Emma Watson Warns That Social Media Is Shortening Childhood

The actress who earned fame as a tween stars in a new film in which social media looms large. While at Cannes promoting her new film, The Bling Ring by Sofia Coppola, Ms. Watson said, " I think it’s amazing how self-aware people are becoming as a result of constantly posting images on Facebook and Instagram. They’re blissfully unaware their childhoods are being shortened. That period of time when you’re not self-conscious is sped up."

During an interview,  she added, "I think technology is playing a really big part in a sense that everything has started moving so much quicker. We are becoming saturated with images. They can embody whatever they [fans] project onto that image. It’s very different; it has very little to do with reality."

Ms. Coppola added, "The idea of no privacy has become the norm."

Managing social media for tweens has been a challenge of modern parenting. Our tips for managing the digital footprint of your tween and creating a family technology policy can be found here - please add your tips! 

Original article at the U.K. Daily Mail here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325875/Emma-Watson-blames-social-media-shortening-childhood.html

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Hunger Games Bling For Tweens

"The Hunger Games" movie coming out today isn't for every tween. (The rule in our house is that we have to read the book before seeing the movie. In this instance, our eldest tweens have read "The Hunger Games" trilogy, so they are being allowed to see the movie so long as they're accompanied by an adult. The youngest tween will need to wait a few more years before she can see the movie.)


That said, we are HUGE fans of Katniss Everdeen as a positive, strong heroine for tween girls. And while we enjoyed reading the "Twilight" series, Bella Swan's self-pity and helplessness made mom flinch - a lot. In honor of Katniss, we stumbled upon these fun talismans of a bow and arrow on Etsy. They remind us of her strength and talent - two qualities that we're looking forward to seeing portrayed and celebrated by a girl on the big screen.

$6.50 on Pier7Craft's Etsy shop.

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A New Film Asks: What Are the Consequences of a Childhood Removed From Nature?

In this hyper-media saturated digital-age that tweens come of age in, we are all plugged-in to an astonishing degree. Now more than ever, technology permeates childhood at earlier and earlier ages - and that's often a good thing. "Play Again" is a new independent documentary that explores the consequences of trading screen-time for scene-time (outdoors). The crew follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens. The filmmakers unplug these teens and take them on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no virtual reality. We've not yet seen the film (we missed it when it came on DC for the Environmental Film Festival) - have you seen it? What did you think? Especially after "Race to Nowhere", we're excited to catch this screening the next time it's in DC.

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Tween Girl Issues in Film

Winners of the New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) include a category called "Girls' Point of View", a collection of the best short films focusing on female protagonists and exploring common teen and tween girl issues around the globe. These shorts are designed for girls ages 9 to 16 but are not appropriate for girls under the age of 9. The program includes NYICFF Jury Prize-winning short film Chalk and Audience Award-winner See You, in addition to shorts from the UK, China, France, Denmark and United States.

We wrote about the issue of how girls and women are portrayed on screen when we reported on the Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media event last month. These kinds of films are exactly what Ms. Davis was advocating for; attending a screening of "Girls Point of View" may interest you and your tween. We're trying to find screening times and will keep posted when we do.

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Geena Davis on How Girls Are Portrayed in the Media

Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis is famous for portraying strong (both physically and emotionally) women on screen. When she became a mom, however, she was struck by the utter dearth of positive, active, and central role models for girls in movies and on television. She founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media (GDIGM) to conduct research on the issue and advocate for change in the industry. We had the opportunity to attend an event on this topic yesterday at Georgetown University's McDonogh Business School and ask Ms. Davis a few questions.

GDIGM did a comprehensive survey of the roles girls and women had in film and television. They looked at everything from the amount of screen time girls and women had, how many girls and womens were in stories, their costumes, the number of lines they had, how they were or were not stereotyped, and the like. The organization also looked at the number of women in professional positions in the industry - that is, those behind the cameras. The results of these studies, especially those on family programming, were disturbing:

• Women and girls account for less than a third of the characters in family films. Despite public perception that this has changed (oft-cited are films like Mulan and Tangled, and shows like iCarly and Hannah Montana), this figure has not changed since 1946. Surprised? We were.
• Research shows that there is a direct correlation of when more women are behind the camera, women have more screen time and account for a higher number of characters (even background ones) shown. But the industry trend on female professionals in the industry is that women in the key roles of Director, Producer, and Write are going down.
• In G-rated films, 80.5% of all working characters are male - but women comprise 50% of the workforce. Why are we shown a 1950's version of the world in 2011?
• You can view their research here.

Why does this matter to parents, especially parents of tween girls? Because:

• Even though females comprise 50% of the US population, our daughters see that men outnumber women 3-to-1 on screen. Inexplicably, only 17% of group or crowd scenes are female. As Ms. Davis said yesterday, "So if we're 51% of the population but only 17% of the crowd, where did we all go?"
• This research means that "family entertainment" isn't the safe haven we parents expect it to be. Female characters are hyper-sexualized, almost especially when animated, and in the majority of shows are there just as eye-candy. One of our favorite quotes from Ms. Davis at yesterday's session was, "The way they're drawn, there's no room for a spinal column."
• Other research GDIGM cites finds that girls who are exposed to more media have the feeling that they are fewer choices in life, and that, on average, the more media boys watch the more sexist their outlook.
• Coraline is often held up as an example of a strong female lead role. Did you know that in the book, there was no boy character and that Coraline saved herself? Hollywood put one a boy character in, and he saved her. Really??

So what can parents do? (We LOVE when there are specifics like this)

• Watch media with your tween as much as possible and discuss what you see. Ms. Davis tells of how she'll watch a show with her own tween (now 9 years old) and ask, "Why do you think she's dressed like that if she needs to go and save someone?" or "Do you think a girl could be the hero in this show as much as a boy?" Starting this dialogue will go a long way towards changing her mindset - neither you nor her have to accept what's shown.
• Make your voices heard. The good news is that because of Ms. Davis stature in the industry, GDIGM's research was been shown to a key players in it. She has been heartened by the response: that people were shocked by the study. "This means," she says, "that there's no plot to keep women out. And that's a good thing."
• Raise the consciousness about this issue. Count the number of females you see on screen. Ask about it. Because what we've seen hasn't changed since 1946, it means that we all just take it for granted. Be media-literate, and ensure that your tween is too.

GDIGM will update their research next in 2015. Let's all hope that the results show improvement.

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