Augmented reality mobile application helps kids read newspapers

augmented reality newspaper for kids

augmented reality newspaper for kidsTechnology makes it possible for children to understand articles written for adult readers.

It doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the print newspaper industry is struggling as a growing number of readers choose to find their news online instead of subscribing, but an augmented reality app is hoping to add a new demographic to the audience for this product.

The potential of this app could be to break the print newspaper industry into the kids’ demographic.

The newspaper industry is looking for new ways to be able to rescue its product and its existence. Never since widespread literacy has print news experienced such a widespread struggle throughout the industry. Now, various opportunities are being considered, such as opening up to new audiences. In theory, this could be made possible through augmented reality that would translate articles that are written for an adult level into a language that a child could understand.

Augmented reality could help to bridge some gaps to open up the print newspaper audience.

Though augmented reality isn’t anything new to print, in that it is appearing increasingly regularly in magazines and books, one Japanese newspaper, Tokyo Shimbun, is adding itself to the list. What is making itself stand out as quite unique is that it has made children its focus for this technology.

The concept is quite simple. A child must simply use a smartphone with the AR app installed and launched. The device is held over the augmented reality newspaper, at which time a cartoon character appears on the device screen as though it is right there in the room with the child. That character then helps to rework the text that has been created with adult readers in mind, so that it can be explained in a way and at a level that a child will be able to understand. It highlights the most important words in the article in order to help to create a story that is closer to the child’s level.

This augmented reality innovation is quite unique and fun, but it is still causing a number of questions to be asked. Among them are a number that have to do with why this must be limited to print. Some experts have asked why the content must be viewed through a smartphone from a print newspaper when it could all simply be posted online in the first place.

Leave a Comment


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.