Mypopstudio.com

With all the diverse content of the Web available to them at the click of a button, it’s never been more vital for young people to develop a critical eye toward the media that they consume. Celebrity obsession and the beauty ideal, gender stereotyping, and rampant consumerism can affect developing psyches, especially among girls, who are getting cues about their appearance, values, and very identities from popular culture. That’s the reason for My Pop Studio, an interactive site for girls aimed at strengthening critical thinking skills about TV, music, magazines, and online media. Today’s kids are mad for creating content, and the year-old site takes full advantage, tempting middle-school to early high school students with hands-on fun. In the Music Studio, for example, users fashion their own pop star, and along the way, explore the power of music in selling a product. Can one listen to her iPod, IM friends, and effectively do homework at the same time? Users can find out by testing their multitasking abilities in the Digital Studio. Created by a Temple University team led by Renee Hobbs (see opposite), My Pop Studio includes lesson plans for each activity.