GO GIRLS!™
The GO GIRLS!™ of Red Wing, MN’s
Web site reads “Never doubt that
a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world. Indeed,
it is the only thing that ever has.”
It is clear that this group of high school-aged
women truly believe in the meaning of
these words, spoken by Margaret Mead.
The Red Wing GO GIRLS!™ is a group
of young women committed to being vocal
consumers who speak out against the lack
of body-shape diversity in the media,
entertainment, and fashion industries.
They are concerned about the impact that
media have on themselves and their peers
and are driven to do something about it.
I was lucky enough to be invited by the
GO GIRLS!™ to speak with school groups
and community members in the Red Wing
area about how the new discoveries in
adolescent brain science help us understand
why media are such a powerful influence
in the lives of young people.
Voices from the media generation
When one of the GO GIRLS!™ facilitators
asked if I would be willing to stand up
in front of hundreds of high school students
and talk about media’s impact on
their brains, I knew that it would not
be an easy task. Informing young people
that their brains are essentially “under
construction” and thus, that media
can have a profound impact on their decisions
about drugs, sex, and relationships is
not a walk in the park. However, the GO
GIRLS!™ believed that teens could
benefit from learning about what’s
going on in their brains as much as their
parents could. Having talked with dozens
of small groups of youth about media and
the teenage brain I agreed wholeheartedly.
And I was inspired by their willingness
to take a leadership role in bringing
new information about media to the generation
that uses it the most. Before every presentation,
a member of the GO GIRLS!™ stood
up in front of their peers to explain
why they thought this information was
important. I couldn’t have asked
for a more powerful introduction.
Just the beginning
After five school assemblies and one community
presentation over two days, the GO GIRLS!™
and I were exhausted and had learned a
lot. Every student audience was different,
some full of giggles or scoffs, others
engaged with questions, and still others
pretending not to listen. It was the mixed
bag we expected. The smaller groups were
the most effective—inspiring engaged
conversation, questions, and a lot of
knowing nods as they learned, as one young
woman pointed out, the brain basis of
teen drama! A principal informed me that
she was hearing the words “prefrontal
cortex” and “the neurons that
fire
together wire together” for days
afterwards in the hall. After sharing
our reflections, the GO GIRLS!™ and
I started brainstorming for my next visit—including
working together with a small group of
MediaWise youth advocates who could bring
the message to their peers in an engaging
and interactive way. Another idea we came
up with was to use a multi-media presentation
to engage the media generation. I left
inspired by the work they do on a daily
basis in their classes, friendships, families
and community to tell a positive, alternative
story to the one they see on TV every
day.
That’s the news from the road,
Erin Walsh, Institute Speaker
National Institute on Media and the Family
