Kids are remarkably bold when electronic gizmos veil their verbiage, whether it’s professing teen love on IM or mobile texting a current crush. Toss in new digital offerings like Loopt's buddy-tracking GPS, 3-D virtual avatars sidling up to each other to meet new ‘friends,’ MySpace Mobile and Business Week's latest article on mobile's massive growth, and … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth is all about using media’s magic as a counter-marketing tool, so when I find a new angle to reach kids I get downright giddy. Internet fodder may be spam to adults, but it’s entertainment to preteens who use ‘forward to a friend’ relentlessly to share silly jokes, ‘awww’-sweet animal poses, lucky chains, urban legends, and … [Read more...]
LibraryThing is an online hangout worthy of raves from both parents AND teens, vaulting social networking into one of the most promising, useful and entertaining web applications I’ve seen in quite awhile. It's the literary equivalent of Flickr for photo-sharing or del.icio.us for bookmarks and tags. You can organize your library, rate, review, tag, add friends, meet … [Read more...]
Ah, football season, home to toxic media messaging for girls. A time when beer billboards of buxom cheerleaders spill from every corner, “scoring” innuendos abound, and tacky wardrobe malfunctions remain fresh in the mind’s eye. Seems timely to post tips on ways to promote girls’ self-image through SPORTS, since body image and self worth is being pummeled in media and … [Read more...]
New media channels for sugary snacks parallel a Greek mythology lesson…even if the head is cut off the Hydra, two more pop up on the serpent to replace it. The junk food siren endlessly beckons to kids… Just when parents were granted a mini-exhale with the tightening of a few minor junk food regulations in last week's newly released CARU guidelines, the … [Read more...]
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