My daughter just graduated from High School last week and will be heading to California Baptist University in a few months. In the shuffle of paperwork flowing through her room, I noticed this paper she wrote about what she wants in a man, a list of characteristics. I loved the list!
I asked her if I could post it. Here’s Alyssa’s list:
The rumor is true, the FCC is considering allowing more sex and nudity on televisions. Their website posted a public notice last month proposing an end to “the prohibition of expletives and certain images of nudity on television.” Then clean shows like CBS’s Two and a Half Men could finally let loose and tell racy jokes… uh… oh wait…
Sure, network TV is already pretty racy, and blurred/pixilated nudity is increasing logarithmically, but if you want to know where this FCC consideration is heading, just watch a single episode of HBO’s Girls or Game of Thrones (Actually… don’t. But read how some parents are responding when they are exposed to the “soft core porn” of these popular new shows).
If your child accesses iTunes today and simply clicks on the music video charts, one of the top 10 videos features topless girls dancing… something anyone can see in the free preview of the video.
Sad, but true. Literally today.
(I know, I know. I can foresee it now. Someone is going to email me and tell me, “Jonathan, why are you telling us this! This will tempt us to click on it!” And to that I say, “In a world where anyone can jump on Google at anytime and type ‘naked girls’ and see just that in a matter of seconds… I’m not telling you anything new.”)
The question I want to raise is, “Have you set some guardrails to help your kids steer away from these kinds of temptations?”
What mark are teen idols like James Franco leaving? Will kids remember him as OZ: The Great and Powerful, or as Saul, one of the pothead leads from the 2008 film Pineapple Express… or maybe as the drug and arms dealer in the new and very R-rated film Spring Breakers, where, among other escapades, he does a threesome with Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson?
Just how great and powerful is the influence of the highly gifted James Franco to young people today?
Friends with benefits, hooking up, no strings attached… it has many names. But now technology is making it even easier, because this app takes all the guessing out of the equation.
If only it could erase the consequences.
If you follow me on Twitter you saw my Tweet about this taboo little social networking phenomenon last week. It’s the ultimate tool for discovering which of your friends are interested in a little meaningless sex Continue reading “Bang with Friends”
The music industry is at it again, pimping easily accessible smut for our kids’ eyes and ears. This time, it’s a new music video from Will I Am… and most parents don’t have a clue.
That’s what scares me the most– how unaware parents are. After the Super Bowl this year, I kept encountering articles written by parents who were “shocked” by Beyonce’s performance.
Really?
Don’t get me wrong. She was overtly sexual, she was inappropriate, and I think it’s sad that our country happily endorses that entertainment. But her performance was in no way “shocking.” If you’ve ever seen Continue reading “Scream & Shout”
One of the most popular apps teenagers are using today is an app that snaps a picture, sends to a friend… and then the picture disappears after just a few seconds.
… or does it?
I’m talking about Snapchat. I blogged about this app last May when it first began growing popular (I encourage you to read that post, because I provide some of the real numbers about “sexting” and how much of a concern this issue really is… or isn’t).
Well, now the app is more mainstream, and most kids know about it and use it. It’s the 16th most popular download in the free iTunes store as I type this. More than 20 millions photos are shared each day. If you hang out with teenagers, you’ve probably heard about it.
1. The pictures are NOT just temporary, because EVERY kids knows how to do a screenshot of incoming pictures. Now the picture that someone intended to be temporary… is saved on someone’s phone. You’ll find a host of articles about this all over the web.
2. Parents need to have conversations about this with their kids. Kids need to be reminded of accountability. In short, Snapchat should be treated like any other picture they take.
Some parents are banning their kids from downloading this app. Will that solve the problem? Or do parents just need to start having more conversations about responsibility and accountability?
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you noticed your kids using Snapchat? Is banning the app from your kids the solution? Why or why not?
What conversations have you had with your kids about this popular app?
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.
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?”
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.
“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 (3rd 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!
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