Growing up too soon

Letting Go of 2010: Thoughts On Media Messaging

January 1, 2011 by Amy Jussel 5 Comments

Jan 1, 2011 No secret I’ve been challenged in 2010 on various fronts, and I’m trying really hard to ‘let go’ of some of the frustrations knowing there’s no quick fix for some of the blindingly surreal influences and disruptive crapola eroding kids’ psyches. I'm 'letting go,' to try to see past Nicki Minaj-style hyper-sexualized cues to instead celebrate the pendulum swing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity, Vapid Values, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: APA, Billboard Top 100, Bridalplasty, Critical-thinking-skills, DV, eldercare, Eminem, HGHW, Jenn Pozner, Ke$ha, Kids health, Letting go, media influences, media-literacy, Nicki Minaj, objectification, PBG, Pop-Culture, PopWatch, Powered By Girl, Reality Bites Back, Rihanna, sandwich generation, Sexualization, sexualization of children, spark change, TDV, teens, thoughts on letting go, Tornado Warning, tweens, worst relationship songs

Rudolph: A Parable On Bullying, Peer Pressure & Soaring High

December 17, 2010 by Amy Jussel 3 Comments

Dec. 17, 2010 Media madness has hit some new toxic tipping points lately, from sexualized cues for tweens to slink around like a ho-ho-ho (great awareness-raising via this new PTC study) to teen pot use rising after years of decline, and of course the influence of Miley's latest messes surging sales of ‘salvia’ ... Sooooo today I’m (re)running Lessons From Rudolph about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: Amy-Jussel, Annie Fox, anti-bullying, bullying, cerebral palsy, confidence, disabilities, frenemies, Glenda Watson Hyatt, I'll Do It Myself, Kidlutions, kids media influence, Lessons from Rudolph, Middle School Confidential, Miley bong hit, Miley Cyrus, Parents Television Council, Peer pressure, PTC, Race to Nowhere, Red Nosed reindeer, Rudolph, Salvia surge, Teen pot use rising, The Me Movement, Wendy Young

Is There A “Decline” In Kids Reading Or Is It Just Shifting Forms?

November 16, 2010 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

Nov. 16, 2010 When I lobbed the “what do you read just for fun” query at some middle and high school kids recently, reactions ran the gamut from quizzical, “what do you mean by “for fun” to disturbing, “I don’t have TIME to read for fun" or "I have too much school work”…and yet their nose-in-the-text-screen antics tells another story by sheer observation. Kids are CONSTANTLY … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Alfie Kohn, Alice, Alice for the ipad, Amy-Jussel, apps, AR, augmented reality, brain cell damage, children's literacy, Deathly Hallows, digital devices, e-books, ebooks, gaming, Harry Potter Alliance, I live in the future here's how it works, innovation, iPad, KFF, kids literacy, kids teens and reading fun, kids-media, Kindle, Nick Bilton, pleasure reading, reading, reading and writing, reading for pleasure, Reading is Fundamental, Room to Read, Sara-Grimes, Sara-M.-Grimes, Scholastic reading study 2010, smart phones, Storybird, The Hurried Child, Will Smith running and reading

Veteran’s Day Snapshot: Kids Speak About Military Family Life

November 11, 2010 by Amy Jussel 3 Comments

Nov 11, 2010 As a global citizen coming from a lifelong military family background, Veteran’s Day is a touchy topic with me, as I’ve written before, “it’s not about mattress sales” and it’s not “veterinarians" day either, folks… So I was thrilled to see that New Moon Girls tween site had conducted a survey and published snippets of girls’ experiences growing up in active … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: anti-war, brats our journey home, Call of Duty, Freedom, Heart Math, honoring troops, kids veteran's day activities, military brats, military service, My Vetwork, operation graititude, peace, Playing War, PTSD, reach and teach, social justice, soldiers, support our troops, Veterans Day, Veterans Day 2010, virtual healing, Virtual Iraq, Virtual-Worlds

Amy Jussel On Changing the Channel of Media Influence

October 28, 2010 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

Oct. 28, 2010 Tonight I’ll be speaking on Changing the Channel of Influence in media, at The Third Place.org. I need to reiterate to ALL that Shaping Youth is a nonpartisan, non-religious-based, nonprofit, non-tethered, organization. The media literacy opinions shared are my own and NOT aligned with any other organization, affiliation, or agenda. Clear? Reason I’m … [Read more...]