Dec. 29, 2013 “It was soooooooo booooooooo-tiful with snowfwakes evweeewhere wiff fweeedeee (3D) gwasses!” the five-year old’s eyes lit up and widened almost as large as the animated sheroes in the … [Read more...]
SureFire Girls: Life Literacy For Teens in a Power-Packed Conference
October 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Oct. 8, 2013 As the parent of a teen graduating high school, spring was like a surreal montage of college tours, anticipation, excitement and questions swirling in my brain.Did I give her enough savvy … [Read more...]
Back to School: Using Branding as a Media Literacy Lesson
September 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
August 20, 2015 Update: More Back to School branding boondoggles...Remember when the G-force Gatorade tribe was caught red-handed with their marketing machinations of hawking sugar hydration to … [Read more...]
Who Won the Debate? Kids’ Focus on Appearance Mirrors Our Country
October 4, 2012 by 2 Comments
Oct. 4, 2012 Ask any kindergartener to assess the debates last night and you’d probably hear simple reactions like: “He smiles more” or “He looks nicer” or “He looks like he didn’t study”…and … [Read more...]
Visa Spending Survey Invalidated: Stats Are Bogus, Yet No Retraction?
May 30, 2012 by 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 … [Read more...]
The Supermodels, Then and Now + A Chat With Janet Lansbury
February 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
Feb. 1, 2012 “25% of young women 18-34 would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize..." ..."And 23% would rather lose their ability to read than their figures” opens Lisa … [Read more...]
Deconstructing Spongebob, Pt2: A Preschool Parenting Lens
September 20, 2011 by 1 Comment
Sept. 20, 2011 In part one, the prelude to this post, I tried to frame the notion of critical thinking skills as a sphere to hold up to the light and rotate slowly instead of banging out opinions in … [Read more...]
Deconstructing Spongebob: Reasoning, Research, & Critical Thinking
September 19, 2011 by 6 Comments
Sept. 19, 2011 “So, Amy, whose side are you on with the pundits talking and the press reporting about the new University of Virginia Spongebob research?” Whaaaa? Sides? Really? That's cartoonish, … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth is Expanding: Sneak Peek and Needs Please?
February 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
Feb 22, 2011 Breaking into The Power of Play series for a sneak peek into what's occupying so much of my time...expanding Shaping Youth's web presence. No secret that I’m a media maven that's media … [Read more...]
Letting Go of 2010: Thoughts On Media Messaging
January 1, 2011 by 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 … [Read more...]
Deconstructing Thanksgiving Stereotypes: The Mediatrician Is In
November 22, 2010 by 2 Comments
Nov. 25, 2015 Update: Couldn't resist this timely SNL Adele Thanksgiving skit slamming stereotypes...Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Nov. 27, 2014 Update: Favorite post to add this year for … [Read more...]
Amy Jussel On Changing the Channel of Media Influence
October 28, 2010 by 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, … [Read more...]
Safety Expert Uses Media Literacy to Deconstruct McAfee Study
July 2, 2010 by 9 Comments
July 2, 2010 When I first saw this note in my social media stream it raised my media literacy eyebrows to explore further. It said, “Interesting: McAfee has a very diff take on their own study … [Read more...]
Addiction Series Part 3: Media, Medicos, & Critical Thinking
January 15, 2010 by 12 Comments
Jan. 15, 2009 Thought I’d wrap up Part Three in this series on digital addiction vs. agency (part one and part two here) with some humorous insights from the medical community that poke fun at some … [Read more...]
Media, Misinformation and Unhealthy Spin
August 14, 2009 by 6 Comments
August 14, 2009 I'm very thankful that Shaping Youth Nutrition Correspondent Rebecca Scritchfield, RD takes the helm today with her piece "The Price of Misinformation in Media," as I’m trying to … [Read more...]
Consider This: Virtual Worlds In Institutional Settings
May 7, 2009 by 2 Comments
May 7, 2009 See this smiling face? Meet my goddaughter, Lara, who recently turned 12. We gifted her an Elf Island 'virtual world' membership for 'premium content' as part of her B-Day celebration. … [Read more...]
Sensationalist Slop: “Dear Media, Please Do Your Job…”
September 19, 2008 by 3 Comments
Further to this week's article on ‘what sells’ in sensationalized media coverage, need we remind kids that the same thing applies to our upcoming election season? As children try to … [Read more...]
HFCS Ad Analysis: Dieticians Dissed, Media Literacy Mandatory
September 10, 2008 by 13 Comments
When I sounded off in HFCS Corn Wars about the ‘artificial sweetness’ of the ubiquitous HFCS ads, I promised I’d have our own nutrition correspondent, Rebecca Scritchfield weigh in … [Read more...]
Stage-Crafting Politics: Media Literacy Tips for Kids
September 4, 2008 by 6 Comments
Aug. 22, 2016 Update Excellent post by Diana Graber at Cyberwise "What to Tell Kids When Adults Behave Badly" which sadly validates, via Southern Poverty Law Center, how we've unraveled 15 years of … [Read more...]
New Moon Girl Media: Orb28 Gives Rise to Teen Voices (Part 2)
June 20, 2008 by 21 Comments
Ready to tap into the 'inner sphere' of the upcoming teen site Orb28? Continuing yesterday's post about youth media orgs like these ready to put pop culture messaging on a whole new frequency, … [Read more...]
