Mediacology

While I think the premise of this article is a little over-hyped, I think it’s interesting that people are comparing Woodstock with the inauguration.

Inauguration is a ‘generational touchstone’:

(01-19) 17:18 PST — America’s twentysomething Millennials have driven, hitchhiked, walked, biked and bused their way to Washington in hordes this week to witness the must-see, must-be-there event [...]

I can’t deny this video makes me feel proud and happy for our youth. I wish my generation (Gen x) was as optimistic. This group certainly contributed to Obama’s success. I hope they will continue to apply pressure for true change. I’ll be watching their back.
For about the site and book, go to Gen We [...]

Speaking of Grand Theft Auto, a media educator shares an interesting story about transgressing boundaries of the so-called virtual world.
Global Kids’ Digital Media Initiative:
He had, however, developed an unusual method for being a cabbie. Rather than slowing down before picking up a fare, he would often run a person over, wait for him or her [...]

Will someone please offer this child art classes?
Via Wooster Collective

A blast from the past (what’ya think of the punk/cholo crossover fashion?)
AlterNet: Health and Wellness: How Teenage Rebellion Has Become a Mental Illness:
Disruptive young people who are medicated with Ritalin, Adderall and other amphetamines routinely report that these drugs make them “care less” about their boredom, resentments and other negative emotions, thus making them more [...]

You can watch it for free on Frontline’s Website here.

Technorati Tags: frontline

My knee jerk reaction to MGA Bratz The Movie Movie Making Set with Sharidan was, “Oh God, here we go again, pushing hypersexual celebrityhood on girls.” But when I watched the little demo video on Amazon I discovered that is this is kinda a cool tool. The movie camera actually works, enabling kids to [...]

AlterNet: MediaCulture: So You Think You Can Raise a Brand-Free Kid?:
“I think we’re seen as consumers…how much wallet share do kids have, and how much can they influence our spending.”
Yet the push to buy doesn’t jive with the values these parents want to instill in their own kids — values like critical thinking, individuality and [...]

Some interesting facts about Asian youth.
threebillion.com:
The threebillion project was asked to put together a video on-behalf of MTV Asia for the Music Matters conference last week in Hong Kong.
The brief was to create a facts’n’stats video dedicated to Asian youth. However, when you consider that 61% of the world’s three billion people youth live in [...]

Sometimes I wish CNN would just roll over and die. An announcement they are creating a news bureau in Second Life confirms that they are trend followers, and are no longer innovators. Yeah, so maybe a 24/7 news network was once a brilliant idea, but with the Web, who cares? Having failed at emulating [...]

Belout College’s annual list of how the leaders of the future will know the world. An interesting list that is at times more snarky commentary on the present than insights about the real thinking habits of young people.
Beloit College Public Affairs:
The Mindset List is not a chronological listing of things that happened in the year [...]

AlterNet: What the World Might Look Like When the Millennials Run It:
“Two things represent my generation,” concludes Chris Hales, 25-year-old CEO of Anti-Matter Media a Chicago-based multimedia company. “Technology and the ‘Do-It-Yourself’ aesthetic. With the increase of technology, opportunities for networking with others seem endless, enabling us to turn out more authors, films, record labels [...]

Zwinky.com is all the rage among tween and teen marketers. I haven’t tried it myself, but judging from these two ads, it seems to promote the opportunity to transform yourself, yet I don’t really see any substance there. It showcases standard gender roles (females as sexual, males as physically active) and defines change according to [...]

Gee, what will they think of next? A cologne that actually smells like a pirate? Kids will really love that!
New Products: Disney Sees Market For Pre-Teen Fragrances:
While fragrance as part of a daily regimen for younger males is new, it is a growing trend even among older consumers in mainstream markets, said John Bauersfeld, vp-sales [...]

According to CURT HOLMAN, the seven deadly sins of kid culture are:
1) INSIPIDNESS
2) BRATTINESS
3) “PRINCESS-NESS”
4) “STEREO-TYPING”
5) VIOLENCE
6) VULGARITY
7) SLUTTINESS
While I agree that seeing these attitudes expressed in media for youth is troubling, I’d like to argue that kids have their own culture independent of media (this is not to say it is influenced by media). [...]

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Two summers ago I was mugged at gunpoint. The experience was terribly traumatic and took a tremendous amount of therapy and meditation to heal from. After that my commitment to nonviolence deepened, and I felt even more strongly that these kinds of traumas are reasons why everyone should be against war. So it saddens [...]

From the Onion News

Business Week embarks on the latest effort to fathom youth media practices. I have to give businesses credit for at least trying to understand youth, whereas the Left and Right continues to demonize young people and their use of social media. Though the article has some interesting insights, it uncritically profiles Axe deodorant’s global branding [...]

Photo by Alex Zhavoronkova
As you have heard, the air around here is intoxicating, hence Romans are pretty easy going (except when driving). I enjoyed this photo from the recent protest against Bush. It reminds me of the Emma Goldman quote, “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”
PS Communists [...]