Age Compression, Again and Again: Promoting Tween Sexuality
The N is a television channel that shares space with a respected channel for preschoolers, Noggin.
Noggin is the 1st commercial-free network for preschoolers dedicated to helping 2-5 year olds learn and grow to meet the challenges of their world. Airing seven days a week from 6am-6pm, Noggin is like preschool, on TV! The N is nighttime on Noggin,
Wouldn't you jump to the conclusion that The N is as safe as Noggin? I would. I wouldn't think twice about allowing my tween to watch it.
dedicated to helping tweens (9-14) figure out their lives. It is the place where tweens tune in to shows tuned in to them, with exclusive and award-winning shows like A WALK IN YOUR SHOES, DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION, RADIO FREE ROSCOE, and DARIA. The N can be seen every day from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET and online 24/7 at the-n.com. Real. Life.
I'd be wrong. A Walk in Your Shoes has been well received for the most part, but did air a segment on teen pregnancy ("sex isn't a big deal"), juvenile detention center, and the life of a teen who is HIV+. The original DeGrassi shows were probably appropriate for tweens, but DeGrassi: The Next Generation is not.
The show has dealt with many issues familiar to teenagers, such as body image, drug dealing, drug use and abuse, drinking, grades, college, stress, suicide, menstruation, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, dating, teen pregnancy and childbirth, prematurity, abortion, adoption, sexuality, hate crimes, puberty, cutting, death, rumors, domestic violence, infidelity, cancer, eating disorders (bulimia), school shootings, theft, mental illness, gambling, penis size, masturbation, STDs, terrorism, race relations, nocturnal emissions, pornography, plastic surgery, visible erections, sex, oral sex, same-sex marriage and religion.
Instant Star's premise is that the lead character,
Jude has to learn quick what it means to be famous and figure out what it takes to be a star—without losing her music, her friends, or herself.
Radio Free Roscoe seems all right, but without
Summerland also seems not-too-- edgy (also see wikipedia)
The N encourages viewers to play games and take quizzes on their website.
The game that is arousing bloggers' ire is called "The Hookup", aimed clearly at girls.
From the instructions:
How do you like being the new girl? You just got dropped into a town full of intrigue and romance and you'll need to play your cards right if you just want to survive, much less whip your rivals into shape and land yourself a man.
The ire started at Mom101, went to Jenn Satterwhite at Blogher, travelled on to SoCal Mom, and I read it at DrumsNWhistles.
MTV is run by Judy McGrath, who has a tweener daughter. Is this really what she wants her daughter's life to be? Freston has children from his first marriage. I wonder if this is the life he envisioned for them?
Send Viacom and MTV (Noggin’s parents) an email, letter, whatever, protesting their exploitation of preteen girls. Here are the addresses:
Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO
MTV Networks
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 258-8000
Tom Freston, Chairman and COO
Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 258-6000
The Hook Up was created by The N and THUP
THUP
477 11th Street, Ste. 3
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Telephone:
917.513.2642
THUP make games because we can.
The number of game players has ballooned alongside an explosion in the number of ways to quickly create and deliver exciting game content. THUP's secret plan is to combine our experience as game players, game designers, and interactive professionals to inject fresh ideas into a world full of more ways to play games and more people playing them than ever.
If you'd like to send an e-message to THUP, click here.
More from "The Hookup" game:
Intense Conversations are how conflicts are resolved in The Hook-Up.
Congratulations! You've won your first Intense conversaton, and left your opponent in a writing, hysterical heap. Feels good, doesn't it? There's many more where that came from. Just make sure you've dug up all the dirt you can on everyone in town; you never know wehn you'll need to use it against them. The Hook-Up isn't just about destroying people--it's also about love, sweet love! You can find it here,but it won't be easy-- you'll need to fight for it. But you're the kind of girl who doesn't let any thing or anyone get between you and the object of your desire, right? I hope so, for your sake. Welcome, then, to the Hook-Up ;)
The Hook Up was created by The N and THUP
A Website, a TV Channel, and a Promise.
The-N.com is a site for you. It’s a place you can come to let your opinion loose, play games, make stuff, and hang out. It’s also the spot to find out more about the shows on The N, and about the stuff that happens in those shows. The-N.com is your community and it feeds The N on TV. So speak up, freely and often.
The N on TV is different than any other network. Because all of the shows on The N are about the way life really is and the stuff that really matters. We put your opinions and thoughts from the website on TV, and we try to make TV that really matters to you.
The N is REAL.
Real doesn’t mean just 'reality' programs, documentaries, or the news. It means the shows on the N are about your real life and the things you’re dealing with every day.
The Promise
It's you
The N is not just for you, it is you. It’s with you, from you, and about you. So it only works if you are a part of it.
It's real
The N isn’t about the Hollywood or make-believe version of your life. It’s about your life the way it really happens.
It's worth it
The N is built out of stuff you can really use in your life. And not 'someday.' It's valuable now.
The N: It’s real, it’s about your life, and it’s relevant right now.
Real. Life. Now.
This is what the firm, THUP, has to say about "The Hookup"
The Hook Up
THUP's goal was to create a game that captured the excitement and conflict of a new relationship.
We knew that there was a risk of a dating game becoming little more than a Choose-Your-Own adventure novel, a game centered strictly around branching dialog trees. The centerpiece of our game design neatly avoided this problem -- we abstracted the most dramatic moments into an easily accessible card combat game. As players explore the world of The Hook Up, they gather secrets, rumors, and facts about the characters in town. When a conflict arises -- the player fighting to keep their boyfriend, trying to learn a secret, trying to sabotage a rival -- they use the information they have gathered as 'cards'. The more devastating the secret, the more powerful the card.
Time passes in a realistic way in The Hook Up: non-player characters follow their own schedules, moving around throughout the day. The player can make a date with a boy, and then will have to deal with the consequences if they don't show up in time.
The Hook Up was a huge success when it launched on Valentine's day weekend, creating the largest traffic spike in the history of the site.
This is more of the "age compression" effect-- pushing adult behavior down further to the point our children aren't ready.
Microscopic Mountain reviewed it.
See Age Compression.
See A Call for Parental Firmness
See Entitlement Culture and Unspeakable Rudeness
See Consumerism and Parenting
See Humility and Privilege
See Creating Entitled Children
See Dressing Your Six Year Old Like A Slut
(previous posts on children with entitlement issues,
Feministe's KEIs: a book on entitled kids,
I'm not a lousy parent, you are a too-needy kid;
the enduring lure of Gunny Therapy and why it doesn't work;
pushing kids into adult behavior in the pre-teen years;
What I've Written on OverIndulgent/Progressive Parents
Pandering to Children I
Pandering To Children II
Typology of Annoying Mommies (Laughing so's I don't KILL you)
Summary: How to Raise a Thug
British Thug In Training
Anti-Brat Prescription
Gotta Be Cool Mothering
Competitive Parenting
The Epidemic
Loss of Latency: Premature Adolescence
WellMeaning: How We Mess Up Our Kids
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WOW thanks for running with this and doing so much research. Hope it leads to something possitive and productive.
Posted by: Mom101 | Thursday, May 11, 2006 at 01:02 PM