Youth Culture Archives - Page 40 of 57 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Does Media Violence Affect Kids? AAP Report Too Late for This Student

Posted on: 10/22/09 6:25 AM | by Jonathan McKee

AAP‘s “Media Violence” report was released Monday, a report that claims that the truth of the effect of media on our kids is falling on deaf ears. Two days later, a CSUS student beats his roommate to death with a baseball bat.

Are you listening?

My city has been in the news quite a bit this year. First, a California State University Sacramento (CSUS) student auctions off her virginity for 3.7 million dollars, then the cheerleading coach at my son’s high school poses for Playboy… both stories making national news. Now yesterday, a CSUS student allegedly beat his roommate to death with a baseball bat, “delivering the fatal blows before he was shot and wounded by campus police.” (Sacramento Bee)

CSUS police shot the 19-year-old student after he charged at them with a knife. His roommate, the beating victim, was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon… the kid who swung the bat is in stable condition, even after being shot by campus police.

Where does this aggression come from?

It’s ironic that this violence happened literally just 2 days after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released their report- a policy statement- on Media Violence, concluding that the associations of media violence and aggressive behavior are, and I quote, “nearly as strong as the association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.” (you can download the whole report as a PDF here)

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing people dismiss these kinds of reports for decades, labeling them pure conjecture. Apparently the AAP feels that resistance to the truth, verbalizing this frustration in their report:

“The weight of scientific evidence has been convincing to pediatricians, with more than 98% of pediatricians in 1 study expressing the personal belief that media violence affects children’s aggression. Yet, the entertainment industry, the American public, politicians, and parents all have been reluctant to accept these findings and to take action. The debate should be over.”

Convinced?

The AAP released two reports early this week. The above mentioned on Media Violence, and another on Music, Lyricis, & Music Videos. Both reports contain the same conclusions. Media affects kids big time, and parents have a huge impact as a moderator of these influences. Next week, our Youth Culture Window article looks at these reports in depth. (Oh, what the heck. You can click here for a sneak peek at that article! It will be on the front page of our site next week.)

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Owl City at #1

Posted on: 10/21/09 10:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“Who the heck is Owl City?”

That’s what I wondered when I saw them in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and at #4 on iTunes early this week. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I opened up iTunes and saw their song “Fireflies” at #1.

Here’s the bizarre part of all of this… Owl City has the reputation of being G-rated. The lyrics are clean, they’ve toured with Relient K… I’m curious if we might have another clean band in the Top 10! Wouldn’t that be cool. (It’s actually pretty sad that I’m getting this excited about something clean making it to the top 10. I guess that reflects on what usually is in the Top 10.)

Apparently Owl City basically consists of Adam Young, a guy who started making music in his parents’ basement. Young’s songs became the buzz on MySpace, reaching play counts in excess of 10 million at the end of 2008. Young/Owl City’s album Ocean Eyes was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, and debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. Somewhere along the way, he produced Relient K’s song “Terminals.”

I don’t know much about Young. Some articles refer to him being “upfront about his strong Baptist faith,” and his lyrics never veering “anywhere near objectionable territory.”

Currently the song is #1 on iTunes (that’s HUGE), knocking three biggies down a notch: The Black Eyed Peas song Meet Me Halfway, Miley’s Party in the USA, and Britney’s trashy little number, 3.

Pardon me for cheering outloud real quick.

Anyone know anything about this guy? I wanna know more!

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Miley in ‘Sex and the City: The Movie’ Sequel

Posted on: 10/19/09 4:11 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m DONE sharing my two cents about Miley- I’ll just report the facts. Last time I defended her, she showed up the next day at the Teen Choice Awards… uh… well… just click here if you don’t know.

And now, Miley seems to have made another “interesting” decision, the decision to cameo in the sequel to Sex in the City: The Movie (The MPAA gave the first movie an ‘R’ rating “for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language”)

Let me back up. Back in 2008 Miley shared with her fans (dare I remind you- girls aged between 6 and 14) that her favorite TV show is HBO’s Sex and the City and she wished that her own Disney kids show could be more like it. (read her exact words here)

Last month, rumors began surfacing that Miley might show up in a cameo in the Sex and the City: The Movie sequel. Now those rumors are confirmed. Miley is going to be in the film as herself, showing up on the red carpet wearing the same dress as Kim Cattrall’s character in the show, Samantha.

Sigh.

Nice collar!

Okay, okay. No other comments from me about that.

I just think that youth workers and parents need to keep in mind that this young lady is definitely a role model to our kids, specifically our young girls. As I type this, her “Party in the USA” song has made it to #1 yet again on iTunes. Miley’s influence is only growing.

She’s in the limelight. The question is, “What are our kids seeing in that light?”

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

Family Dinners Worth It

Posted on: 10/13/09 1:41 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Do you know that 65 percent of teenagers and 75 percent of parents say they would be willing to give up a weeknight activity if it meant they could have dinner with their family?

Do you know that those teenager who have fewer than three family dinners per week are one and a half times likelier to report getting mostly C’s or lower grades in school; and teens who report these grades are likelier to smoke, drink and use drugs?

Start cooking! Because the September 2009 report about The Importance of Family Dinners (a downloadable PDF) was just released from Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse… and it’s yet another credible source encouraging parents to simply spend time with their kids!

Every Sunday that I’m in town, I do a 5 minute “Youth Culture Window” at my church in our parent fellowship group (made up of 50 to 100 parents). It’s easy, because I usually just steal from our web site’s Youth Culture Window article for that week. 🙂 (a great source to steal from!)

Funny, it seems like my closing always ends the same. Regardless of the subject, I always wrap it up by saying something like this: “So keep having conversations with your kids.” or “Keep dialoguing with your kids about this.” or “This is a great discussion you can have with your kids.”

Each year research sprouts more good news about the benefits of parents devoting time talking with their kids. As a matter of fact, in this week’s Youth Culture Window article, linked in the big magnifying glass on the front page of our website, David brings us some more encouraging news for parents from his personal interview with Jessica Sheets, the spokesperson of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

The message is clear. “Spend time with your kids.” We’ve seen articles that talk about what happens when parents aren’t involved in their kids’ lives, and then we’ve seen encouraging articles that talk about the huge impact parents do make, and that kids are happiest spending time with family.

So spread the word. Family dinners are worth the effort.

For those of you that are intrigued by all this research- dive into that Family Dinners Report, you’ll find all kinds of interesting data- including how many kids who have family dinners are more likely to attend religious services weekly, and how many of those kids will try cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol compared to those who don’t attend services (page 14 of the report). Interesting stuff!

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Britney’s New Hit about a “Threesome” Jumps to Number One

Posted on: 10/8/09 7:34 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Ooops… she did it again.

Britney has discovered the secret to releasing number one songs- over-the-top sexuality!

On September 29th Britney released a new single called “3” … a song about a ménage a trios. Here’s a glimpse of the lyrics:

Merrier the more
Triple fun that way
Twister on the floor
What do you say?

Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing (yeah)
Are – you in
I am countin’!

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3

You can read all the lyrics here on BritneySpears.com.

The song isn’t even 10 days old and it’s already the number one downloaded song on iTunes. If you’re curious what people think of this song, jump on iTunes and read some of the comments from listeners like, “it’s fun, catchy, and filled with playful lyrics about having a threesome- what more could you want?!”

Billboard reported that the song was part of the “Britney Spears The Singles Collection,” a hit compilation due Nov. 24 on Jive.

Produced by Swedish hitmaker Max Martin (Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson), “3” finds Spears singing about the racy subject of a ménage a trios with her signature coy delivery. “Three is a charm, two is not the same,” Spears coos seductively on the verse. “I don’t see the harm, so are you game?”

Hmmmmm. “I don’t see the harm, so are you game?” (This is the mindset I was just talking about out of Spears and other celebs in my Gaga article– point #3, ironically, at the bottom of the article)

I almost wonder if this song will slip under the radar again like so many pop songs do, with little tweens singing “1, 2, 3…” and their parents won’t have a clue what they’re singing (Just like If You Seek Amy and the Superman dance). Teenagers, on the other hand, definitely know what she’s singing about. They just don’t admit that the lyrics DO affect them.

(shout out to Haley with Campus Life for the heads up!)

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The “Fiddy Cent” Bible

Posted on: 10/5/09 4:57 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Not to be confused with a Bible that only is half a dollar… this “Bible” is a collection of self reliance advice from successful rapper Fiddy Cent. (now forever knows as “50”)

It’s always intriguing to peek at the philosophies that our kids hear from their heroes today. I think you’ll find some of 50’s advice… well… interesting.

Fast Company Magazine provides a little slideshow giving you a glimpse of this new book, a collaboration between 50 and author Robert Greene. 50 was a fan of Green’s 2000 book, The 48 Laws of Power. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson credits Green’s book for his success- 50 was named the #1 earning Hip-Hop Cash King by Forbes in 2008. Green and 50 worked together this time to create The 50th Law- the 50 Cent Bible.

Here’s some of the advice you’ll find from 50.

“Lead from the front”

“Reality is my drug. The more I have of it, the more power I get and the higher I feel.”

“Make everything your own- self reliance”

“I was born alone and I will die alone. I’ve got to do what is right for me and not live my life the way anybody else wants it.”

“The public is never wrong”

“When I nearly died, it made me think- this can happen again any second. I better hurry and do what I want.”

If your kids are fans of 50, here’s a fun exercise. Don’t over-react, instead, use this as an opportunity to teach your kids to evaluate philosophies like this (they’ll get plenty of this when they’re out on their own!), comparing them with Biblical truth. Place 50’s advice parallel with corresponding Biblical advice- compare and contrast. For example. Take 50’s “Lead from the front” and compare it with Jesus’ model of servant leadership and “The first shall be last” philosophy.”

Don’t rip on 50’s philosophies… just ask questions.

“What is good about this advice?”

“What might be dangerous about this advice?”

“How does this advice differ from Biblical advice?”

“Which is right?”

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Lady Gaga’s Shift to #1

Posted on: 10/1/09 8:51 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I like to keep my eyes on the music charts, and doing that, I occasionally notice large shifts triggered by big media events.

I would propose that these shifts can tell us a little about the power of certain media events, like the Teen Choice Awards or the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

For example. If you got to MTV.com today and look at their list of Top Artists, you’ll notice that Lady Gaga is #1. This is relatively new. For most of 2009, Lil Wayne has occupied that slot.

Do you know when that changed?

Lady Gaga jumped to the #1 spot the Monday after the MTV VMAs (my writeup about that show here). TV audiences must have loved her bizarre outfits, her blood-soaked finally to her song Paparazzi (which soared up the charts on iTunes the next day), and her articulate acceptance speech (“This is for my CENSORED fans! … and it’s for God and for gays!”)

I’ve been watching Gaga’s reign to see how long it would last. We’ll see… but as of today, she still sits on the MTV “Top Artist” throne.

MTV’s VMA’s yield quite a lot of power to affect the charts that instantaneously.

Another blip on the charts occurred the night after the Teen Choice Awards, August 10th. Until that night, the Black Eyed Peas occupied the number one spot with their song, I Gotta Feeling (the song that our kids will tell us is clean… but is it?) But the day after the Teen Choice Awards, Miley’s song Party in the USA was on top of iTunes, and eventually Billboard’s Hot 100. I guess her sexy little escapades that night paid off.

Don’t be fooled; TV still has a lot of influence over pop culture.

Keep your eyes on MTV.com’s top artist list. Pop on iTunes and see what the most downloaded songs are. Jump on Billboard.com and see what’s on the Hot 100 (usually very close to the iTunes Top 10). If you have no idea what the song is, use iTunes and click on the song for a 30 second preview. Google the video and take a peek for yourself. Google the lyrics and see what these artists are actually saying.

A 10 minute search just once a month can keep you aware of some of the content our kids are absorbing day to day.

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How Many Atheists… Really?

Posted on: 09/29/09 3:01 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s interesting to me how often the subject of atheists has come up in conversation lately. Maybe it’s because I just re-read the final edit of my book titled CONNECT, a book that devotes an entire chapter on the type of kid I call the “No-Way-Kid,” a kid who is quick to tell you, “There is no way you’ll ever find me in church!”

Youth workers keep asking me about these types of kids. It seems that I’ve been hearing a lot of conjecture about the growing number unbelieving kids.

Notice the semantics there… I didn’t say “atheists.” We have to be careful with our word choice. If we were talking about atheists… the numbers are much smaller.

How many athiests are there really in the U.S. right now?

Do you want the quick answer? 1.6 percent. That’s right. Not even two percent. Check it out yourself on the chart on page 5 of this “Religious Landscape Study” from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Now, if we expand that definition to include anyone who is “unaffiliated” with any religion, then that percentage would grow to 16.1 percent. That includes atheists, agnostics and those who simply refer to themselves as generally “unaffiliated” with any faith.

If you want to take a closer look at young people specifically, check out the chart on page 40 from the same study. You’ll find that 25 percent of 18-29 year olds (the youngest group surveyed) claimed “unaffiliated,” with 3% claiming to be atheist and 4% claiming agnostic.

25% sounds a little bigger. Think about it. 25% of 18-29 year olds claim no affiliation with any religion.

This is a slight increase from previous data. David chimes in on this increase, looking at this study and others in this week’s Youth Culture Window article.

This isn’t our first article about this study. I referred to it in a blog about the changing U.S. religious beliefs, and David referred to it before in his article about shrinking church attendance.

I encourage you to check out those articles and studies first hand (each article links the original studies so you can investigate it yourself). Fascinating stuff!

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What People Retweet

Posted on: 09/22/09 9:32 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The whole twittering phenomena has been interesting to watch. I’ve resisted, mostly because I think my tweets would be boring (I’m on a plane, I’m writing, I’m on another plane, I’m watching my kid’s soccer game, I’m eating hot wings, I’m freaking exhausted!).

But the Twitter craze continues to boom, even being a big part of the MTV VMA’s preshow this year. (Who is being Twittered about the most on the red-carpet?)

My dad just passed an interesting article to me from Fast Company, a magazine that stays on the cutting edge of successful business ventures. The article is about proven ways to get “Retweeted on Twitter,” highlighting what tweets people want to read and the most ReTweetable (RT) words and phrases.

I found it fascinating how many of the methods go against what might seem to be popular practices, especially among tweens. For example: the article says to avoid tweeting about idle chit-chat, “boring” activities like just watching TV. Hubspot’s viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella (an avid Twitter-er who spent nine months analyzing roughly 5 million tweets and 40 million retweets) also suggested that Tweeters “Don’t Be Stupid,” knocking the traditional abbreviations and emoticons… you know, like 🙂 Successful retweets also have more punctuation (something most teenagers’ texting does not).

Interesting.

Click here for the entire article.

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How Much Influence Does MTV Have?

Posted on: 09/19/09 9:33 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Two weeks ago I told you to set your TIVOs to record the MTV Video Music Awards, referring to the show as one of the top three “portholes into youth culture” you’ll see any given year. Last week I wrote my annual recap of the show, calling it the “biggest pop culture phenomenon of the year.”

Some of you might be wondering why I would cite this show and this channel (MTV) as such a vivid reflection of our culture (and potent influence to it). I mean… seriously. How many people actually watch this show?

Good question. Let’s look at the extent of this channel’s reach, and then, let’s peek at how we can respond like the Apostle Paul.

How many watched the awards on the 13th? 9 million on MTV alone. But if you look at the other channels the show was aired on, the show drew 26.9 million viewers on Sunday night on all three channels (MTV, MTV2 and VH1). But that doesn’t include the 5.5 million who watched it online the next day. These huge numbers make it the #1 viewed cable show of the entire year among people age 12-34 (You can read the whole breakdown of TV viewers here).

An MTV press release expanded on the 5.5 million people who visited MTV.com the day after the awards, ringing up 53.4 million page views and watching 17.9 million video streams.

MTV General Manager, Kristen Frank commented, “On Sunday night, MTV and MTV.com were really at the center of the pop culture zeitgeist. The Awards set high marks yet again this year both on-air and online, and we’re really seeing some unprecedented growth for our multimedia content in 2009.”

Hold on a minute… I have to go get my dictionary and look up zeitgeist. Ah, here it is: the ideas prevalent in a period and place, particularly as expressed in literature, philosophy, and religion.

Unfortunately, Kristen is correct. According to their press page, on-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for young people ages 12-24. A few years ago Nielsen Media Research reported that MTV was the most recognized network among young adults age 12 to 34, watched by 73% of boys and 78% of girls age 12 to 19. (ParentsTV.org)

What do all these numbers mean? It means that whatever MTV is slanging (look that word up here)… our kids are listening. That’s why we should probably follow Paul’s example in Acts 17 and at least become aware of the content of this award show, as well as the content of this network’s programming. Unfortunately, I think you’ll find yourself reacting the same way the Apostle Paul reacted in Acts 17 when he walked along the city of Athens and looked at all the idols the people worshipped. He was “distressed.” The New Living Translation describes his reaction as “deeply troubled.”

How do you respond when you are deeply troubled by the elements of our culture?

Hopefully, if you’re looking for how to respond, you’ll continue reading that same passage and see how Paul responded in a reasonable dialogue with the people in the culture. He “reasoned” with them, even citing inscriptions on their idols (vs. 23) and quoting their pagan poets (vs. 28).

I encourage you to do the same.

1. Be deeply troubled when you see these elements in our culture. Don’t get numb to them.

2. Don’t over-react. Instead, ask God to open doors for reasonable conversation with unbelievers. You can even use tools like our MUSIC DISCUSSIONS page or our MOVIE CLIP DISCUSSIONS to jumpstart conversations using these elements from secular culture.

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