Digital Detox, Blog Hiatus, and Fresh New Focus for 2013

Jan. 2013-Shaping Youth has taken a first ever, full month long blog hiatus until Feb. 1, 2013. You can follow our posts on Twitter in the interim while we unplug the blog to repower the system with fresh approaches to timely topics you care about concerning media and marketing's impact on kids. Media management and recapturing focus has been challenging for many of us in … [Read more...]

Spring Break Sanctuary: Ideas To Celebrate Screen Free Week

May 6, 2015 This year, "Screen Free Week" has been hardest on me for work related immediacy, as Twitter and 'livestreaming' events have made me feel like Gumby with people pinging and pushing their content under my nose to 'Please help! Look! See! Write about this worthy cause!' Even though Screen Free Week is flexibly interpreted as a customizable mindfulness exercise, I … [Read more...]

Deconstructing Thanksgiving Stereotypes: The Mediatrician Is In

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 2014 comes from Marti Weston's Media! Tech! Parenting! site on gratitude and digital life. Perfect way to continue our November thankfulness posts of positive picks in … [Read more...]

The Great Escape: Shaping Youth Unplugged (Again)

The collective intelligence at the Program for the Future Conference may have fried my synapses, and short-circuited my braincells in overdrive... I had a full post ready to go saying 'I'm goin' out of the country for a jiff, back Tues.' but I couldn't find the dang thing, which is a sure sign I'm way too buried and need to 'escape' from the keyboard to get the heck out of … [Read more...]

Confessions of a Virgin Meebo User at YPulse…

Youth mobile activism? Media mashups? M-commerce? M-trends? Heads up...I'd say keep your eyes peeled on Meebo for starters, as this live instant message platform is coming out with all kinds of new interactive integration, right down to iphone chat on the go... Last year at the YPulse National Mashup, Virgin Mobile's Homeless Youth Awareness caught my eye with their … [Read more...]