Entertainment Media Archives - Page 16 of 50 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Consuming Music… and Cheesecake

Posted on: 01/14/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

David and I finished our annual recap of the songs that went #1 in the past year, just posting Part II of the article on this week’s Youth Culture Window page (if you don’t receive that free Youth Culture Window in your inbox, CLICK HERE).

Thirteen songs made it to the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this year, giving teenagers plenty to resonate with…both good and bad. That two-part article provides you with an overview of each of those songs.

Every once in a while someone will ask me, “Why do you care so much about the music teenagers listen to?”

I guess that would be like someone asking me, “Why do you care about what your kids eat?”

Consider the love for cheesecake. If you sauntered into the Cheesecake Factory on a random Friday night and discovered their Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake to be delicious, you might not be aware that you just consumed over 1000 calories, 44 grams of fat, and 91g of carbs in one piece.

I mean… who cares. It just tastes delicious!

Perhaps you begin eating a piece after every meal.

If someone warns you, “Hey, you’re gonna grow three chins if you keep eating all that cheesecake!” you might be tempted to reply, “I just don’t worry about all that stuff. After all, how do we really know that excess calories and carbs are bad for you anyway!”

Ignorance is no excuse.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying all music is bad. Quite the contrary (all food isn’t bad either). But, perhaps we should be aware of what our kids are consuming.

That’s why I spend a little bit of time in each of my parent workshops giving parents a tour of pop culture, and then sharing various research (like this and this) revealing that the lyrics do affect young people, something to ponder when they average about two and a half hours a day listening to said lyrics.

Interested yet?

Check out the top music of 2012.

Posted in Entertainment Media, Food, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

What iTunes Reveals about Teenagers

Posted on: 12/5/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:21

If you want a glimpse into the window of youth culture, just take a peek at the music they’re buying. Lucky for us, you have access to an ongoing meter revealing the top-selling songs at any given moment. I’m referring to iTunes, the online music, TV and movie store that comes on all these online devices at the top of our kids’ Christmas lists.

This weekend I’m traveling to Kentucky to teach my last parenting workshop of the year. At these workshops, I always provide a quick tour of today’s music, TV and other media. This “tour” always includes a peek into iTunes. So today I popped onto iTunes to familiarize myself with what people are listening to this week (With the YS National Youth Workers Convention and Thanksgiving, it’s actually been a month since I’ve taught a parent workshop). It’s amazing how much you can learn about current pop culture in just a glimpse.

Let’s take a quick peek!

5 Observations about Our Culture from Today’s iTunes

1. TV is Still Huge!
Yes, when you open iTunes, the focus is music. Note the top singles listed on the right hand side of iTunes main page. But on any fall Tuesday morning, a quick peek at those top singles will reveal the power of television. This Tuesday morning, 5 of the top 10 singles were performances from last night’s episode of NBC’s hit TV show, The Voice.

A quick peek at TV ratings will reveal The Voice already is one of the top 5 shows watched by America in any given week (it usually lands at No. 3, right under The Walking Dead and football, and always lands among the top 10 shows watched by 12-17 year-olds). But The Voice isn’t limited to a one-screen experience. Following the steps of American Idol, The Voice sells its performances on iTunes immediately after the show Continue reading “What iTunes Reveals about Teenagers”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Me Want Social Media

Posted on: 12/3/12 1:26 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Nielsen Research released their brand new Social Media Report today with the latest data about exactly how much time people are spending on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter… and which sites they prefer.

Consumers are spending 20 percent of their personal computer time on social networks, and 30 percent of their total time online on social networks via their mobile devices. I believe it. My daughter Ashley seems to live on Facebook, and my daughter Alyssa can’t get enough of Pinterest!

Yes, Facebook still reigns as the most popular social network site, with Twitter gaining popularity, and Pinterest exploding in growth (a year-over-year increase of 1,047%, compared to Facebooks 4% decrease).

Mobile access of social media is increasing the most rapidly, with a growing number of Continue reading “Me Want Social Media”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, TV, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Does My Daughter Dress Slutty?

Posted on: 11/29/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Most parents of teenage girls all have one struggle in common: the consistent battle over wardrobe!

Two weekends ago I met with a handful of youth workers, and one of them was a mom of two teenage daughters. I, a dad of two teenage daughters, was immediately engaged when she mentioned how difficult it was monitoring her daughter’s wardrobe.

She divulged, “We finally decided, no Yoga pants out of the house.”

I laughed. “I just had the yoga pants battle last week with my daughters. We established, only if they were wearing a sweater that completely covered the butt. But then when they were trying on sweaters, the argument was Continue reading “Does My Daughter Dress Slutty?”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Jonathan's Rant, Parenting, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Americans Multi-Tasking Watching TV

Posted on: 11/20/12 7:52 AM | by Jonathan McKee

According to Nielsen’s newest 2012 Cross Platform Report, Americans average 34 hours a week in front of the TV. The intriguing part of this is the way they’re watching TV… with a tablet or Smartphone in hand.

Now that 58% of 12-17-year-olds and 74% of young adults have smartphones in their pockets, I guess it would be silly of us to think that they aren’t going to whip those baby’s out while sitting in front of the TV. Television shows are banking on this. That’s why Continue reading “Americans Multi-Tasking Watching TV”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, TV, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Happy Autotuned Thanksgiving

Posted on: 11/13/12 1:32 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m not really sure how to react to Nicole Westbrook’s YouTube sensation, It’s Thanksgiving. If it were a parody… it would be hilarious. But this video is as earnest as Rebecca Black’s It’s Friday, over-autotuned just the same, and perhaps even more awkward.

The It’s Thanksgiving music video (produced by the makers of Rebecca Black’s It’s Friday) offers deep insightful lyrics:

Oh oh oh it’s Thanksgiving.
We, we, we are gonna have a good time.
The Turkey, Hey!
Mash Potatoes, Hey!
It’s Thanksgiving
It’s Thanksgiving

Seriously!

Take a peek.

The internet is full of haters who are blasting this video… that is not my intent. I just want to make a few observations about this music video as a youth culture phenomenon.

1. Today’s kids wanna be rockstars… at all cost!
A generation who was raised watching American Idol, The Voice and America’s Got Talent all see the potential for stardom. I respect those who are willing to work towards a goal, but Continue reading “Happy Autotuned Thanksgiving”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

An Excuse to Be Slutty

Posted on: 11/1/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Did you notice it this Halloween and the weeks prior? From the magazine ads and display windows of stores at the mall, to the costume parties across the nation. Halloween has become an excuse for girls to dress slutty.

I think Elizabeth Durand summarized this mindset well in the opening line of her article, Slutty Halloween Costumes for Nice Girls. She said:

“Every hot-blooded American girl knows Halloween is really just an excuse to dress like a tramp without being judged. Duh.”

Today’s sit coms seem to echo this mindset. In the hit show Big Bang Theory (3^rd most popular show last week), Penny wore a particularly trampy police-girl outfit. Her friend asks her, “Slutty cop?” Penny replied, “No, this is sexy copy. Slutty cop only came with a skirt and two badges.”

In the brand new show Ben and Kate, Kate’s friend BJ discusses hooking up with a guy during Halloween, assuring Kate that this holiday is the one time a year it’s okay to dress like a whore.

It’s sexualization at it’s finest, and sadly, teenager girls are gobbling it up.

If you don’t believe me, just jump on Party City’s most popular costume section on their website, something I’ve blogged about in years past. Look at some of these popular teen costumes this year:

Seriously? “Snow Bunny”? She’ll freeze!

“Unicorn”? It’s just a slutty teenager with a horn on her head!

“Sassy Sailor”? Really? Sigh…

Girls are learning young Continue reading “An Excuse to Be Slutty”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Jonathan's Rant, Parenting, Sexuality, TV, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Can I Smash My Daughter’s Cell Phone- PART II

Posted on: 10/31/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

We’ve set guardrails, including some really well thought out cell phone boundaries that should be no problem for our kids to follow. But for some reason they keep pushing the limits.

That’s what ‘Dave’ explained to me, asking me for advice about what to do with his daughter. (See yesterday’s post, PART I)

Dave’s not alone. Young people today love their cell phones; but as handy as these digital Swiss-army-knives are… they can also be vehicles of distraction in our kids’ lives.

So how should we respond when our kids break our rules and veer from the guardrails we’ve set?

Dave’s daughter seems to be Continue reading “Can I Smash My Daughter’s Cell Phone- PART II”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting | | Leave A Comment

Can I Smash My Daughter’s Cell Phone? PART I

Posted on: 10/29/12 4:22 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Teenage cell phone use… er… misuse is the hot subject on parents’ minds. Teenagers are pushing the limits, and parents are questioning how to respond. My parent workshop last night was no exception.

After teaching my workshops, I always enjoy the chance to mingle with parents and listen to their struggles. Last night parent after parent approached me sharing a common plight:

“I’m having fits with my teenager and his/her cell phone!”

I assured each one of them Continue reading “Can I Smash My Daughter’s Cell Phone? PART I”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Parenting | | Leave A Comment

Actually Setting Guardrails

Posted on: 10/25/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“Do you allow your teenagers to download anything they want? Do you check their text messages? Do they have a bedtime?”

This week I’ve been writing about the process of setting guardrails, and today is the day I post some of the guardrails I use in my home. If you’ve been reading this series of posts, you know this process doesn’t start with arbitrarily implementing rules that seem to make sense at the time. Guardrails are only as good as the road.

The process for setting guardrails looks like this:

Embark on the road of Biblical truth (I talked about this in my first post in the series).
Plot your trip, knowing where you’ll be, by when (yesterday’s post).
And finally… set guardrails that keep you from veering off course (we’ll talk about that in today’s post).

Now that we’ve embarked on the road of Biblical truth, and made a plan for our journey, which in my house, is a plan that includes no rules by age 17½ … now it’s time to set some healthy guardrails.

Here’s some thoughts to consider when setting guardrails Continue reading “Actually Setting Guardrails”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Music, Parenting | | Leave A Comment