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Social media envelopes us all. Think about how seductive it is to us as adults - now magnify that exponentially for its potentially damaging impact on teenagers and children.
You would think we are talking with our kids about this all the time, but in fact these are tricky and awkward conversations that are easier to avoid. According to the new book American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers by Nancy Jo Sales (acclaimed journalist and author of The Bling Ring), many parents are not aware of what their kids are doing on social media nor what the culture of social media is all about - and then there is also that sneaky little thing called denial.
For example, studies show that high numbers of kids watch or see porn and that many are sending nude photos via text and/or various social media platforms. However, most parents don't believe it's their kids.
The ramifications of these new worlds for our kids can be depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, sexualization and worse. We often feel powerless and ill-equipped. This is why we have persuaded Nancy Jo Sales to join us for a conversation moderated by Kiki Kennedy MD, a psychiatrist from Yale University. We know this conversation will be of enormous interest to parents, teachers, and school administrators and therefore we will be holding the event in the auditorium at Polson Middle School here in Madison. This is bound to be a provocative, lively and enlightening evening. In a recent New York Times review, Michiko Kakutani writes "In her discursive new book, the journalist Nancy Jo Sales examines the effects that growing up in the turbulent seas of social media are having on American girls. It looks not only at high-profile cases of predatory assault and cyberbullying, but also at how day-to-day life inside an online bubble can narrow one's view of the world and warp relationships and self-esteem." If you are interested, I encourage you to purchase your ticket soon to avoid being disappointed once it is sold out. I also would like to mention both an event and a beautiful little book that I adore. The event (on Tuesday, February 23rd) is with debut writer Paul Goldberg whose book is The Yid - a cross between Abbot and Costello, Tolstoy, and Shakespeare. The little book is titled Hurry Up and Wait and uses Maira Kalman's quirky genius and Daniel Handler's wit to remind us that we risk missing out on what is going on around us by reveling in being busy - and yet when we pause - the miraculous reveals itself in the mundane. More on these later - enough to contemplate for now. Hope to see you at the events. See you in the store,
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