A few days ago, I went to school. It was a normal day until around lunchtime when I started hearing some rumors. Well, that’s not unusual: it’s high school. There will always be rumors. But these rumors were different. They were based on a newspaper article published that morning in a local online newspaper. The article told the story of a girl, age 16, who goes to my school. The article, which was based on a police report, claimed that earlier this year the girl had a stillborn baby that no one knew about. The girl didn’t know she was pregnant, had the baby in her bathtub, and then buried it in her backyard. The girl’s mother later found the body and called the police. The girl is now facing …
As much as my generation seems to support Facebook, I believe that underneath all that tagging and friending, there’s a deep-seated resentment that we’ve had to grow up in a world where it’s the norm to share your relationship status with strangers.
I’ve blogged before about the issues I think Facebook creates for teenage girls, and I’ve heard a lot more of my peers agreeing with me about the perils and annoyances of Facebook. My Facebook blog last year received more comments than any other piece I’ve posted, and it seems that many others share my attitude about Facebook: I wish that Facebook didn’t exist, yet I still have a Facebook for several reasons.
I hope to debunk the myth that all teenagers are drinking the facebook Kool-Aid and pose …
When I was fourteen, my dad told me that the most important thing I would ever learn was how to be alone. Granted, he said this as he took away my cell phone, Facebook and cut off all ties I had to the outside world. I was crushed to say the least. At the time, high-school-freshman-me felt like my dad was completely overreacting to the fact that I had made out with a boy, especially since he was my boyfriend. That meant something, right? And my friends had all kissed boys, so I didn’t understand why it wasn’t okay that I had, too.
However, the time spent on my virtual desert island, as sucky as it was, really allowed me time to think. During this period I spent most waking …
A couple of weeks ago, an article on Mookychick highlighted an issue of hacked photos on adult websites. It’s a practice that’s going on for a little while, but it’s starting to trend, and it’s misogynist and tantamount to abuse.
Essentially, a crop of websites are hacking into photos uploaded to social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Tumblr – websites that most of us use, and many of us upload photos to.
Pictures of women and teenage girls are being hacked into and published entirely without the girls’ knowledge or consent – on adult websites. It appears to be a legal practice, as it largely keeps within the privacy terms and conditions of social network sites.
For teenage girls and women, it’s a nasty catch 22. No …
I’m always bitching about how few really positive female role models are out there for young girls. Considering the celebrities we have worshiped / continue to worship - Snooki, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton – it doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to wonder why so many girls are more concerned with partying than studying and why their number one life goal is to date a rock star rather than become the first female president.
But that is exactly why it’s so important to focus on the women who are positive role models – who are doing amazing things in the world and whom young girls everywhere should be looking up to. Enter Sheryl Sandberg.
Sheryl Sandberg has been on my radar for a little while. She gave this year’s …
That was my Facebook status recently, and it led to a whole debate. People were saying that I should be in the kitchen, making food (should’ve expected that one) and I responded by telling them that a woman’s place is not in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. I mean, I’m a med student for Pete’s sake!
Yes, I want to be a mother and yes, I could use some cooking practice, but that doesn’t mean that’s all I should do. So my housemates and I eat two minute noodles and use those ingenious ready made meals. So what? We don’t have the time or the energy to slave away in front of the stove for hours on end. Hats off to the women who have, …
I’m a feminist and as such I try to make conscious decisions in my daily life that uphold feminist ideals. But then came It Girl. It Girl is a facebook game centered around fashion, partying, and dating. It is one of the few MMO-esque games marketed exclusively to women. The game is simple, create an avatar, buy clothes, go to parties, compete against other users. Yes, you compete against other users in “showdowns” where you can earn money and fame. You level up by shaming other girls with your fashion skills.
This game represents everything that I stand against. It Girl emphasizes style over substance. It Girl tells you that you can improve your reputation through the newest clothes or hottest boyfriends. Worst of all it pits you against other …
For all the gamers out there who are looking to combine your human rights sensibility with their passions for online games, this one’s for you:
America 2049 is Breakthrough’s new groundbreaking alternate reality game on Facebook that presents a near-future America at a dangerous crossroads. Human rights are in peril; democracy is on the brink of destruction.
You, the player, are an agent of the Council on American Heritage. Tasked with the capture of a presumed terrorist, you are sent into high-risk situations that challenge you to ask: What if? How close have we already come to America 2049? How can we work together—in real life—to build a better future?
America 2049 is the first Facebook game to integrate the social networking platform with many other resources, online and off: multimedia and interactive features, historical artifacts, clues planted across the Internet and real-life events at leading cultural institutions nationwide.
America 2049 was conceived and produced by Breakthrough (breakthrough.tv), a global human rights organization that uses the power of pop culture to advance equality, dignity, and justice.
