens got bored a lot. This happened when they had nothing to do or there was nothing on TV, and they generally solved the problem by going to the phone (it didn't live in their pocket) and calling up a friend or by finding something to do in or around the house.

What "Scandal" can teach CMOs about marketing to screenagers.

A couple weeks ago I chaperoned a camping trip for my son's class, sharing a cabin and a few days with eight pre-teen boys and daytime activities with all 82 students. There were plenty of stories.