Scott Barbour / Getty Images, file

The eyes have it when it comes to teens and online video: 27 percent of them say they've recorded and uploaded videos to the Internet, compared to 14 percent of adults, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

In 2006, the last time Pew surveyed 12- to 17-year-olds about online video behavior, 14 percent of teens said they were putting video online on sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

In the "Teens and Online Video" report, issued Thursday, Pew said video chatting is also popular with 37 percent of teens, who say they use programs such as Skype, Google Talk or Apple's iChat. 

Girls "are more likely than boys to have such chats," with 42 percent of girls saying they have used video chat compared to 33 percent of boys, Pew said.

Boys and girls are equally likely to record and upload video, another change since 2006, when "online boys were nearly twice as likely" to do so than girls.

Teens on Facebook and other social media sites are more likely to be among those shooting and posting video, Pew said. What those videos were was not part of the report. But that kind of activity on Facebook, whether it's well-meaning or otherwise, has led a growing number of parents to spy on their children's Facebook activities.

"Social network site users ... are more likely to record and upload video than teens who do not use social media," the organization said in the report.

The same is true for Twitter, with 16 percent of teens using the site, and 46 percent of those teens saying they record and upload video to the short-messaging blog.

While such social media sites aren't supposed to be used by those under age 13, the reality is they often are. Some safe-haven social websites are being created for the youngest of teens and even those under age 10. Among them are KidzVuz, which lets children share their own video reviews about movies, books and toys. With online video becoming a daily part of life for many children, such sites are a good place to start.

Related stories:

• 60 percent of US parents spy on teens' Facebook accounts: survey
• Skype security hole shares Internet addresses
• Safe social networking sites for kids
• YouTube channel offers hope to gay teens

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Youtube

I'll tell ya what's wrong with kids these days! They're not nearly as excited about "The Avengers" as they should be.

That's the takeaway from the latest episode of "Kids React" from YouTube's Fine Brothers. As with every episode, kids ages 7 to 13 endure the latest in popular culture for the education and amusement of adults. Here, the kids are treated to one of the several awesome trailers from Joss Whedon's blockbuster super hero event (in theaters May 4), only to, for all intents and purposes, yawn.

Unlike any normal adult, these kids don't exhibit the normal reaction: Screaming "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG" both in real life and on every possible avenue of social media. What's more, our comic book movies are being cleansed of cynicism and naughty bits so it's suitable for them ... and they don't even care!

Little do these non-adults know, for any big event movie, the trailers are as awesome as it ever gets. Once you've seen the movie, which can never ever live up to your months of salivating anticipation, it's all over.

Also, the little tykes exhibit a disturbing inability to differentiate between Marvel and DC!

 Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

More from the Fine Brothers!

• Kids on Internet medley: 'Like YouTube threw up'
• Teens on 'Twilight': 'Why ... why ... why?' 
• Kids on 'Super Bass' girl: 'Should she be saying that?'

cainesarcade.com

Children love video games. Not just the games themselves, but everything associated with them, including the places they're found. One can easily replace the last part in the phrase "like a kid in a candy store" with "arcade." But some kids have taken their fascination with gaming to a whole new level. Like 9-year-old Caine Monroy.

"Caine's Arcade" is a short film about the arcade the young boy has managed to create in his father's auto body shop in East LA during one summer. It's almost entirely built with excess cardboard, copious amounts of packing tape, toys from Caine's personal collection, and a mountain of ingenuity.

In addition to creating the games -- which involves tackling engineering issues that would stupefy someone twice, even three times Caine's age -- the young entrepreneur has even created a security scheme via calculators to ensure his customers don't take advantage of "fun passes" he sells that offer more bang for one's buck than playing games at the normal asking price.

Caine also recycles torn tickets with the help of a stapler and even has his own work attire. The 9-year-old took operating an amusement center very seriously, but due to the lack of foot traffic at his father's store (he does most of his business online these days), Caine's Arcade failed to get the attention that it deserved.

But all that changed when filmmaker Nirvan Mullick came to the auto shop to purchase a car door, and came across the cardboard arcade that the storeowner's son had set up. As Caine's first customer, Mullick was amazed by the young man's spirit and saddened to hear that he was, in fact, Caine's first and only customer.

Mullick decided right then and there to not only chronicle young Caine's achievement via film, but to also make his day by creating a flash mob that would give the arcade the business it so richly deserves. 

A homepage has been set up, dedicated to the film, plus there's a Facebook page for the arcade. LA residents are encouraged to stop by and check it out for themselves. Hours and directions can be found there as well. Meanwhile, the homepage is accepting donations to help fund a college scholarship for Caine.

Matthew Hawkins is an NYC-based game journalist who has also written for EGM, GameSetWatch, Gamasutra, Giant Robot and numerous others. He also self-publishes his own game culture zine, is part of Attract Mode, and co-hosts The Fangamer Podcast. You can keep tabs on him via Twitter, or his personal home-base, FORT90.com.

Dave Hill / YouTube

Seriously Internet, what is your problem?

Mr. Dave Hill — by most accounts, the most incredible person on the Internet — has an awesome video promoting his upcoming book, "Tasteful Nudes ... and Other Misguided Attempts at Personal Growth and Validation" (St. Martin's Press, $24.99), which hits shelves May 22. Yet you, Internet,  have yet to make it … what is the word?

 Ah, yes. "Viral."

I’ve seen what you’re into Internet — Auto-Tuned adolescent girls singing about days of the week whom you claim to "hate," small boys hopped up on goofballs after oral surgery, kittens — and it’s time to up your dang standards. Dave Hill is the man to help you do that. He’s a regular on social media lists like the Huffington Post's "50 Funny People You Should Be Following On Twitter," a contributor to Will Ferrell’s comedy website Funny or Die, and one time he engaged in a six-month flame war with a Norwegian black metal musician just because. Also, he's got a pretty popular podcast and he’s totally in some kind of rock group with Moby.

Dave now takes on the next level of online awesome: The promotional book trailer. Long before Kindle and iPad, the publishing industry has been trying to trick the Internet into reading books using the same method MTV employed to make us stop listening to music — with videos. Most book trailers are faux noir affairs, with rushing silhouettes cryptic narration — except for that one for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" — it's pretty cool.

Dave's "Tasteful Nudes," however, is cooler.

In about two minutes and eight scene changes, this self-described "Entertainer/Man About Town" ambitiously shoe horns everything he’s online-famous for — axe mastery (that’s musician speak for guitar shredding ), awkward bon mots, rambling non sequiturs, funky threads and a willingness to expose his doughy self from the waist up — with skin so pale you can only look at it through a special box your science teacher made. (As Sita, this one lady I know from Facebook, commented, "James Patterson has his work cut out for him!")

The original video (which you can totally look at on Funny or Die) has a few instances of blue language that work within the context of the video’s overriding theme, but are not suitable for a family website. So Dave considerately agreed to provide us with this bleeped version which you can enjoy with your children. So check it out! It’s not like somebody’s asking you to actually read a book. 

Well, Dave is, but it’s not like he can make you. (But this video probably can!)

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Forget OKCupid! Let OK Go find your latest true love
• Justin Bieber abuses Twitter with phone prank, may get sued
• Occupy SXSW? A high-speed connection to Austin's class divide
• Way to feed the Internet trolls, Alec Baldwin

Encouraging her daughter's love of the performing arts, Rebecca Black's mother paid $4,000 to vanity production company Ark Music Factory for a song and video written and produced for the 13-year-old Orange County eighth-grader — the now-notorious "Friday," uploaded to YouTube on Feb. 10, 2011.

There, the massively Auto-Tuned ditty floated for a whole month, until March 11 (aptly, a Friday), The Daily What posted it with the accompanying snark, "Where Is Your God Now of the Day: I am no longer looking forward to the weekend."

In one month, Black went from a typical 13-year-old with little more to worry about than wakin' up in the morning, having a bowl of cereal and whether she should be kickin' in the front seat or sittin' in the back seat, to the Internet's punching bag.

Going viral as the girl behind "the worst song ever," Black soon found herself in the sites of sights of 4chan's notorious /b/ board, where members have posted contact information for Black's school as well as her family's contact and social networking information and a list of possible home addresses.

via KnowYourMeme

Soon, the Intenet was lousy with Black-inspired memes. Meanwhile, the hurtful comments about the video "shocked me," Black told the Daily Beast in an March 17 interview, even as "Friday" hit the iTunesTop 100 singles chart, beating out both Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars. "At times, it feels like I'm being cyber-bullied." Though Black said she was teased at school, when she later chose to be homeschooled, she said it was because of her "career."

By March 30, Black's "Friday" officially became the most disliked video on YouTube, with more than 1.27 million downvotes. That dubious distinction however, did not deter her prospects. Following a copyright dispute with Ark Music Factory, "Friday" temporarily disappeared from YouTube on June 16, 2011, reappearing on Black's own YouTube channel a few months later.

Here are some highlights from Black's career so far:

• A cameo in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).
• A hosting gig on MTV's online awards show, the O Music Awards Fan Army Party.
• "Choice Web Star" winner at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards
• A performance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
• A "driving safety" video on Funny or Die.
• A new single, "My Moment," released on July 18 on her own label and YouTube channel, with plans for a full album sometime in 2012.

Meanwhile, "Friday," the song, did pretty well, too:

• Justin Bieber performed a mashup of "Friday" and Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" during his "My World" tour.
• Stephen Colbert performed "Friday" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
• The cast of "Glee" performed the song in the second-season episode, "Prom Queen."

You'll also find infinite "Friday" covers and mashups all over YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet. My favorite, however, will always been BuzzFeed's "Julian Assange Friday Dance Party," and if you click that link, I'm sure you'll agree.

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Binary code marriage proposal wins human female's love
• Watch OK Go let a car drive its latest viral hit
• Yet another study confirms your tech addiction

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about privacy and then asks her to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. Because that's how she rolls.

So, yeah. Marriages in the U.S. are on decline, except maybe among geeks — who are pairing up faster than penguins being narrated by Morgan Freeman, if these ongoing "viral marriage proposals" mean anything.

They don't. But here's some anecdotal evidence anyway! Now add to that collection of "adorkable marriage propsoals," this dude "doctorpappa," as he's known on YouTube, wearing a paper mache mask in the visage of surly robot Bender "Bending Unit" Rodriquez," and spitting binary code in an obvious reference to the 2007 direct-to-video feature "Bender's Big Score," based on the then-cancelled series "Futurama." (Comedy Central aired it in multiple parts, but anyway ...)

Rather than opening a portal to the past however, (as in "Bender's Big Score,"), this code allegedly maps out a link to some chick's future: A marriage proposal. Here's what the lucky lady (who had to decode this mess) told Geekologie: 

My boyfriend told me I had to close my laptop for a couple minutes, then when I logged back on this was posted to my facebookwall. He sat across the room as I transcribed and then decoded it. After about a half hour I found out it says, "Rachel, you are awesome. Will you marry me?" I said yes, of course :B

Truly, it's a tribute to this woman's attention span and/or love that she made it through the entire 3:12 minutes to decode this mess, which proves, above all, that just because something's cute, doesn't mean it's cute for 3:12 minutes.

Plus, why have a menacing RC shark floating in the background if it's not going to attack? Talk about anti-climatic. Then again, why have a pile of laundry in the background (right) if you're asking someone to share your life?

With this latest geek marriage proposal to go viral, it is now apparent to even the most naive of Internet saps that these dorks are engaged in fierce competition, cranking out increasingly meta matrimonial inquiries in an effort to pwn (that's elder nerd speak for "summarily beat into submission in a humiliating fashion") all viral proposals that came before.

Let's just hope this latest hu-mon pair bonding doesn't end like this. (Scan the QR code with your smartphone to learn the answer, nerds!)

Gizmodo via Geekologie

More on the annoying way we live now:

• The most adorkable marriage proposals ... on video
• Watch OK Go let a car drive its latest viral hit
• Yet another study confirms your tech addiction 
• Are your deleted photos still on Facebook?

Helen A.S. Popkingoes blah blah blah about privacy and then asks her to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. Because that's how she rolls. 

Kids might not be able to define "Internet meme," but they know one when they see one.

That's the takeaway from the latest episode of "Kids React" from YouTube's the Fine Brothers. As with every episode, kids ages 7 to 13 endure the latest in cyber culture for the education and amusement of adults. Here, the kids are subjected to the GAG Quartet's own viral video, "le Internet Medley," a musical montage featuring more than 40 Internet memes.

While it was the first viewing of this particular video for many, the kids could easily identify the references — Nyan Cat, Keyboard Cat, Numa Numa Guy, to name just a very few. "A collision of all these YouTube Internet sensation characters coming together," is how one kid describes "le Internet Medley."

It's "like YouTube threw up all over this video," another colorfully described. And according to a third, "These people are geniuses!"

Here's the original video in case you missed it.

More on the Fine Brothers:

• 50 viral videos spoiled in four minutes
•  Teens on 'Twilight': 'Why ... why ... why?' 
• Kids on 'Super Bass' girl: 'Should she be saying that?'

 — compiled by Helen A.S. Popkin, who invites you to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+. 

"Teens React to Twilight" could be described as a supercut revealing the wide range of emotions teenagers can imbue into three simple words —"vampires and werewolves." Actually, it's the premiere of a new YouTube spin-off by the Fine Brothers, the same alleged siblings behind "Kids React," and their always hilarious "Spoilers" series.

Rapturous joy, feigned indifference and dramatic disgust all come across loud and clear as teenagers ages 14-17 view the movie trailer for the the latest in the sparkly vampire series, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" and share their feelings on the blood-sucking phenomenon.

"Why is it Twilight?" moans Sam, 15 once he realizes what he's been asked to endure. It's a reaction shared by most of the boys, and to a lesser degree, some of the girls.

They roll their eyes, pantomime excitement or mock the storyline in this 6-1/2-minute documentary that will make you LOL all over yourself. At the other end of the spectrum, Kennedy, 15, unabashedly declares "I can't wait!" stating she's read all of the books at least 10 times each — though when asked, she can't say she's learned anything from them.

For all you grups worried that "Twilight" sends the wrong message to today's young ladies — and 40-something moms — fear not. Two teen girls here echo horror master Stephen King's comparison with another supernatural series for kids, in which he said: "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

Most amusing is that a good chunk of the kids here who act irritated while watching and discussing "Twilight" also admit that they'll most likely see "Breaking Dawn" ... you know, "if my girlfriend invites me."

More on all this silly stuff:

• Review: 'Breaking Dawn' gives 'Twilight' fans what they want
• Four things to look for in 'Breaking Dawn'
• Kids talk 'Star Wars Kid': 'We are so cruel!'
• Kids on YouTube beauty guru: 'That looks painful'
• 50 animated movies spoiled in three minutes

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

It took police officers three hours to clear hundreds of protesters from Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, but the economic issues that made the downtown Manhattan location headquarters for Occupy Wall Street remain. Here's a musical — albeit still complicated — rundown of what those issues are, courtesy of Tay Zonday's "Mama Economy."

Zonday, you may recall, is the bespeckled baritone with the baby face who reached YouTube rock star status in 2007 via "Chocolate Rain," the viral video for the song he wrote, performed and produced. "Mama Economy" is Zonday's composition as well, and give the guy credit for cramming complex ideas into something tuneful.

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Can't 'Occupy Wall Street?' Viral video says 'occupy the mail'
• Internet talks about 'Occupy Wall Street,' media listens
• Facebook investigates gore, porn infecting your Newsfeed

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

"Pugs are the adorable little walleyed goblins of dogs, but through years of selective breeding in the shallower end of the canine gene pool, they aren’t exactly the brightest pups out there," writes Cult of Mac, of whose work we are generally a fan.

We are forced however to call "Shenanigans!" on the Apple blog's latest industry breakdown, "Watch This Cute Pug Totally Flip Out Over The iPhone 4S," and urge Cult of Mac to stick to its area of expertise — timely news, insightful analysis, helpful how-tos and honest reviews on  Apple products — and leave the pug reactions to those in the know. As Coco points out in the video above, that's no iPhone 4S commercial — it's a spoof!

As a six-time pug parent (courtesy PetFinder.com and other rescue facilities — always go rescue!), I can confirm the common knowledge that while fawn pugs (the tan kind) are generally not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, black pugs (such as Coco) are imbued with both a preternatural intelligence and an inborn talent for TV criticism. My own black pug, Mu Tan, is known to lock her so-called "walleyed" gaze on the TV , unleashing a bone-chilling growl should arch nemesis Cesar Millan darken the screen (including his dog-free cameo on "Bones"). For what it's worth, Mu Tan also hates horses, effectively putting an end to "Tudors" viewing in her our home.

In the video, we see Coco is a fan of critically-acclaimed shows such as "The Office," "Modern Family," "True Blood," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and "Lost," — least when Sawyer isn't wearing a shirt. What Coco has an issue with is, in fact, not the iPhone 4S as Cult of Mac contends, but in fact, New York artist Adam Sacks' 2009 iPhone commercial spoof, highlighting apps that enable stalking one's ex-girlfriend. (We've posted the pug-offending video below.)

To be fair, it's unclear whether Coco calling "Shenanigans!" on a fake commercial, or that she takes offense at humor based on a serious subject such as stalking. What's more, it's not entirely clear why Coco doesn't have a problem with, like, that ginormous TV screen so redonkulously close to the bed. (Even if it is a front-end projector, dang!) Well, at least she's paying attention.  

Hat tip — and you know we're just funnin' ya — to Cult of Mac

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Google launches tools for veterans, families and friends
• Fidel Castro's niece trolled in Twitter debut
• Adultery website encourages cheating on your fat wife

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

Are you a disgruntled member of the 99 percent who would like to protest economic inequality but you just don't live within bicycling distances of the ongoing "Occupy" demonstrations held in more than 600 communities in the U.S. ... or you just hate the smell of drum circles?

"If you can’t Occupy Wall Street, you can at least keep Wall Street occupied."

That's the suggestion of Artie Moffa, the well-spoken, sepia-attired young man in the video above. The San Francisco poet has taken to our virtual town square to share via YouTube an idea that will both get your disaffection across to the major banking institutions and rid you of your junk mail. Well, not the catalogs full of crap you cannot afford, but those non-stop credit card offers, which — as this guy points out — "are from the same financial institutions that ruined our economy by speculating on the housing market."

His suggestion? Simply return the enclosed postage-paid envelopes empty, with a pre-printed message, a wood shim or optimally, a roofing tile. It will indeed jack up the postage these financial institutions will have to pay to the United States Postal Service (which could use the money, I might add), but more importantly, it'll get the attention of those institutions too big to fail.  

"Think about the scene in the mail room at a big bank when they get a few dozen roofing shingles, a few hundred wood shims and a few thousand empty envelopes" Moffa says in the video, which now has almost 441,000 views. "They're probably going to have a meeting about it, and that's the point of this."

In a follow-up video posted on Monday, Moffa urges those getting a laugh at his now-viral video to follow through — but don't over do it. No "rabid alligators" or "bowling balls," that's overkill. And "don't be a wimp," the bank isn't going to track your envelope. Moffa also states several times that getting out there is still important. "Don't call this an alternate protest," he says.

Stay tuned to Moffa's YouTube channel, as he promises more videos coming soon.

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Internet talks about 'Occupy Wall Street,' media listens
• Internet just as important as air, says future generation
• Soldier comes out on YouTube again, to mom

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.

Your heart can only swell when watching this 2-year-old, fixated on the image of her dad in a pre-recorded video. Dad is in the military and away somewhere, reading her a story, "Farmer Mickey."

At the end he says, "Can I have a hug?" and leans his face into the camera, with his arms outstretched. She puts her arms around the screen and kisses it.

"Sometimes the cuteness of a heartwarming video overpowers the sadness and reality of the situation. This is one of those times," noted BuzzFeed, which highlighted the video Monday.

Indeed, as they say good-bye, the little girl just slightly panics, looking around the TV set for where she might be able to press a magic button to keep daddy in front of her on the screen. Unfortunately, there isn't any. 

— Via Gizmodo

Related stories:

• Telegraph, America's first Internet, turns 150
• Mo. repeals teacher-student 'Facebook' ban
• Google doodle: It's a small world after all

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.