PG Porn

Posted on: 08/4/15 10:23 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Selena Gomez PG PornLast week as I prepped to talk with parents about their kids’ phones, I browsed through the music video charts and noticed some interesting trends, especially from some of the “child actresses” our daughters grew up recently watching on TV—Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. Their two music videos at the top of the charts are what I call PG Porn—extremely sensual visuals, with scantily clad girls writhing in pleasure… but with no official nudity driving the rating up. It’s the kind of video that drives a junior high boy to either click on something more severe… or to take a cold shower.

And what are these videos teaching our daughters? Continue reading “PG Porn”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Self Image, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Filtering Rihanna’s BBHMM

Posted on: 07/9/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

rihanna-BBHMM-videoRihanna released a brand new music video this month that is already causing a stir. The world would describe this scandalous video as shrewd marketing. Others, “art”…

Me?

I call it “selling out.”

Regardless, Rihanna knew that the over-the-top violence, nudity and even racial hatred would ruffle feathers… and garner web traffic!

The explicit video is heading toward 20 million views already.

And music videos like this always stir up a question I hear at literally every one of my parent workshops:

“How can I block this stuff from my kid’s phone?”

That’s why I just wrote a brand new Parenting Help article on TheSource4Parents.com titled “Filtering Rihanna.” This article provides Continue reading “Filtering Rihanna’s BBHMM”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Bringing up the subject

Posted on: 03/3/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Don't Talk About SexIn one of my recent More Than Just the Talk workshops where I encouraged parents to create a comfortable climate of continual conversations about sex, a parent asked…

“Well, what are we supposed to do, bring it up?”

The brand new article I just posted on TheSource4Parents.com answers that question in great detail. The short of it is… we don’t have to bring it up. The world does that for us. When we’re watching TV, it’s hard to avoid sexual references, innuendo, and images. Songs laden with sexual lyrics play on the radio, in the stores, and at the gym. If you let your kids out of the house (which I recommend you do), then they are exposed to Continue reading “Bringing up the subject”

Posted in Music, Parenting, Sexuality, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Teenaged Doubters

Posted on: 02/26/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Teenage-DoubtersWhenever I talk with today’s teenagers, I see them processing what I tell them. It’s almost as if they are weighing it in their minds:

“Does he really know what he is talking about?

Does this make sense?

Would this make my life better…or worse?”

Today’s adults don’t have presumed authority. Kids don’t take us at our word. We’ve raised a generation who grew up watching Nick and the Disney Channel where they’ve learned that parents and teachers are Continue reading “Teenaged Doubters”

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

The Intertwining Power of Music and Television

Posted on: 02/4/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Katy-MissyIn my previous post I highlighted some eye-catching elements that many parents overlooked during last Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast (and no, it had nothing to do with the Illuminati). In this post, I want to turn my attention strictly to the music.

Last Sunday morning Missy Elliott wasn’t on the music charts and certainly wasn’t on young people’s radar. But then Katy Perry invited her to come and perform with her in the most watched halftime show in Super Bowl history.

Now Missy’s experiencing Continue reading “The Intertwining Power of Music and Television”

Posted in Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

I’ll go as a slut

Posted on: 10/29/14 10:25 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

subway-slutty-costumeRemember when Halloween costumes were as simple as a cowboy hat and boots, or a sheet with holes poked in it? Today it’s not that simple. And if you’re a female the pressure is on… the burden to be sexy.

Mean Girls said it years ago, and today’s teens know it to be true. Halloween is the one time a year where girls have an excuse to dress like sluts.

Last night NBC’s brand new show Marry Me jested about this reality when Dennah and Annie discussed what costumes they’d wear this year:

Dennah: I’d love some feedback on my costume. Two years ago I went as a slutty nurse and then last year I was a slutty judge. But this year I’m just going to cut out the middleman and go as a slut.

Continue reading “I’ll go as a slut”

Posted in Jonathan's Rant, Music, Parenting, Self Image, Sexuality, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Parent Reactions

Posted on: 09/30/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

teenagers-phone-adviceI love hearing feedback from parents after they attend one of my Parenting the Smartphone Generation workshops– it’s fun to hear how their kids respond when the parents arrive home with all this new information (knowing that I’m telling their parents to start paying attention to what they are watching, what sites they are browsing, etc.), and I’m always curious to hear how the parents responded to the glimpse I gave them of music, TV, video games and other entertainment media.

A good friend forwarded me the feedback from a church in Amish Pennsylvania where I spoke about three weeks ago. They actually printed the parent feedback right in one of their newsletters to the church.

Here’s the feedback, as printed Continue reading “Parent Reactions”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Music, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Speaking/Training, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Free Online Training

Posted on: 09/4/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 7.40.40 AMI constantly receive emails from people who can’t come to one of my training workshops, but wonder if we provide any free online training.

I’ve always answered, “Yes!” and provided a link to our Free Training Tools page, which includes a myriad of free online video training. But here’s the link to another training… this time… an entire workshop I taught online via “webinar” earlier this year titled, Grappling with the Smartphone Generation.

NOTE: I don’t typically like these kind of “online training webinars”… because they’re a little static and dry Continue reading “Free Online Training”

Posted in Internet, Movies, Music, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Speaking/Training, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Nicki Minaj and Other Top Female Role Models

Posted on: 08/26/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

MTV-VMAs-Nicki-ArianaThis last Sunday night MTV revealed something new about today’s most popular music stars… they are mostly female.

It was an incontestable reality at MTV’s VMAs this year. Ladies swept the awards. In fact they won almost every single award except Best Male Video.

So what are our daughters gleaning from these female role models?

The VMAs
Sadly, the entertainment industry is providing most of the role models for many young people today. And if you glimpse at a show as powerful as the MTV VMAs, a show that last year was cable’s #1 entertainment telecast of 2013 among 12-34 year-olds, you’ll discover who many of these role models are, and you’ll garner a pretty accurate a sampling of their content and fashion choices.
Continue reading “Nicki Minaj and Other Top Female Role Models”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Music, Sexuality, TV |  | Leave A Comment

Dad’s Version of “Rude”

Posted on: 07/22/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Email, RSS Follow

Dad-Rude-ParodyMagic’s song “Rude” has been at the top of the charts for over a month now, currently at the No. 1 spot on Billboard, Spotify and iTunes. And now, a parody of the song is going viral on YouTube.

Magic’s version (the one you hear playing in Target, the Grocery Store and the gas station literally every hour of every day) is a song about a young man asking his girlfriend’s dad for his daughter’s hand in marriage. When he find’s out the answer is “no’, he decided he’s “gonna marry her anyway.”

Here’s a peek at some of the Continue reading “Dad’s Version of “Rude””

Posted in Humor, Music, Parenting, Social Media, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment