Jayde's Media and Human Development Blog

I like to think that I'm pretty good at deciphering media and recognizing the subliminal messages embedded within it. However, sometimes I worry that the constant advertising on social media, television, and even billboards get to me without me even noticing. I think this list includes some good practices to keep in mind (pretty much all the time, since we're constantly consuming media).  - Recognize stereotyping and bias - Notice the difference between fictional and nonfictional violence - Read between the lines of junk food ads - Look for the difference between entertainment and marketing - Keep in mind how entertainment affects self-image - Analyze the news and its construction While there are so many other things that are essential to have good media literacy, this list is a good start. How do you think media affects us in today's world. Do you think the media has stronger effects on children and teens?  

Research has shown that using social media for longer periods of time may lead to mental health issues in "vulnerable adolescents" (Memon et al., 2018). So, what are things to suggest to teens who may be having a hard time, especially with their social media use? Here are seven steps to help reduce the negative effects of social media: 1) Employ mindfulness and critical thinking about social media use 2) Use good time management 3) When on social media, use active techniques 4) Have a purpose for using social media 5) Manage relationships that come from social media 6) Use social media as a preventative measure and be aware of social media use 7) Be present during social media use and time when not using social media With all of the mental health problems that may come from social media, it's important that adolescents have steps they can take in addition to the other needed steps to address mental health issues like therapy and medication. The role of online social netwo...

This week I've been working on our Content Analysis project for class. It's been really enlightening to see how often parents and children engage in conflict in Disney movies! We found that female children and female parent figures are the ones who most often have conflict. Why do you think this is? Is this portrayal of female characters in Disney movies impacting kids? I was thinking that because of Bandura's Social Learning Theory, young children watching this conflict might be more prone to imitating the behaviors they see in Disney movies. I wonder if the producers of Disney films think about this when they are making them? What other issues have you seen with Disney movies and the portrayal of different characters? Let me know what you think!