MAM
THE BYKE HOSPITALITY LTD EXTENDS SUPPORT TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO SET-UP QUARANTINE CAMPS
MUMBAI: The country is under turmoil because of the ongoing global pandemic- COVID 19. While the government has united its people to fight this deadly virus from spreading and the country is under a strict lockdown, it’s heartening to see organizations coming out in full support to extend support to local authorities to ease the situation.
Joining the league is the hospitality chain- The Byke Hospitality Ltd. that has approached local authorities and has offered its properties for quarantine facility, whenever the need arises. They are open to give any support the government may need and has already established one such quarantine centre at their Thane service apartment. The local authorities may use the service apartment if there is an increase in the number of patients needing quarantine facility.
The Byke Hospitality Ltd is a group of pure vegetarian hotels and resorts in India. Present in 21 strategic locations across the country, this leading chain of pure vegetarian hotels has informed the local authorities that they are open to give out the spaces for any relief activity at this time of COVID 19. Not just that, this hotel chain understands the stress and difficulties that daily wage workers are going through and have come out in support of them as well. The Byke Hospitality Ltd has tied up with Lions Club and a body named ‘My Green Society’ and is extending support to daily wage workers by providing essential grocery items to the families of daily wage worker. The donation details can be derived through a call centre number and by visiting the website www.mtdngo.org
Mr Anil Patodia, CMD, The Byke Hospitality Ltd said, " In these trying times of unprecedented crisis facing the nation, we at The Byke Hospitality have decided to do all we can to help our fellow countrymen. With exponential growth in number of patients needing quarantine facility and care, we have informed the local authorities that we are willing to convert our property spaces as full-fledged quarantine facility, whenever the need arises. We are also reaching out to the daily wage earners and helping them with essential items to help them survive with dignity in these trying times.”
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
