Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends

135 Pages·2014·12.958 MB·English

by  Nancy A. Jennings

21
Although parents and teachers are among the numerous socializing agents
through which children learn about the world, media, too, has begun to take
center stage as a substantial force in children’s lives. Media characters are some t
w
of the people being integrated into the social lives of children, yet very little is
e
known about the implications of these relationships on child development in
e
a mediated society. n
Through in-depth interviews, this book explores how tween girls relate to
g
media characters past and present, what they value in these relationships, and
i
r
how these relationships have shaped their own identity and friendships.
l
The characters themselves are also analyzed from a feminist perspective, re- s

vealing the shared values of community, agency, and self-determination of the a
n
media characters and the girls who call them friends.
d
Through examining the characters and the text in which their stories take
t
place, the book sheds light on what is important to tween girls, about the traits h
e
they value in others, and the traits they value in themselves.
i
r

“This is a fascinating examination of the power and influence of preschool pro- m
grams on their girl audiences. Nancy Jennings brings together a historical ex-
e
amination of the rise of preschool programming and interviews with teens who d
watched these empowering preschool programs, such as Dora the Explorer. i
a
Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a wonderful, well written and
t
nuanced analysis of the long term influence of television for young children.” e
d
—Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology,

Northwestern University f
r
i
“Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a welcome contribution to studies e
n
of friendship and reception in children’s media culture. A must-read book for
d
all those interested in understanding the mediated social lives of youth and the
s
influence of parasocial relationships on identity development.”

—Mary Celeste Kearney, Author of Girls Make Media;

Editor of Mediated Girlhoods

j
e
Nancy A. Jennings (Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin) is an associate professor n
in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati. She stud- n
i
ies the impact of media on the lives of children and their families and public n
policies and practices involved with children’s media. g
s
www.peterlang.com
P
E
T
E
r
L
A
N
g
21
Although parents and teachers are among the numerous socializing agents
through which children learn about the world, media, too, has begun to take
center stage as a substantial force in children’s lives. Media characters are some t
w
of the people being integrated into the social lives of children, yet very little is
e
known about the implications of these relationships on child development in
e
a mediated society. n
Through in-depth interviews, this book explores how tween girls relate to
g
media characters past and present, what they value in these relationships, and
i
r
how these relationships have shaped their own identity and friendships.
l
The characters themselves are also analyzed from a feminist perspective, re- s

vealing the shared values of community, agency, and self-determination of the a
n
media characters and the girls who call them friends.
d
Through examining the characters and the text in which their stories take
t
place, the book sheds light on what is important to tween girls, about the traits h
e
they value in others, and the traits they value in themselves.
i
r

“This is a fascinating examination of the power and influence of preschool pro- m
grams on their girl audiences. Nancy Jennings brings together a historical ex-
e
amination of the rise of preschool programming and interviews with teens who d
watched these empowering preschool programs, such as Dora the Explorer. i
a
Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a wonderful, well written and
t
nuanced analysis of the long term influence of television for young children.” e
d
—Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology,

Northwestern University f
r
i
“Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a welcome contribution to studies e
n
of friendship and reception in children’s media culture. A must-read book for
d
all those interested in understanding the mediated social lives of youth and the
s
influence of parasocial relationships on identity development.”

—Mary Celeste Kearney, Author of Girls Make Media;

Editor of Mediated Girlhoods

j
e
Nancy A. Jennings (Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin) is an associate professor n
in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati. She stud- n
i
ies the impact of media on the lives of children and their families and public n
policies and practices involved with children’s media. g
s
www.peterlang.com
P
E
T
E
r
L
A
N
g
tween girls
AND THEIR
mediated friends
Sharon R. Mazzarella
General Editor

Vol. 21

The Mediated Youth series is part of the Peter Lang
Media and Communication list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Washington, D.C./Baltimore  Bern
Frankfurt  Berlin  Brussels  Vienna  Oxford
NANCY A. JENNINGS

tween girls

AND THEIR
mediated friends

PETER LANG
New York  Washington, D.C./Baltimore  Bern
Frankfurt  Berlin  Brussels  Vienna  Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jennings, Nancy A.
Tween girls and their mediated friends / Nancy A. Jennings.
pages cm. — (Mediated youth; vol. 21)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Mass media and girls. 2. Preteens. 3. Characters and characteristics.
4. Friendship. 5. Female friendship. I. Title.
P94.5.G57J46 302.230835’2—dc23 2014000350
ISBN 978-1-4331-2189-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4331-2188-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1319-2 (e-book)
ISSN 1555-1814

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

The Girl Scout Promise and Law on p. 43 is used
with permission from Girl Scouts of the USA.

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2014 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

Printed in the United States of America
contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Chapter 1. I ntroduction: From Preschool Programming to Tween
Media: Girls in Their Media Context 1
Chapter 2. Feminist Reading of Tween Media Character Friends 19
Chapter 3. Listening to Tween Girls Talk About Their Media Friends 43
Chapter 4. Feminist Reading of Preschool Media Character Friends 61
Chapter 5. Tween Girls Remembering Their Preschool Media Friends 81
Chapter 6. C onclusion: Finding Friends on the Screen:
Parasocial Relationships, Media Friends, and Tween Girls 99
Appendix 105
References 109
Index 117

figures
2.1 G ood Luck Charlie. Bridgit Mendler as Teddy Duncan of
Disney’s Good Luck Charlie. ©Disney Channel.
Courtesy of PhotoFest. 21
2.2 H 2O: Just Add Water. Phoebe Tonkin as Cleo Sertori
(center) of H2O: Just Add Water. H2O: Just Add Water.
©Nickelodeon Network. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 24
2.3 i Carly. Miranda Cosgrove as Carly Shay of Nickelodeon’s
iCarly. ©Nickelodeon. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 26
2.4 V ictorious. Victoria Justice as Tori Vega of Nickelodeon’s
Victorious. ©Nickelodeon. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 28
2.5 H arry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Emma Watson as
Hermione Granger of the Harry Potter series. Warner Bros.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Photographer:
Murray Close. ©Warner Bros. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 31
4.1 D ora the Explorer. Dora. Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer.
©Nickelodeon Network. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 63
4.2 G o, Diego, Go! Diego. Nickelodeon’s Go, Diego, Go!
©Nickelodeon Network. Courtesy of PhotoFest. 65