It seemed like 2011 disappeared faster than a discounted tablet on Black Friday. It certainly left its mark on the digital world. From a tech perspective, 2011 was the year that brought us the continued upsurge in all things mobile (such as smartphones, tablets and apps), the social media-fueled Arab Spring, the emergence of social commerce, the demise of Flash, the resurgence of tech IPOs (with LinkedIn, Zynga, Groupon and Pandora leading the way) and the untimely passing of Steve Jobs.

Earlier this year, we at BBDO/ Proximity Worldwide partnered with Microsoft to undertake an unprecedented global research study to better understand how today’s global media audience perceives and behaves around content consumed through different screens in our multi-screen environment.

Not too long ago, shopping used to be a mostly isolated activity, especially online. However, the recent surge of social networks, coupled with the smartphone revolution, is ushering in a new age of consumerism where customer research and real-time purchases are increasingly informed, influenced and socialized by way of social media.

The future is in digital. The children are our future. If we do the math, it should follow that there is value in training our kids to adapt to the changes sweeping the digital landscape. There seems to be no problem teaching our children how to peruse through our tablets to read their favorite books or magazines, because information is delivered in one direction, or it requires no personal interaction. But what if it involves a two-way conversation?