Caring and Careless

Posted on: 09/10/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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“What’s the big deal?” “It’s no biggie!” “Who Cares!”

Sound like something out of your teenager’s mouth? Then you’re not alone. If I had to describe today’s generation of young people in one sentence, I’d probably say something like this: “They care…but they don’t care.”

I gave my Twitter followers a morsel of this while I was working on my youth culture presentation for my parent workshop yesterday. I described today’s teenagers as caring, but careless. They are sensitive to causes, but desensitized to the lure of risky behaviors in their lives.

I Care
Today’s young people seem to want to make an impact more than any generation prior. I don’t mean any disrespect to past generations; it’s just that young people today are Continue reading “Caring and Careless”

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The “Right” Kind of Porn

Posted on: 08/27/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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People have described me as “edgy” at times when I speak, because I’m not afraid to talk about the uncensored truth. I’ve even offended a handful of ultra-conservative individuals when I shared my talk, “Sex Isn’t Naughty,” using scriptures like Proverbs 5:18-20 to teach the unedited truth about God’s design for sex.

But when I read articles like last week’s piece about Internet Porn and Body Image in the Huffington Post… my “edginess” might be put into perspective. Especially when psychologist and author Vivian Diller, Ph.D. proposes a “right” versus “wrong kind” of porn.

I encourage you to read the whole article, so we don’t take her words out of context. It’s a thought-provoking article suggesting that pornography today has distorted sex to become Continue reading “The “Right” Kind of Porn”

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Jeff Foxworthy, The Bible and Primetime

Posted on: 08/23/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Normally I wouldn’t think that the words Jeff Foxworthy, the Bible and Primetime would be used in the same sentence… but tonight, they will be.

Many of you have been hearing the buzz about the Game Show Network’s newest game show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It’s called The American Bible Challenge and it is set to premiere tonight, August 23, 8PM on the Game Show Network.

Our TheSource4YM.com movie guru Todd and I were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the premiere episode and think many of you will want to give it a peek for yourselves on cable tonight.

Todd sat down with his family to watch the sneak peak this week and shared his thoughts Continue reading “Jeff Foxworthy, The Bible and Primetime”

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Deciding If Hunger Games Is Appropriate

Posted on: 08/20/12 5:00 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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Are parents preparing their kids to make good media decisions… or just over-protecting them?

Last weekend I sat with a young couple who were trying to decide whether the box office smash Hunger Games, now on blu-ray and DVD, is appropriate for their middle school daughter.

The wife concluded, “The two of us are going to watch it first, then we’ll determine if it’s appropriate for her.”

I applaud their methodology. If you think that a movie is questionable, then screen it first. ask yourself the four questions I asked in my post, After Seeing Hunger Games: Continue reading “Deciding If Hunger Games Is Appropriate”

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A Peek at Today’s Music

Posted on: 08/18/12 10:17 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Have you looked at the music charts lately? Allow me to give you a quick glimpse.

This weekend I’m flying to Albuquerque, NM to teach my Parenting the Texting Generation workshop. During the beginning of those workshops I always give parents a peek into the world of youth culture. Headlines often use scare tactics and talk about the minority of teenagers, so I focus on what the majority of kids are actually doing, which risky behaviors are prevalent, and what media sources have the biggest impact on young people. Then I spend the rest of the workshop helping parents not overreact, but instead “interact” with their kids and build lasting values.

Since most of you don’t live in New Mexico and can’t attend this workshop, let me give you a quick tour of what’s happening on the music charts at the moment. (Some of you have seen the YouTube video from early 2012, my little “tour of today’s iTunes”. This fun little segment of the workshop changes every time… simply because the charts are always changing.)

A Glimpse at the Most Popular Songs Today

Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?
Yeah, that is the chorus to Flo Rida’s hit song Whistle, and it just hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s been #1 on iTunes for a while now, but recently Continue reading “A Peek at Today’s Music”

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Lust or Love?

Posted on: 07/30/12 5:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Love and lust are both frequented topics in today’s top music. The question most of us wonder is, “Do our kids know the difference?”

My good friend David R. Smith just posted an excellent Youth Culture Window article on the topic of love and lust in today’s top music. David dives into the lyrics of the top songs this week, reporting that 4 out of the top 10 fall in the “lust” category, and providing us with some helpful questions to ask teenagers about each of these songs.

But articles like this beg the question: are we just throwing stones here? At what point do we as parents and youth workers come across as whiney old people sitting on the porch ranting, “When I was your age…”

I guess that really depends how we discuss the subject matter with young people. Should we simply label these songs “bad”? Some of these songs are a mixed bag of nuts. For example, Continue reading “Lust or Love?”

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A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 2

Posted on: 07/27/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Earlier this week I posted DAY 1 of our “Gamer’s” perspective about Nielsen’s recently released list of the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Games.” Nielsen projected which console video game titles have the greatest consumer anticipation for 2012. Halo 4 topped their list for Xbox 360 gamers, with Call of Duty: Black Ops II right on the heels.

Seeing that we have a video game reviews page for parents on www.TheSource4Parents.com, I thought it would be good to let a few of my Game-gurus chime in with their two cents about this list. Yesterday we heard “Gamer” James Trevillian’s perspective about Nielsen’s projections, as well as what parents might expect from content.

Today our very passionate game reviewer Thaius Tydane shares his opinion about this list: Continue reading “A “Gamer’s” Look at the “2012 Most Anticipated Video Game” List: DAY 2”

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The Dark Knight Rises- Alec’s Take

Posted on: 07/20/12 4:11 PM | by Jonathan McKee

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The following is a guest post from my 19-year-old son, Alec who has been eagerly awaiting the release of the third film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series. Alec attended a midnight premier here in the Sacramento area and admittedly brings you his “biased” perspective. It was hours after this premier that we found out about the tragedy in Colorado. Our prayers go out to the victims and families of those involved in the Colorado shooting this morning.

Here’s Alec’s two cents on the film:

If you want an unbiased review, Im going to have to ask you to stop reading this, because I am hopelessly loyal to this movie and could speak no evil of it. So excuse the rest of my fanboy rantings that you are about to read if you dare venture further into this review.
-Sincerely,
Alec

The Dark Knight Rises

    So I went to the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises this morning, and again I found myself geeking out at the sight of one of my childhood heroes gallivanting across the silver screen. This was a highly anticipated movie of the year for me, and the hush-hush nature of Chris Nolan’s secrecy while shooting this film only further contributed to the fervency of that anticipation. I think it is also safe for me to say that I was not the only one impatiently clawing at my seat waiting for the film to start, because the loud rabble of the packed theater was silenced in seconds when the lights dimmed and the movie began.

Continue reading “The Dark Knight Rises- Alec’s Take”

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Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?

Posted on: 07/9/12 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Little Wayne wanted girls to lick his lollipop, now Flo Rida wants girls to “blow his whistle.” I’m talking about the new song, Whistle. I was sitting with a parent last week who said that his kids were asking about downloading this popular Flo Rida song. The parent asked me, “Is it clean?”

Well, the song is definitely in the ears of kids today. It is currently #3 on iTunes, and this week it just moved from #58 to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard is always catching up to iTunes). It’s another catchy little diddy from the guy who brought us “Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur…” The rapper Flo Rida is slowly but steadily releasing hits.

Here’s the chorus of Whistle: Continue reading “Can You Blow My Whistle Baby?”

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Since Sex is a Reality in College…

Posted on: 06/28/12 10:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Last month I attended too many graduation parties to count, high school seniors from our church saying goodbye to high school and hello to college. I wonder if their parents know what’s in store for them at Freshman orientation? The video, a YouTube video I tweeted about early this week, below provides an eye-opening glimpse.

I always find the discussion interesting comparing Christian colleges to secular universities. I’ve seen plenty of Christian kids go off to secular schools and live out their faith like “Daniel,” resolving not to get caught up in the culture. But are all our high school grads equipped for what they’ll hear?

Take the subject of sexual activity. The CDC just reported that 63.1% of high school seniors have already had sex by the time they walk across the stage and collect their diploma. In college, the pressure is on. If you aren’t having sex… you’re in the minority. Add drinking into the mix, and sex turns into sexual victimization (don’t believe me, check out this Rutgers study that I blogged about a little while back).

So what’s the world’s answer to this? Well.. check out this video, filmed by a student at a recent freshman orientation at a college. (Oh yeah… this isn’t a secular university)

What’s your reaction to this?

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