Counterstrike: MEF Film “The Price of Pleasure” Screens For Free

April 9, 2009 Even though K-12 youth is Shaping Youth's primary focus, this campus controversy caught my eye for the overlap with our own counter-marketing tactics. In a ‘fight fire with fire’ media literacy move straight out of the Shaping Youth playbook, the Media Education Foundation is responding to this week’s University of Maryland campus uproar of whether or not free … [Read more...]

The Oprah Factor: Stop the Yo-Yo Dieting Messages

April 8, 2009 Young women and their moms have been "under the influence" of Oprah longer than you can say “she’s gotta have it.” From cuddly bathrobes to kids' book club picks, when the grand dame of daytime speaks, people listen. Precisely the point that Director Darryl Roberts of America the Beautiful is making in his recent “open letter to Oprah” plea to curb the weight … [Read more...]

Diagnosis Endometriosis: What to Know As Preteens Grow

Mar. 31, 2009 Today I was planning on posting part two in my series on the  Focus on Youth Sex::Tech Conference resources featuring health education tools, widgets, sex ed primers and helpful digital data available to give teens and parents a comprehensive snapshot of ‘what’s out there’ in a useful form rather than the drama-rama ‘oopsie’ moments permeating the ‘preggers … [Read more...]

Get Out of Your Own Life! Environmental Influence on Kids

Mar. 30, 2009 Mea culpa for the unannounced vanishing act, but I’ve been out of town interviewing teens in a different ‘pocket’ of the greater Bay Area, exploring how environmental influences (peers, nature, geography) shift the volume and decibel level of media intake among kids and where we might learn some 'best practices' to leapfrog into a healthier place for the … [Read more...]

Influencers, Accountability and the Global Cost to Youth

April 7, 2013 Update:   This topic will be the opening plenary at the newly rebranded Yth.org public health conference today in S.F., livestreamed here: YthLive.org at 4pm Pacific time/1pm ET.I can't wait to hear this panel, as I've got questions out the wazoo in terms of opportunities for education, producers' ratings baiting w/scripts, social norming and accountability, and … [Read more...]