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Why Diversity in Children’s Media is So Important
The media industry holds great power over the socialization and self-concept of young people. Media can influence viewers in positive ways, but often become problematic when considering the underrepresentation or negative portrayal of certain identities such as gender, race, disability, and socioeconomic status.
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Let’s fight (the bad guys): Do superheroes teach kids good or evil?
Everyone loves a good superhero story. Superheroes have been a fixture in American pop culture for decades, but in the past 10-15 years we’ve witnessed a resurgence of superhero mania. Between movies, TV shows, toys, and even national conventions, the superhero fever is real. Given that superhero stories are characterized by themes of fighting against…
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May the Force be with you–while you wait
It has been a long year since the teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII was first released and the opening showing of the film prior to the film’s wide release has finally arrived. But the wait does not end there! Here is a picture of a group of moviegoers queuing to enter the theatre.…
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On Essena O’Neill, #fitspo, and the “real-ness” of social media.
Essena O’Neill, the former teen Instagram model made the decision to quit Instagram after growing disillusioned and unhappy with the staged nature of her social media presence. Before deleting her Instagram account, Essena recaptioned all of her photographs to reflect her true experiences when they were taken and posted.
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Parenting in the Digital Age: Q&A with Yalda Uhls
About this Q&A Interview We are proud to secure an exclusive interview with Yalda T. Uhls, MBA, PhD — a child psychologist researcher and leading expert in how media affects children. She is a former Psychology in Action president and our most prolific blogger. Yalda continues to research with UCLA while serving as as director of Creative Community Partnerships at Common Sense Media, a national non-profit.…
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Me, Myselfie, and I: The Psychological Impact of Social Media Activity
Recent research has documented how technology, and social networking sites in particular, have given rise to a growing obsession with impression management and self-presentation online. This raises an important question: Are our relationships with social media healthy?
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How do we see so many colors on a digital screen?
How can we possibly perceive a world of colors from just red, green, and blue, the colors of lights in TV, computer, and phone screens? The answer has to do with the way our visual system is set up: We have three different kinds of cones in the retina which respond most to what we…
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Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: The Psychology of Survivor
Watching Survivor also offers opportunities for social comparison and reflection, especially when it comes to morals and ethics.
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Serial: the Case of Memory
Serial has quickly become an international obsession. From the master storytellers of This American Life, the focal story of the inaugural season is about details surrounding the 1999 conviction of then high-school student Adnan Syed for the murder of ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. A new episode is released every Thursday (this week will be the…
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A New Direction in Autism Research: Google Cloud
Autism is everywhere and it is great! I’m not referring to the recent CDC estimate that 1 in 68 children in the U. S. are diagnosed with the disorder. Instead, I’m talking about its presence in the news. Most recently, I’ve read that the Vatican is holding an inaugural conference on autism, “The Person…