While it’s great to travel with friends and family, my reality is that often I’m traveling alone. No need for a pity-party. I get travel to wonderful places. But it’s different experiencing a place on your own – and so, I’ve developed some ways to appreciate it and enj...
Today, an op-ed in the Washington Postcalled President Trump “media illiterate”. The piece discusses how specific tweets from Trump reflect a lack of understanding about the timing and release of a news story. His tweets include that all-too-familiar, catch-all term “...
For the past few years I’ve given my “Business of Media” class a brief survey about their media use at the start of the semester. They use this data to write a brief paper in which they make inferences about college student media use based on the data from the survey.
Today's news is filled with stories highlighting the need for us to bring an analytical and critical perspective to reports we read about the election and to the statements and tweets offered up by the candidates. I agree. That’s why I’m always harping on the need for...
It’s September and that’s means back-to-school time for most families with kids. Time to rekindle those rituals of selecting a new backpack, deciding on afterschool clubs and figuring out affordable lunch options. But decisions about media use belong in that list too....
I love being inspired by brilliant thinking; especially when succinctly stated and impactful. The statement “Screen time is an obsolete concept” was stated by Alicia Blum-Ross and Sonia Livingstone on their website “Parenting for a Digital Future” and further elaborate...
What should we say to the young people in our lives about the violent events of the last month? We know from prior tragedies that despite (some) parents best efforts, young children notice the news and feel the anxiety from their parents when tragedies are covered in t...
“You better go play right now! If I see you not playing, oh, you are gonna be in big trouble. Go play!” An abundance of play-related articles seems to be trying to convince me that kids today need to be forced to play. Can that possibly be true? Play seems to be hard-w...
This weekend marks the return of a powerful tradition in my family-- the start of summer sleepaway camp. Of the 50 or so years I’ve been on this planet, I’ve spent some portion of 33 of those years in some form of sleepaway camp. When I was young, my parents worked at...
Have you seen the trending viral video of a young girl opening a birthday gift to find a special doll? The girl has a prosthetic leg…and when she opens the box, she realizes the doll does too. Her smile is ear to ear. Initially, she giggles as she unwraps the gift. But...
