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matt59862
Jan 156 min read
Tik-Tok bans, Social Media ads, and undoing the damage
How the upcoming TikTok ban misses the point, what kids and teens need to undo the harms caused by exploitative apps, and why a device...
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matt59862
Dec 20, 202411 min read
How to make friends (hint - do fun stuff, for like, a while).
In May of 2023, the US Surgeon General called attention to the most serious public health threat of our time. Something he equated with...
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matt59862
Dec 5, 20244 min read
The Word of the Year is....Brain Rot. Of course it is.
There is a new digital divide, and it's very different to the old one. So...brain rot is Oxfords word of the year huh? Considered the...
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matt59862
Nov 26, 20247 min read
MTC & The New Digital Divide
By now (Fall, 2024) the mental health and other challenges faced by young people are mainstream topics of conversation. I am sure there...
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Matt Pines
Oct 25, 20246 min read
Spending, teens, and technology
Apologies up front. This blog post is not going to be about what you might think from that title. It is about all three of those things,...
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matt59862
Aug 14, 20243 min read
MTC 2025 - a change 4 decades in the making
Sitting at a very quiet MTC, 2 days post-staff departure, still picking up the mountains of lost and found from summer 2024, it is a...
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matt59862
May 23, 20242 min read
Protecting important habitat (aka, summer camp as a place for teens).
Heading into the summer, I’ve been thinking (and talking) a lot about how summer camp fits into the wider culture in 2024. Camps have...
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matt59862
May 13, 20243 min read
The importance of looking up - awe, wonder, and the modern teen
Last Friday, we in Maine, and many, many others around the world were treated to a spectacular, and rare, night sky event. The Aurora...
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matt59862
Apr 30, 20242 min read
A space for an otherwise lost childhood
There was an essay on the After Babel substack last week titled "A time we never knew" about Gen Z nostalgia for a childhood they never...
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matt59862
Apr 10, 20243 min read
The Anxious Generation - camp as an antidote.
Jon Haidt's new book "The Anxious Generation", was published last month. It's arrival has generated intense interest, stoked some...
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matt59862
Apr 10, 20242 min read
Oooh, that's new, and other fun stuff for 2024
There is a lot happening at 481 Brownfield Rd this off-season, in preparation for summer 2024. We're very pleased with the amount of...
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Matt Pines
Nov 27, 20234 min read
Not Just Another Pretty Space - "A space apart from their parents, to learn to be with their peers"
The roots of organized camping run deep in the rocky soils of Maine. For over 125 years now, young people have packed trunks and bags,...
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Matt Pines
Nov 15, 20233 min read
Not Just Another Pretty Space...(naive melody)
One recent afternoon - cinematically lit, suitably chilly, fine and clear autumn perfection - I was working outdoors at camp and letting...
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Matt Pines
Apr 24, 20234 min read
Authentic Self - Your Story
A Culture of Safety Earlier this year, the American Camp Association Magazine “Camping” ran an excellent article by well-known...
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Matt Pines
May 20, 20224 min read
Campers For A Better World
Camp – it’s not about politics It would not be a particularly good idea to write a post about politics for a summer camp blog, especially...
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Matt Pines
Apr 29, 20228 min read
Nature – The Importance of The Natural World On Human Well-Being
Nature – the importance of the natural world on human well-being has been seriously undermined. Camp gives kids and an opportunity to...
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Matt Pines
Dec 1, 202138 min read
Why Camp? The 5 main reasons why camp matters.
Ch. 1: How Does Community Fit in to Teen Development? The role of the Individual within the community is a key part of self-expression,...
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