How should educators respond to the opportunities and challenges posed by social media? Why we need to look beyond educational technology, and develop a critical media education approach.
The problem with teaching internet safety
Facebook is funding another new internet safety programme in UK schools. What are the limitations of such programmes, and why do we need an alternative approach?
Cyberbabble: screens and young people’s mental health
Questioning some of the media hype about ‘mental health’ in recent debates about children, young people and social media.
Introducing ‘Growing Up Modern’
Announcing my new writing project Growing Up Modern: Childhood, Youth and Popular Culture Since 1945.
Screening teaching
How are teachers and teaching represented in the media? Some observations provoked by Mark Readman’s book ‘Teaching and Learning on Screen’, reviewed here.
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The strangulation of Media Studies
With only a couple of specifications awaiting final approval, the government’s reform of the examination system in England and Wales has now almost concluded. So where do the reforms leave Media Studies?
Waking up from the digital dream: media education and media reform
What is the role of media literacy in the age of digital capitalism? How can media education be combined with media reform? A kind of manifesto.
Media and the sharing economy
The so-called ‘sharing economy’ seems to be based on feel-good ideas about reciprocity and trust. Yet for companies like Uber, Airbnb – and for social media companies like Facebook and YouTube – it has become a new business model, which is massively profitable.
Op Ed, Drop Dead!
The rise of the opinion columnist is one side effect of the decline of newspaper sales. But are ‘op-eds’ (opinion columns) really a substitute for genuine journalism? What are the dangers of the new ‘opinion economy’, and can they be avoided?
Should we ban advertising to children?
A proposal currently under consideration by the European Parliament would result in a complete ban on advertising and ‘commercial communications’ targeting children. But what is the logic for such a ban – and what unintended consequences might it have, especially for children’s television?
David Buckingham 