Viral & Buzz Media

Dark Knight Rises: Resources to Reassure Kids

July 20, 2012 by Amy Jussel 10 Comments

July 20, 2012 “Some Joker has to ruin it all,” a young ticket holder shaking his head fumed as news of the Batman movie premiere tragedy shot through every media channel from mobile to mainstream. The macabre pun was suitable, intentional or not. From CNN videos and sound reels to a CBS special airing in less than 24 hours we're reminded that media is ambient in surround … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Shaping Youth, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: American Red Cross, Aurora, Batman, Batman massacre, children media violence, Children Now, childrens fears, Colorado, Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight tragedy, Dark-Knight, domestic terrorism, Facing Fear, Fear-Mongering, guns, help kids cope, Kids and headline news, kids mental health, mass shootings, media coping tips, media-literacy, neuroscience, nimh, PTSD, real life horror film, school shootings, Talking tips, Talking to Kids About Headline News, talking to kids about shooting, terrorism, Tough topics kids, youth violence, Youth-Media

Sexism in Video Games: Tropes, Trolls and Terrific Upstanders

June 13, 2012 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

Update YET AGAIN: Oct. 15, 2014 Reprising Anita Sarkeesian's important words, "The most radical thing you can do to support women online" given the cancellation of her Utah State University event slated for today due to "massacre shooting" terrorist threats impacting public safety at the school. Sheroes won't be silenced, and the upstanders and journalists helping explain with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Damaging Drek, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity, Vapid Values, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: Anita Sarkeesian, anti-bullying, APA, Bailey Shoemaker Richards, benevolent sexism, bullying, Bystanders, Chell, female gamers, Feminist Frequency, GDC 2012, hate speech, Kickstarter, Lara Croft, media vitriol, misogyny, MMO, MMORPG, objectification, rape culture, Samus, school climate, SeX-Box Exposure to sexist video games, sexism, sexism in video game culture, sexism in video games, sexist attacks, sexualized violence, target women, The Bro Code, Tropes vs Women, Upstanders, video games, violence against women, violence and video games, women and media

Visa Spending Survey Invalidated: Stats Are Bogus, Yet No Retraction?

May 30, 2012 by Amy Jussel 1 Comment

May 30, 2012 Before we ramp up with the next surge of ‘graduation spending’ stats or infographics citing what ‘media’ deem to be ‘credible sources’ without diving deeper into fact checking, I’d like to ask media pundits, where is our collective knowledge gain? We’ve got far more than 22 pages of Google results citing ‘junk science’ as fact from reputable news organizations … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Product Placement, Shaping Youth, Vapid Values, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: citizen-journalism, Critical-thinking-skills, David and Goliath, democratic underground forum, Digital Journal, GfKRoper Omnitel, graduation gifts, graduation should not be a fundraising event, graduation spending, journalism, junk science, media-literacy, muckracker, parents aren't completely nuts, prom spending surge, Roper survey, Sheeple, sloppy data, Social Media Pulpit, social-media, Today Show Moms, Visa prom mythology, Visa prom survey debunk, Visa survey bogus, Visa survey on prom costs

Prom Spending Surges? Media Panics, Hype & Critical Thinking

May 19, 2012 by Amy Jussel 7 Comments

May 15, 2015 Update! Great then/now retrospective in the New York Times that spans proms over 60 years, all the way up to current "promposal" shenanigans, spending surges and social media selfies! Enjoy. May 24, 2012 UPDATE woohoo! Called it! Validation happy dance! Today Show notes HUGE Visa survey inaccuracies in this blurb-> "Prom Spending Myth" but no one is seeing it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Vapid Values, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: appearance cues, bodysnarking, Celebrity worship, deconstructing infographics, DoSomething Prom For All, financial education, financial literacy, frugal finds, Gen Y, Gender, gender and media portrayals, generation debt, GfK Roper OmniTel, hottie factor, Junior Prom, keeping up with the joneses, low income spending, lower the income higher the spending, media mindfulness, media-literacy, national average prom spending, oneupsmanship, Parenting-Teens, plastic, Pretty in Pink Prom, princess project, Prom Costs 2012, prom spending surges, Promzilla, Researching-the-researchers, Sexualization, Slash prom costs, tail wagging the dog, teens prom, Visa, Visa survey on prom costs, who wore it best

Miss Travel: Misrepresentation Way Beyond Arm Candy

April 26, 2012 by Amy Jussel 5 Comments

April 26, 2012 “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck”… It doesn’t take much inductive reasoning to see Miss Travel is afoul. That said, using critical thinking skills to see why this new ‘dating site’ offering ‘free travel for attractive people’ (ahem, cough, prosti-travel) doesn’t pass the sniff test is a useful mini-lesson. Miss Travel is a teachable … [Read more...]