Disney Princess Culture, Facebook Privacy for Kids, Frito-Lay Space Camp, Apple Sexting Tech, Girls Hang Out Too, TikTok Book Boom, Trans Kids Mental Health & Kids Screentime!

Derek E. Baird, M.Ed.
Youth Pop!
Published in
Sent as a

Newsletter

3 min readAug 6, 2021

Kid Culture Report [July 2021]

Photographer: Höweler + Yoon Architecture via WSJ

Mental Health 🧠

The study finds early social transition for transgender youth results in good mental health outcomes, but unaccepting school environments may lead to a greater risk of suicidality. [Fenway Health]

“It was my second shooting, so I was kind of prepared. I’m always expecting something to happen.” [Twitter]

Disney Princess Culture 👸🏾

The [Princess] study adds weight to the argument that, like videogames that young children play, the content they spend hours watching on TVs and iPads might not have the profound impact on their development that parents fear.” [WSJ]

Kids Gaming + Metaverse🎮

“Metaverses are perhaps the clearest admission yet that the future of tech doesn’t lie just in VR or AR, but in a mix of many devices accessing a shared online world, which may be more immersive and 3D than the internet you’re currently using.” [CNET]

Kids Privacy 🔐

“Apple said its messaging app will use on-device machine learning to identify and blur sexually explicit photos on children’s phones and can also warn the parents of younger children via text message.” [AP News]

“Facebook’s privacy changes aimed at helping to protect children under 18 will force brands looking to reach younger audiences on its platforms. One way to do this could be through influencer marketing.” [AdAdge]

Social Impact 💖

Frito-Lay has launched a “Space for Her scholarship fund that will spend $150,000 to send 50 girls from underrepresented communities to space camp over the next five years.” [AdWeek]

Kid Culture 🤣

“There is one type of masculinity that skate parks and pump tracks cater to, but they are missing a whole other type of boy and a whole lot of girls.” [Bloomberg]

Sexting is just normal. We know there’s a risk but that’s how we flirt nowadays.” [Daily Mail]

Representation Matters 👦🏾

Times change slowly, but they do change. When Chris Nee decided she wanted to include a nonbinary character on Ridley Jones, Netflix didn’t bat an eye. She was surprised at what a nonissue the decision turned out to be.” [Forbes]

TikTokology 👯‍♂️

TikTok has been pivotal for introducing younger audiences to reading, as well as for introducing older titles to new readers and for helping new authors find an audience.” [NBC News]

COPPA Watch ⚖

“The Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Children & Youth Act, would expand COPPA to include teenagers under 18, prohibit companies from using targeted advertising, & require consent from teens before collecting their data.” [Washington Post]

Teaching Gen Z 🏫

“NYC is facing a lawsuit after failing to provide WiFi for students in homeless shelters. There are approximately 114,000 homeless students who are still unable to access the internet more than nine months after remote learning began.” [American Progress]

“Pandemic Yearbook: 9 Students — in Their Own Words — on Life, Learning and Loss as the Coronavirus Pushed into a Second Turbulent Year” [74 Million]

Screen Time 📴

“We have to stop looking at this as a black & white issue. You don’t want your kids always glued to screens. That is common sense. But these things are not evil. There is a lot of variety, & everything is not created equal.” [NYT]

If you’re reading this in your inbox, you can find a shareable version online here. You can follow Derek on Twitter, Instagram. You can also find Youth Pop! on Medium.

--

--

Derek E. Baird, M.Ed.
Youth Pop!

Minor Safety Policy | Trust & Safety | Digital Child Rights + Wellbeing | Youth Cultural Strategy | Author | 2x Signal Award winning podcast writer & Producer