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1. A Must Read for Everyone!
   Do not be a dinosaur and think because you don’t use or value social media means it has no power on your child. Do not think this doesn’t affect you if you don’t have a tween or teen. These are the kids that will be in the workforce in twent years or less. If you expect to be alive then, this affects you. Peer pressure has ALWAYS been an issue. I’m an Xer. I remember peer pressure. Social media takes peer pressure and makes it the thing that gives kids their value. Saying NO doesn’t feel empowering to a lot of kids anymore. Feminism has become all twisted into girls feeling forced to be sexy when they should still be children. Remember as a tween how you might notice a boy or read a bookmarked passsage in someone’s mom’s romance novel but then you might be playing with a Strawberry Shortcake doll or battling with a pretend lightsaber the next minute? Sexuality came about gradually and naturally. Not for these kids. They have access to porn at age eleven or twelve. Much of porn online is violent or fetishist which isn’t what you want your child to think is typical sex. I’m not saying porn is bad. I’m saying it has no place in the life of a kid. Especially when they see this stuff daily and unfiltered. They become desensitized. They focus on how they LOOK and how many likes they get. It’s a real mess. Girls in middke school photoshop their pics to look thinner & prettier. Intelligence does not get likes. The kids idolize the Katdashians and the number one life goal is “Be famous.” Remember how it used to be that was a goal for the few kids who wanted to be an actor/actress and fame just was going to mean they were good at the job they loved? These kids are unhappy. They talk about how hard it all is. I began reading this book because of worrisome things I’ve noticed going on in instagram accts etc of teenagers I care about. This book explained what I was seeing, why, and that it’s not an isolated group of kids. They are mostly all affected. Worse, the age that this is happening is younger each year. Everyone needs to read this book. Whether you have kids or not. Boy or girl. Male or female. It’s not just the girls who are affected. The boys are just as affected. If you think this doesn’t concern you, it will when these kids grow up and run the country. We need to have a dialogue in this country about what we value and what our hopes are for this youngest generation. I love technology. I got an iphone one the day it went on sale back in 2007. Loving technology does not mean we don’t need to use our brains and think. Kids are not adults. Period. It doesn’t matter that they are growing up. They are not GROWN. They need to be protected. People need to be parents and not best friends. Please. Please. Read this book. Easily the most important book you’ll read this year. As a nation, we need to talk about this. Kudos to Nancy Jo Sales for such excellent research & exhaustive interviews. We need this book to educate us & start us talking.

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2. The secret lives of “some” teenagers but not all
   In reviewing the book “Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers” by I found myself physically sick while listening to it. Initially this book stunned me with its bold crass language that was so unfiltered and raw. The reality that these words came from young teens was just heartbreaking. I decided to do the audio version of this book and found it very powerful to hear the words of these girls who were a part of the study in this book. The voices in the audio version screamed for our attention as readers to hear the heart of girls who are desperately seeking our help to save them from what they know they need rescuing from.I had decided to look at it from a position defending the opposite side to which this books position takes as a way to see the whole picture. I tend to want to root for the underdog in any competition and this book takes such a bold stance that I found myself wanting to fight for the other side at times when it was rooting against social media. In the end though there is no doubt that this book makes a bold statement about girls and women in society.Girls need advocacy and respect of their feminine role so they can have their childhood be protected and grow into healthy women of purpose with a sense of confidence of who they are. Their childhood is being ripped away and there needs to a way to find protection for these girls. I think this book doesn’t really spell out the answer but is an excellent voice to say “Hey, we have a problem here! Do something!”. I do think however that this book could have made the statements it does without the raw language as a personal preference. I would rather know and listen to the heart of the girls messages rather than the language. I also think the scope of this research could have been more balanced in taking a look at teens of all backgrounds and look at the positive aspects of social media for some girls.

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3. Eye opening reminder
   This book was written in 2016. I graduated high school in 2013. I can attest that I’ve seen, experienced and lived through a lot of the “teenage girl experiences” in our culture. I think it’s only gotten worse with the rise of social media. I am glad I read this to bring back the realities of it as I have two girls growing up in my home.

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4. reminiscent of the Larry Clark film Kids – the look inside the head of boys and girls who are regular users of social media is o
   A must-read for parents of teens and pre-teens. In many ways, reminiscent of the Larry Clark film Kids – the look inside the head of boys and girls who are regular users of social media is often frightening and frequently sad. Sales takes us around the country as she interviews teen girls and boys to hear first hand the impacts of social media on gender politics, sexuality, and self-esteem for the age group. She inserts references to new data suggesting what any parent of a teen girl already knows: social media is increasing anxiety and anxiety-related disorders among teenage girls. The dynamics of dating are forever changed, and arguably broken, as the youngsters dream of romance but find only hook-ups. Compelling and well-written, with some conclusory suggestions and a post-script with talking points to discuss around the dinner table with your children. The content is often sexually explicit, so be prepared if that is not your thing.

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5. Bold Crass Unfiltered Language
   I bought this as a gift for my sister, who has 3 young girls, but after browsing through it, I realized she would never read it due to the crass filthy language the author uses throughout. I wish the author had found another way to get her point across without the use of such foul language throughout. It made it an uncomfortable read, and I can now see why the book was so inexpensive.

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6. This is a great book, I recommend it to everyone who wishes to learn more about social media, sexualisation and teen-agers.

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7. It sometimes feels a bit stretched and monotonous, but then that’s the point of the book to show how social media affects teenagers all over USA in similar ways.Some of the conversations given in the book are really good.

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8. Die Autorin beschreibt in diesem Buch ihre Beobachtungen der Auswirkungen sozialer Medien auf Jugendliche in den USA anhand von ihr mit ihnen geführten Interviews. Die Allgegenwart des Mobilfunktelefons mit seiner Kamera erlaubt eine neuartige Kommunikation, die nur noch auf Fotos und Textnachrichten basiert. Erreichte man früher mit seinem Telefon nur eine Person, so erreicht man damit heute potentiell alle, die bloß einen Internetzugang haben. Die sozialen Medien machen es möglich.Eine Darstellung der Anbieterseite sozialer Medien und mögliche Missbrauchs- oder Manipulationsszenarien aus wirtschaftlichen Interessen wird lediglich von der Autorin tangiert.

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9. I found myself hooked and fascinated with the tales of teenage life. Great insights.

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