There's no rhyme or reason to these things. They show up on different social media platforms, start in different parts of the world, but don’t always "go viral" in regions where they started. There are cultural aspects to what makes them take off but also universal ones: They "excite children's and teens’ imaginations, increase careless media outlets' appetite and opportunities for bigger … [Read more...] about About ‘Momo’ & dealing with viral media scares
How youth address mental health issues: Groundbreaking study
Young people are both smart and thoughtful about using digital media and devices – for mental health and other purposes – a groundbreaking new study shows, and they are far from naïve about what doesn't work for them in social media. The study, by researchers Victoria Rideout and Susannah Fox, had both quantitative and qualitative elements, including a remarkable 2,200 personal responses from its … [Read more...] about How youth address mental health issues: Groundbreaking study
Signs of serious progress for digital citizenship
THIS JUST IN: In a historic development for the Internet and its users under 18, the Council of Europe today adopted a Recommendation – a comprehensive set of guidelines to European Union member states – for upholding children's rights in digital environments, their rights as digital citizens. "How to better protect and empower children as rights-holders... is at the core of the new … [Read more...] about Signs of serious progress for digital citizenship
Media literacy may take a village now
Last week's post featured a U.S. celebrity's very personal media literacy learning and teaching. This week a program successfully tested in the Ukraine that represents an equally informal much more collaborative approach to growing media literacy in our very social media environment.... Maybe it's just a theory or it could be I'm stating the obvious, but media literacy education needs to be as … [Read more...] about Media literacy may take a village now
Media literacy lessons from comedian ChescaLeigh
Franchesca Ramsey, or @chescaleigh – the comedy writer, YouTube star with 247,000+ subscribers, host of MTV Decoded, and author of the just-released Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist – could also easily be considered a media literacy educator now. For one thing, she has a lot of credibility with fellow avid users and creators of social media. For another, … [Read more...] about Media literacy lessons from comedian ChescaLeigh