Youth Culture Archives - Page 10 of 57 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Miley’s VMA Reprise

Posted on: 08/24/15 7:35 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This coming Sunday night MTV will be exhausting all means necessary to garner one thing: ratings.

MTV has a history of stooping to new lows for ratings for their Video Music Awards show. This year’s new low will be Miley Cyrus hosting the show.

Yes, MTV exploiting Miley is nothing new. But this year they’ve been already pushing the envelope, utilizing Miley’s desperation for attention in their TV ads for the upcoming awards show. Maybe you’ve seen them: the topless ad (with little greenscreen dots covering the essentials), the “giving us the finger” ad, or the cloud of smoke ad… Continue reading “Miley’s VMA Reprise”

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

What You Don’t Know about Teens

Posted on: 08/10/15 9:21 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I always find it interesting to compare articles and studies about today’s youth culture and look for common denominators.

Last week, Ypulse posted a noteworthy article about young people titled 5 Things You Don’t Know about Millennials and Teens. That article not only addressed the fact that 1/3 of the young people they surveyed have sexted and ¼ have had a one night stand, but also tackled subjects interesting to marketers like where young people eat (1/3 go to fast food on any given day), where they shop (the growth of online shopping), and how they communicate on their phones.

Earlier this summer, Download Youth Ministry released a ready-made parent newsletter package with 5 of my new “Parent Tips” articles, including one titled 5 Teen Trends That Aren’t Going Away Anytime Soon. Funny, in that article, I also touched on how young people communicate with each other, noting the Continue reading “What You Don’t Know about Teens”

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PG Porn

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

Last 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

Rihanna 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

How Christians React to the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on: 07/7/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The dust (and pink confetti) is slowly settling since the June 26^th Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states. The question is, how are Christians responding?

Barna released a fascinating glimpse last week revealing that not only Americans, but different denominations land all over the spectrum on this issue. For example, 53% of Catholics favor the Supreme Court’s decision (strongly or somewhat), where only 2% of Barna’s definition of an Evangelical favor the decision. At the same time, most the country seems to agree this decision was inevitable.

Barna breaks it down nicely on this chart Continue reading “How Christians React to the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage”

Posted in Church, Evangelism, Faith, News, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Was he right?

Posted on: 06/23/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s the most effective question provoking discussion with teenagers. Three simple words: Was he right?

Whenever you encounter something debatable or controversial, just ask the question. Don’t lecture. Just ask and be quiet. It gets young people talking and adults listening… something beneficial to any adult/kid relationship.

It’s like this:

You read an article about Bruce Jenner… like this one: The High Cost of “Sexual Freedom” on “Caitlyn” Jenner’s Family, an article sure to stir up a discussion with opinions on both sides. Then ask the question.

Was this author right?

Maybe throw another article in the mix, an article with a slightly different tone. Like this Continue reading “Was he right?”

Posted in Parenting, Youth Culture, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Diversity of Maturity in Middle School

Posted on: 05/26/15 11:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

A few weeks ago I talked with a group of middle school students about sex. As always, it was intriguing to notice the diversity of maturity around the room. I saw a 75 pound 6^th grade boy who looked like he was plucked straight off the elementary school playground, sitting next to an 8^th grade girl who looked like she was ready to leave for college next week.

How do you address a crowd with this kind of diversity in maturity? Continue reading “Diversity of Maturity in Middle School”

Posted in Sexuality, Youth Culture, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Actually Reaching Kids Experiencing Same Sex Attraction

Posted on: 05/4/15 9:46 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“We have a girl in our youth group who has decided she is a lesbian…”

“I want to share what the Bible says about homosexuality, but I’m afraid it’s going to just build walls instead of breaking them down.”

“My son doesn’t want to believe in God if God is against gays.”

The subject of same-sex attraction is probably one of the biggest issues youth ministries and parents are dealing with today. If our kids Continue reading “Actually Reaching Kids Experiencing Same Sex Attraction”

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Canadian Parents Forced to Talk about Sex

Posted on: 03/9/15 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Ontario just updated their sex education curriculum for the first time in 17 years, and parents across the country are a little upset with some of the content. Students will learn about masturbation, oral sex, anal sex (hold on to your hats… I’ll be writing about this taboo subject in our next Parenting Help article), and gender identity theory. In fact, students will be learning six gender identities instead of just two.

Last week I flew to Toronto for a timely interview about my new book More Than Just the Talk on the Canadian TV show 100 Huntley Street (airing late March). This new book asserts “parents need to create a comfortable climate of continual conversations about sex” … a sore subject for Canadian parents right now Continue reading “Canadian Parents Forced to Talk about Sex”

Posted in Books, News, Parenting, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment