Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends

Nancy A. Jennings (PhD, University of Texas-Austin) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati. She studies the impact of media on the lives of children and their families and public policies and practices involved with children’s media.

• Contents: Introduction: From Preschool Programming to Tween Media: Girls in Their Media Context – Feminist Reading of Tween Media Character Friends – Listening to Tween Girls Talk About Their Media Friends – Feminist Reading of Preschool Media Character Friends – Tween Girls Remembering Their Preschool Media Friends – Conclusion: Finding Friends on the Screen: Parasocial Relationships, Media Friends, and Tween Girls.

«This is a fascinating examination of the power and influence of preschool programs on their girl audiences. Nancy Jennings brings together a historical examination of the rise of preschool programming and interviews with teens who watched these empowering preschool programs, such as Dora the Explorer. Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a wonderful, well written and nuanced analysis of the long term influence of television for young children.» (Ellen Wartella, Professor of Communication Studies and Psychology, Northwestern University)«Tween Girls and their Mediated Friends is a welcome contribution to studies of friendship and reception in children’s media culture. A must-read book for all those interested in understanding the mediated social lives of youth and the influence of parasocial relationships on identity development.» (Mary Celeste Kearney, Author of Girls Make Media; Editor of Mediated Girlhoods)