I wanted to thank Chet and Karell again for keeping Ypulse going during my "hiatus." And I have a confession to make: This week, for five mornings in a row, I slept in. At first I blamed it on the rain and then I realized waking up at 5:30 a.m. for the past two years took an insane amount of drive because I'm really not a morning person. Beginning on Monday, I will get up early again (6:30), and attempt to write something for the book every day.

What I also realized is the role Ypulse was playing in relation to my job. I have always been the type to get pretty emotionally involved with whatever is happening at work, usually coming home drained or angry or excited -- I would just absorbe it all like a sponge. This week, everything at work began to affect me in that way again...reminding me that updating Ypulse was key in helping me maintain a healthy emotional distance. Hopefully using the time to work on the book next week will bring that back.

I wanted to thank the folks at Elle Girl for helping me with my chapter on cyberbullying. They actually sent me a couple of back issues with related articles. I was shocked to read they will not be publishing in print anymore. Since Elle Girl and Teen Vogue have been widely perceived as success stories in the struggling teen mag genre, I wonder how this decision will affect the rest of the titles. I think it speaks to the reality of how wired teen girls are these days -- if they're at home at all (and not at a structured after school activity), they're online IMing or surfing or doing homework. The days of flopping down on your bed and leafing through a teen magazine may be numbered. We'll have to see how this plays out.

I've been reading "Odd Girl Out" as I've been inching my way through the cyberbullying chapter. I feel like I'm walking through a vat of taffy -- this chapter has been so slow. Maybe because I really didn't know much about bullying in general, so I've been playing catch up on the topic. As I read Rachel's book, I've been feeling pangs of book envy. I'm sure other writers will be able to relate. For me it's more envy of the time and space to write a book like that. To totally immerse yourself in a place and a topic. Since most of my interviews have been over the phone or via email, I'm missing the ability to set scenes in that way. The writing coach I'm working with gently reminds me that it's just not this book. I'm doing my best to inject some colorful memoir at the beginning of each chapter as a similar device, but someday I would love to try that sort of immersive journalistic book -- the kind that takes 2-3 years instead of less than one.

I'm continuing my interviews with parents this weekend and next week. I've been really intrigued by the parents who have just said "no." One father I spoke to railed against the family profiled in the TIME cover story on multi-tasking, and felt as though they had completely abdicated their role as parents by letting the kids become so immersed in techcnology. This is a parent who uses filtering software, has strict limits on computer use (only in the kitchen and only when a parent is around) and who does not allow his tween girl to instant message at all. There is definitely a trend in parents attempting to force their kids "to be kids" by turning off the computer and television and encouraging them to just go outside, or do other types of unplugged activities.

While I applaud the effort to create balance in teens' "totally wired" lives, I wonder about taking a hard line on technology like IMing when there hasn't even been an incident -- more as a preventative measure against what parents are reading about in the media. Can discussion happen around a technology like instant messaging before teens start using it -- and if something does happen, using that as a teaching opportunity as well? I'm not saying there shouldn't be limits put on its use (especially in regards to time to be kids, getting homework done, etc.), but just saying "no" seems extreme to me. More next week...

Posted by anastasia