Top MNet sites 2008
With a half million visitors in the average month, MNet's Web site is the public face of our organization. As in past years, we've seen some parts of the site increase in traffic while others remain consistently popular.
With a half million visitors in the average month, MNet's Web site is the public face of our organization. As in past years, we've seen some parts of the site increase in traffic while others remain consistently popular.
What colour is an Airbender? If this question is not at the top of your mind, it's because you haven't been following the controversy surrounding the casting of the film The Last Airbender, set to premiere in early July. The question of ethnicity in the film's casting casts a valuable light on many of Hollywood's decisions when it comes to race and gender – and the attitudes and assumptions that underlie them.
If someone living in the 19th century were to travel to our era they would be most amazed by the fact that our children, rather than working in the fields or in factories, spend their days in school. Today we view education as a human right, and at MediaSmarts (formerly known as Media Awareness Network) we believe that digital and media literacy should also be a right in the education of children and youth.
Parents, you may be aware that Media Literacy Week is October 24-28 and Digital Citizen Day is October 26, but we should talk about digital media literacy all year round. We are raising kids who are going to be so much better at using media for (hopefully) good; for their education, careers, community giving and passions. It’s moving quickly and we are trying to keep up.
‘Tis the season for festive viewing. At least in our home it is as we plan to celebrate Christmas and that means a lot of holiday movies and shows to watch! Yes, even as the kids have gotten older, this is one tradition that no one outgrows, at least in our home.
Kids today are using screens more, earlier, and on a wider variety of devices than ever before, and more and more parents are seeking help in taking control of their children’s screen time.
When my kids saw the TikTok app icon on my phone, both of them had the same reaction: “WHAT? Why are you on TikTok?” While I thought it was because they wanted to tell me I was too old for the app, it was more that they really didn’t understand the appeal since they aren’t current users (for now).
Recently, my youngest got a new phone that has data and the ability to text anyone. We’ve been texting with my eldest for some time now too. But after years of communicating this way, it finally happened: We, the parents, were invited into a family group chat.
Not many words have had a rise as meteoric as the term “algorithm.” Once only familiar to mathematicians or computer scientists, today algorithms are the subject of warnings from scholars and activists, protested by students whose future lives and careers are increasingly determined by algorithmic decision-making, personified and catered to by would-be YouTube stars, and seen as the almost magical element that is vital to the success of newer platforms such as TikTok.
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more clear than ever that dealing with the misinformation surrounding COVID-19 requires us to come at it from every possible angle. We have needed trusted voices to provide strong, clear and sharable counter-messaging on social media.