The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s

Today’s Youth Culture E-Update

Edition #22: September 30, 2002

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Contents:

I.  Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) “esSAyT” Overhaul

2) Multi-Media Life: TV & PC

3) WWE Publicity Stunt

4) YM Poll

5) Youth Alcohol Ad Exposure

6) Teen Access to Alcohol and Guns at Home

7) First Time Sex at Home

8) Trendy “Sextasy”

9) Abortion Views in Canada and U.S.

10) “Truth” Winning

II.  CPYU Resources

III.  Pop Culture Quotes: Steven Tyler, Pink, Eve, Reese Witherspoon, Avril Lavigne, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Salma Hayek, Stephen King, and others.

IV.  Lyrical Expressions: Missy Elliott and Disturbed

V.  Current Culture Image

VI.  Culture Links:

VII.  Walt Mueller’s “CQ” (Commentary/Quote)

VIII.  E-update & CPYU information

Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) “esSAyT” Overhaul

The College Board, which created the Standardized Aptitude Test (SAT), is planning a major overhaul to its college entrance exam beginning in 2005.

                http://www.collegeboard.com/about/newsat/newsat.html

                http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020917/4453445s.htm

                See also: Testing in Kindergarten

                http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020919/4462519s.htm

2) Multi-Media Life: TV & PC

comScore Media Metrix reports that 48% of U.S. adult Internet users have a TV and PC in the same room. 47% frequently use the Internet while watching TV.

                http://www.comscore.com/news/cs_tv_pc_091802.htm

                See also: 2002 Emmy Award Winners

                http://wire.ap.org/APnews/center_story.html?FRONTID=ARTS&STORYID=APIS7M7C9280

3) WWE Publicity Stunt

The September 23, 2002 issue of Time magazine (page 89) reports that the homosexual relationship between two World Wrestling Entertainment’s Smackdown wrestlers, Billy and Chuck, was merely a publicity stunt.

                http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020923-351226,00.html

                See also: “Gay presence on network TV declines”

                http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=entertainmentnews&StoryID=1455891

4) YM Poll

The October 2002 edition of YM, pages 52-56, reports the results of a 1,000 13-19 year old girl poll about “your biggest beauty problems”. Respondents were most stressed about their appearance in the following areas: body (44%), Skin (25%), hair (9%), facial features (9%). Only 8% said, “I’m happy the way I am”. Other results:

• 30% said friends’ opinions on appearance were extremely or very important (15% each)
• 8% had plastic surgery (81% nose jobs, 16% breast reductions, 4% breast implants)
• Body piercing: ears (75%), belly button (12%), nose (9%), eyebrow (9%), tongue/mouth (6%), none (27%)

                See also: “Never Thin Enough”

http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2002/005/7.62.html

5) Youth Alcohol Ad Exposure

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth released a study titled, “Overexposed: Youth a Target of Alcohol Advertising in Magazines”. Researchers examined alcohol advertising content from top magazines in 2001 and compared it to demographic audience data. Some of the key findings:

• Top “youth readership composition” magazines (% of 12 to 20 year old readers): Vibe, Spin, Rolling Stone, Allure, Car and Driver, and Maxim (41%, 39%, 35%, 34%, 28%, and 28%, respectively).
• Youth (aged 12-20 year old) saw 45% more beer ads, 27% more distilled spirit ads, and 54% more “malternative” ads than adults in 2001.

                http://camy.org/research/files/overexposed0902.pdf  (full 20 page pdf file report)

                http://cfdev.georgetown.edu/training/rmm8/press_releases/2002/09/index.cfm?Action=View&prID=42

6) Teen Access to Alcohol and Guns at Home

Researchers report in the September 2002 issue of Injury Prevention that 28.7% of youth have easy access to alcohol at home, and 24.3% have easy access to a gun at home, in analysis of cross-sectional survey data of 18,454 12-18 year old youth from the 1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

                http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/8/3/227.pdf  (4 page, full article, pdf file)

                See also: Child and Teen BB/pellet gun injury rate trends

                http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/8/3/185  (full article content)

See also: Growing Beer Consumption

                http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-23-2002/0001804792&EDATE=

7) First Time Sex at Home

More than half of teens say their first sexual intercourse experience happened at home (22% at their home and 34% at their partner’s family home) between the hours of 6pm and 7am (42% from 10pm to 7am and 28% from 6-10pm), according to data from the 2000 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

                http://www.childtrends.org/PDF/FAAG2002.pdf  (6 page pdf file)

                See also: Trends in sexual activity among high school students

                http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5138a2.htm

                See also: “Religious Involvement and Children’s Well-Being”

                http://www.childtrends.org/PDF/ReligiosityRB.pdf  (8 page pdf file)

 8) Trendy “Sextasy”

Hallucinogenic club drug Ecstasy (MDMA) is being mixed with the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, creating a dangerous combination called “sextasy” (see “Culture Links” section below)

                http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020923/4470950s.htm  

                See also: Animal tranquilizer Ketamine is being used as a club drug under the street name “Special K”

                http://www.forreal.org/know/specialk.asp

                See also: Methamphetamine pills Ya Ba, or “Nazi Speed” pills, are on the rise

                http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020821/4378232s.htm

                See also: Curbing “Date Rape” Drug Trafficking on the Internet

                http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr091902.html

9) Abortion Views in Canada and U.S.

According to the September 24, 2002 Gallup Tuesday Briefing, in a poll of 1,012 U.S. adults conducted May 6-9, 2002 and 1,003 Canadian adults conducted August 21-27, 2002, 53% of Americans say abortion is “morally wrong” compared to 40% of Canadians. Abortion is considered “morally acceptable” by 38% of U.S. adults and 57% of Canadian adults. 34% of U.S. Protestants and 39% of U.S. Catholics believe abortion is “morally acceptable” compared with their Canadian counterparts—56% and 51%, respectively.

                http://www.gallup.com/poll/tb/religvalue/20020924.asp  (fee required to access)

See also: Abortion pill RU-486 (Mifeprex) sales increased 36% in the first 8 months of 2002, according to Danco Laboratories, as reported by Reuters.

                http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1491290

10) “Truth” Winning

The American Legacy Foundation reports that high, medium, and low exposure to its anti-smoking “truth” campaign helped to reduce teen smoking rates by 29%, 21%, and 12%, respectively, in a survey of 9,661 high school and 6,853 middle school students from 69 schools in 27 states. “Current smoking”—1+ cigarettes in the past 30 days—rates fell to 23.8% in 2002 from 29% in 2000 for high school students, and to 10.6% in 2002 from 16% in 2000 for middle school students.

                http://pressroom.americanlegacy.org/inTheNews/36-2CE4VU1QYAzm66PNxWwK/view

                http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020919/4462520s.htm

                See also: American Lung Association’s “Phlemmy” award winners for negative TV show smoking                 http://wire.ap.org/APnews/main.html?FRONTID=ARTS&STORYID=APIS7M7F7N80

CPYU Resources:

NEW MUSIC RESOURCE from CPYU’s Walt Mueller: A colorful 12 page resource titled, “How to use your HEAD to guard your HEART: a 3-D Guide to making responsible music choices”. Prices, including shipping and handling, are $3 each for 1-5 copies and $2 each for 6+ copies. To order, contact CPYU at 717-361-8429 (voice), 717-361-8964 (fax), or e-mail cpyuinfo@cpyu.org

Newsletter:  “youthculture@today” is the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s quarterly 24-page newsletter that’s full of up-to-date information and in-depth analysis on today’s youth culture. Order now and we’ll send you a copy of our Fall 2002 newsletter featuring the Osbournes and much more. Available for a donation of $15 a year, you can sign up by either calling CPYU on the phone (717-361-8429), or by using the downloadable order form found on our website at http://www.cpyu.org/ycorder.htm and faxing it to CPYU at 717-361-8964.

Website: Check out the CPYU website (www.cpyu.org), which is loaded with all kinds of current information and analysis on today’s youth culture. You’ll find a searchable database of back issues of “youthculture @ today” an extensive bibliography, culture facts, a youth culture bulletin board, links to dozens of valuable youth culture oriented websites, a listing of CPYU resources, and much more. The site is constantly changing so be sure to visit often. A searchable “e-Update” archive is available at http://www.cpyu.org/bboard.htm

On-Line Discussion Group: Sign up for our youth culture e-mail discussion group at www.cpyu.org/bboard.htm With one e-mail, you will be able to share questions, comments, and answers with youthworkers, parents and educators from around the world.

Pop Culture Quotes

“But the greatest gift of all was getting sober. It’s a gift when you can get knocked to your knees, because if you’re lucky, you get a chance to get back up again.”

                - Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Complex magazine, Sep/Oct 2002, p. 76.

“I know I should stop smoking, but it scares me. I mean, what would I turn to next?”

- PINK Rolling Stone Daily, Friday, September 20, 2002.

                (Editor’s note: Pink was the “Hotlight” article in CPYU’s summer 2002 newsletter)

“I worship God. Religion and worship are two different things to me. Religion is by the book. I think too many people rely on the textbook: OK, it says to do this and it says to do that, so if I do this, this, and that, then I still can go out and do wrong because I did this, this, and that.

“God is my best friend. I talk to God every day. And no one can tell me how to talk to God, not no imam, not no priest, not no rabbi, no pastor.”

                - Hip-hop artist Eve quoted from the September/October 2002 issue of Complex magazine, p.94.

“I always thought when I was young that my mother was wrong. You eventually come to the realization that she was correct about everything.”

                - Actress Reese Witherspoon, Seventeen, October 2002, p. 190.

“It’s funny that the group you hang out with and the clothes your wear can really scare people.”

                - Singer/Song-writer Avril Lavigne, CosmoGirl, October 2002, p. 40.

“It’s hard being a teenager, (but) being in your twenties is almost worse. People expect you to know so much more. You can’t go, ‘But I’m a teenager!’ anymore. You have so much more responsibility, and you have to fess up that you’re still trying to figure it out. I still don’t have it all figured out.”

                - Jennifer Love Hewitt, Teen People, September 2002, p. 122.

“I promised my grandmother I wouldn’t (curse), and I don’t. Except in movies. . . People are always making fun of me. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’ve never done a drug in my entire life, I don’t curse, really . . .”

                - Jennifer Love Hewitt’s scantily dressed cover feature article, Rolling Stone, October 3, 2002, p. 48.

“Marriage is not important to me. But I am thinking about having a child soon. I think I am finally responsible enough.”

                - Actress Salma Hayek, Parade Magazine, September 22, 2002, p. 10.

“What I realized about people who cut themselves is, it's one thing to say, `Oh, they're these weird people doing this odd thing. It's got nothing to do with me.' In actuality, I think everybody hurts themselves, only in much more subtle ways. I can't imagine taking a hot kettle to my thigh. But I did smoke until six weeks ago, and I would know every time I put a cigarette to my lips, I was doing something terrible for me. I would cough, I would wake up with a sore throat, I would lose my voice. Yet I was drawn to it and attracted to it.”

                - Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary movie) quoted by the Associated Press, September 18, 2002.

“with me, getting high was never leisurely . . . If I’d known how instantly I’d become hooked (to cocaine) I never would have touched it. It’s like running into a noose.”

                - Writer Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, September 27, 2002, p. 24.

“I want kids to be able to break that cycle of violence. If Miss America can be bullied, then anyone can be bullied.”

                - Newly crowned Miss America 2003, Erika Harold, speaking about being bullied growing up, as reported by Reuters, September 22, 2002. 

Lyrical Expression

I'd like to get to know ya so I could show ya, Put the p**** on ya like I told ya
Gimme all your numbers so I could phone ya, Your girl actin' stank then call me over
Not on the bed, lay me on your sofa, Phone before you come, I need to shave my chocha
You do or you don't or you will or won't ya, Go downtown and eat it like a vulture
See my hips and my tips, don't ya, See my a** and my lips, don't ya, Lost a few pounds and my whips for ya
This the kinda beat that go ra-ta-ta, Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta
Sex me so good I say blah-blah-blah, Work it, I need a glass of water, Boy, oh, boy, it's good to know ya

- “Work It” by Missy “Missdemeanor” Elliott was the “Greatest Gainer/Airplay” on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts, dated September 28 and October 5, 2002, rising to #24 and #11, respectively. “Work It” is the #5 song on Billboard’s Hot Rap Track, dated October 5, 2002.

                http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/missymissdemeanorelliott/workit.html

                http://www.billboard.com/billboard/charts/airplay/rap.jsp

Penance can't absolve your sin, All your belief cannot absolve your sin

Believe, when you lie,You will never need to recognize the source of deceipt

To renew your faith in God you must believe, in your lie

The redemption is complete when you conceive and decline to release your lives, sacrificed to me

- Title track from the Believe album by Disturbed, which was the #1 selling (284,000) album on the Billboard 200 charts, dated October 5, 2002

                http://www.lyricsstyle.com/d/disturbed/believe.html

                http://www.billboard.com/billboard/charts/bb200.jsp

The following words weave their way between the lyrics in the liner notes of the Believe album by Disturbed:

“In an age of nothing, at a time when we stand at the brink of our own destruction—strengthen your belief in yourself, in the future of humanity, in the things of this world which cannot easily by perceived. Awaken that which lies dormant now within your soul. Re-ingite the flame of your consciousness, and measure the strength of your conviction. Reveal the lie. Renounce your hatred. Seek, find, and embrace the truths you are fortunate enough to discover. Cherish them, use them to anchor you in the sea of chaos that is the world we live in. When twilight draws near, when you are pushed to the very limits of your soul, when it seems that all you have left are the dead remnants of the fabric of your life—believe.”

See also: The Believe album cover from Disturbed features a multi-faith symbol/medallion, which is a MUST USE for any youth worker trying to engage a morally relative, spiritually diverse, and pragmatic (“whatever works for you”) postmodern generation.

                http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000069KN8.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg  (right click the image and save it)

Current Culture Image

This Namco ad for the “M” rated (Blood, Mature sexual themes, and Violence) “Dead to Rights” video game appeared in the October 2002 edition of Blender, p. 159. It shows a hand loaded with bullets with the biblically based tag line (Acts 20:35), “It’s better to give than to receive”. Small print in the lower left corner reads, “Nothing makes Jack Slate feel warmer inside than giving the gift of flying lead. But Jack will also take. With disarm moves that will take a weapon off a thug so fast it’ll make his head spin. With such generosity, the coroner’s gonna run out of gift wrap.” Discussion could focus on the pervasiveness and acceptance of violence in culture, and issues related to appropriate means of conflict resolution.

Culture Links

http://www.lyricsstyle.com/

This site features lyrics from many of the latest album releases.

http://www.clubdrugs.org/

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) put together this information rich site about “club drugs”.

http://www.forreal.org/

This site is designed to provide substance abuse information to teens.

Walt Mueller’s “CQ” (Commentary/Quote)

If you're going to be at the Youth Specialties National Youthworkers' Convention in Sacramento next week (October 3-7), be sure to plug in to Walt Mueller's seminars. Walt will be presenting a "Mars Hill Ministry - Using Culture To Impact Culture" seminar on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. He'll be speaking on "How Today's Music and Media Impact Your Students" at 8am on Sunday morning. And, for you late-nite folks who are looking to chat about culture, Walt will be leading a "Let's Talk About Youth Culture" discussion option on Saturday night at 10:15pm. We hope to see you in Sacramento!

“In the world of music love no longer refers to the lifelong commitment made to each other by two people of the opposite sex. Rather, it has been reduced to the act of sexual intercourse. I’ll be the first to admit that God’s gift of sexuality is incredible! But God has provided us with sexual guidelines that, when followed, allow for sex to be experienced in the best way possible. But this is not the message of today’s music. By reducing love to something that can be magically made between the sheets by two or more people who might not even know each other’s names, the music industry has contributed to the moral confusion and emptiness of our children.”

- From Walt Mueller’s award winning book, Understanding Today’s Youth Culture, p. 84.

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The CPYU “Today’s Youth Culture E-Update” is a bi-weekly e-mail resource on relevant topics of interest for youthworkers, parents, and educators. The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding is a non-profit organization providing information and analysis on today’s rapidly changing youth culture. To contact us, write to Eupdate@cpyu.org or PO Box 414 Elizabethtown, PA 17022, or call 717-361-8429, or fax 717-361-8964.

“Browser Discretion Advisory”: CPYU does not necessarily endorse, support, or condone the organizations/sites for which we've provided you with links, nor does CPYU necessarily agree with the conclusions and/or recommendations of studies cited. Some are listed for informational and research purposes only as they are prevalent in youth culture today.

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