Teenage Demographic

 After doing some research into the key struggles that high schoolers face, it became immediately apparent that there is a lot of supporting sites for academic problems. A lot of the immediate articles seemed to be aimed at the parents of high schoolers, or were incredibly patronising. They appeared to state a big importance on grades and productivity, rather than acknowledging that high school can be an extremely mentally strained for other reasons.

Researched issues:

• Academic Pressure
• Puberty
• Fitting in 'being accepted'
• Family troubles
• Preparing for the future 
• Finding the right identity
• Sexual pressure 
• Friendship troubles

http://classroom.synonym.com/common-struggles-high-shcool-6892511.html

Its important that the algorithm of the app I create responds to this issues accordingly.

Teenagers appear to most frequent apps like 'Snapchat', 'Instagram', 'Twitter' and 'Messenger.' All of these are about fast paced communication and are rooted in socialising. Another app I found that is particularly relevant and is a favorite of American teens is 'After School'. This allows teens to speak their mind, connect with classmates, participate in social change, volunteer for community projects and apply for scholarships, all within the school's forum. I found the design of this incredibly geared towards teens. It uses emojis, soft illustrations, video responces from teens and still manages to appear mature. I will need to make sure my own app has these considerations in order to fully connect to teens.

However, I do not want to make this app entirely based on what teens will instantaneously respond to, design isn't a formula. I hope to take a more unique approach, perhaps something that is almost retro. With this generation there is a growing appreciation for things of the past, so I'm considering making the design in the style of old computer programming/games.