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Resource: NEW!!! “CPYU e-Update: Archive I”
People have come to rely on the
“CPYU Youth Culture e-Update” to keep them up to speed on the rapidly changing
youth culture. So, in order to facilitate easy access to the relevant material
contained in the “CPYU e-Updates”, we have archived the first 40 editions
(
In addition to the 40 e-Updates, we
are including 39 high-resolution, presentation quality images (600dpi)
from the e-Updates. The e-mail version of the e-Update includes a low-resolution
image (72 dpi).
The “CPYU e-Update: Archive I” is
available for a suggested donation of $15, but as a subscriber to the e-Update,
we are offering it to you at a special introductory price of $12 (until
Attention all
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The
Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s
Youth Culture
E-Update
Edition #44:
EASY way to SUBSCRIBE for FREE!
Go to http://www.cpyu.org/cultquest.htm
Type in your e-mail address and hit
“Submit”
Just follow the instructions when you receive the e-mail
confirmation.
Contact eupdate@cpyu.org if you have any
questions or experience any problems.
Contents:
I. Youth Culture Stats and Trends:
1) Generation Y Savings
2) Music Shipment Decline
3) Record Summer Movie Revenue
4) Youth Bullying
5) Internet Plagiarism
6) Teen Tanning Booth Use
7) Teen Cigarette Internet Access
8) Underage Drinking
9) Teen Drug Use
10) Substance Abuse Stats
II. CPYU Resources
V. Current Culture Image
VIII. E-update & CPYU information
Youth Culture
Stats and Trends:
1) Generation Y
Savings
According to the
results of a June 2003 online Harris Interactive YouthPulse survey of 3,432, 8
to 21 year olds, Generation Y people (57 million) report having $211 billion in
income and $172 billion in spending. Tweens (8-12 year-olds) spend $19.1 billion
annually ($946 per person); teens (13-19 year-olds) spend $94.7 billion (3,309
per person); young adults (20-21 year-olds) spend $61.3 billion ($7,389 per
person).
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=667
2) Music Shipment
Decline
The Recording
Industry Association of America, as reported by Billboard Bulletin, is blaming
illegal file-sharing for the 15.8% drop in mid-year 2003 music shipments to
398.5 million units.
http://billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1967365
See also: 2002 music
consumer profile chart
http://www.riaa.com/news/marketingdata/pdf/2002consumerprofile.pdf
See also: Universal Music Group drops
CD prices
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-03-2003/0002010674&EDATE=
See also: 30 billion illegal music
downloads
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=38369
See also: Repent and forgive
downloaders
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3396175
See also: Parents have a hand in
song-swap debate
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-09-10-riaa-parents_x.htm
See also: Undeterred
song-swapping
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=3430812
3) Record Summer Movie
Revenue
Summer 2003 movie
theatre revenue was $3.30 billion, up from $3.18 in summer
2002.
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3369900 and
http://www.entdata.com/bonews/bonews2l.html
4) Youth Bullying
A report released
by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids reveals that nearly one in six
5) Internet
Plagiarism
Rutgers and Duke
University researchers discovered that 38% (up from 10% 2 years ago) of college
students have plagiarized material from the Internet in the past year, from a
survey of 18,000+ college students and 3,250 faculty and teaching assistants at
23 college campuses. 44% of the students said such behavior was trivial or not
cheating.
http://ur.rutgers.edu/medrel/viewArticle.html?ArticleID=3408
6) Teen Tanning Booth
Use
According to
findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health conducted on
6,903 13-19 year old youth, as reported in the September 2003 edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine, 36.8% of white girls and 11.2% of white boys have used an indoor
tanning facility during their lifetime; 28.1% and 6.9%, respectively, used
tanning booths 3+ times.
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/157/9/854
7) Teen Cigarette Internet
Access
The Journal of the American Medical
Association reports that four, adult supervised, adolescents (ages 11 to 15)
purchased 1,650 packs of cigarettes over the
Internet.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/10/1356 (free abstract)
See also: Five million killed by
smoking in 2000
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=3430578
8) Underage
Drinking
The National
Research Council and the
http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309089352?OpenDocument
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309089352/html/ (read full
report)
See also: Early drinking linked to
violence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3090244.stm
See also: “Cheap beer leads to college
binges”
http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=515065
See also: Alcopop (flavored malt
beverage) advertising not targeting underage
consumers
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/09/alcohol.htm
9) Teen Drug Use
According to Pride
Surveys, from the results of a survey of 109,919 students conducted during the
2002-2003 school year, 24.3% of students reported annual use of illicit drugs
(15.7% junior high, 32.8% senior high), 50.0% consumed alcohol (36.8% junior
high, 62.9% senior high), and 27.1% smoked cigarettes (19.5% junior high, 34.6%
senior high). Specifically, 21.1% used marijuana, 5.8% used inhalants, 4.9% used
Ecstasy, 4.7% used cocaine, 4.2% used OxyContin, and 3.1% used steroids.
http://www.pridesurveys.com/main/media.html
http://www.pridesurveys.com/main/supportfiles/ns0203.pdf (full 299 page pdf file
report)
10) Substance Abuse
Stats
The 2002 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, reveals that 22 million Americans suffer from substance
dependence or abuse. The survey was conducted on 68,126 respondents. Other key
findings:
·
14.6 million Americans use
marijuana; 4.8 million used it 20 or more days in the past
month
·
20.6% of 12-17 year old youth
have tried marijuana, down from 21.9% in 2001
·
11.6% of 12-17 year old youth
currently use illicit drugs
·
11.2% of 12-17 year old youth
reported non-medical pain reliever use
·
Lifetime drug use rates for
12-17 year olds increased for inhalants (10.5% in 2002 and 9% in 2001), Ecstasy
(3.3% in 2002 and 3.2% in 2001), and cocaine (2.7% in 2002 and 2.3% in
2001).
http://www.samhsa.gov/news/newsreleases/ACFCD10.htm
See also: “From age 12 to 17,
family dinners decline as teen substance abuse risk
rises”
http://www.casacolumbia.org/newsletter1457/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=192316
CPYU
Resources:
“How to use your HEAD to guard your HEART: a 3-D
Guide to making responsible music choices” is a colorful 12
page resource by CPYU’s Walt Mueller. Prices, including shipping and handling,
are $3 each for 1-5 copies and $2 each for 6+ copies. To order, contact CPYU at
800-807-CPYU (2798), 717-361-8964 (fax), or e-mail cpyuinfo@cpyu.org
Music
Resource: If you want to know and influence kids in
today's culture, you've got to know and respond to their music. In the “More
Than Noise” video, CPYU's Walt Mueller takes viewers on an informative and
practical journey through the confusing maze of today's popular music. The video
is broken up into 5 parts for classroom use, and includes a helpful study-guide.
Copies are available for a suggested donation of $15. Order your copy with a
credit card by calling CPYU at 800-807-CPYU
(2798).
Magazine: “YouthCulture @ Today” is the Center for
Parent/Youth Understanding’s 24-page, ad-free, quarterly magazine that is full
of up-to-date information and in-depth analysis on today’s youth culture.
Available for a donation of $15 a year, you can sign up
by either calling CPYU on the phone, 800-807-CPYU (2798), or by downloading the
order form from our website at http://www.cpyu.org/ycorder.htm and faxing it to
CPYU at 717-361-8964. The Fall 2003 issue highlights 50 Cent and much
more.
Website: Our website
(www.cpyu.org) has been dormant
for a few months, but it is currently under re-construction and the NEW site
will debut in a few weeks!!!
Speakers: CPYU Speakers are
available to speak at your church, school or organization. Our "Understanding Today's Youth Culture"
seminars are presentations designed for parents, youth workers, teachers and
others dealing with the specific challenges associated with understanding the
world of pre-teens and adolescents. To book a CPYU seminar, contact CPYU at
800-807-CPYU (2798) or check out the seminar page on the CPYU website
http://www.cpyu.org/seminars.htm
Pop Culture
Quotes
“I’ve known lots
of girls that cut. It’s become a normal thing for girls to do. It’s depressing.
But nothing in the script really came as a shock. If anything, they could have
gone further with all of it.”
- 16 year old actress Evan
Rachel Wood (
http://usaweekend.com/03_issues/030914/030914movies_wood.html
“Adolescence is
inescapable. A few people cross its threshold gracefully, but many more have
struggled to become adults.”
- Actress Holly Hunter (movie
‘Thirteen’), USA Today,
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030905/5473006s.htm
“I look at myself
as that same scared kid growing up trying to fit in, just trying to make
it.”
- Soccer star Mia Hamm, USA
Today,
“But no, she liked
it! And my dad, weirdly enough, he thought it was fine, too. I mean, come on ...
it’s Madonna. If you can kiss any girl in the world, that has to be
her.”
- Britney Spears talking about
the infamous kiss on the 2003 MTV VMA’s, Associated Press,
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITNEY_SPEARS?
“I understand that
it was such a big thing that I did. But I really look forward to the day when
I’m a funny person, and (the matter of sexuality is) not even mentioned in the
sentence. That, to me, will be progress. That, to me, will be when we’ve gotten
to some place that it’s not even an issue.”
- Comedian/actor Ellen DeGeneres
speaking about her “coming out”, USA Today,
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030903/5464123s.htm
“I don’t always
use that term in reference to women. With me, I totally desexualize those terms.
Some people are hos and some are bi_____, whether you are a man or a
woman.”
- Rapper Ludacris,
Vibe, August 2003, p.
98.
“Going to
single-sex schools is damaging, and it takes a long time to sort it out because
you want to get some action, and you can’t get any. And when you do, it’s f_____
up.”
- Radiohead’s frontman Thom
Yorke, Blender, September 2003, p.
112.
“I’d been drinking
and doing coke, weed since I was 16. It just got worse when I got in the music
business, because I had so much money and so much access to
it.”
- Rapper Mary J. Blige,
Entertainment Weekly,
“I always thought
pot was not a gateway drug. But pot stops working after a while. I could smoke
four times a day and not get as high as I did from one hit when I
started.
- Jack Osbourne answering a
question about the legalization of marijuana, Spin, October 2003, p.
32.
“My dad was a
professional wrestler and wasn’t around a lot, so I spent a lot of time with my
mom . . . I could always guarantee that she would be there for
me.”
- Pro wrestler, actor, and
father, “the Rock”, Teen People,
October 2003, p. 76.
“The thought of
losing the person who’s most important to you is one of the most horrifying
things you could imagine, but I learned a lot about medical stuff, and faith,
and the power of prayer, and a lot about how strong my mom
is.”
- Actress Brittany Murphy
speaking about her mom’s bout with breast cancer, Seventeen, Sep. 2003, p.
211
“The craziest
thing is, we’re closer now and better friends than ever before. We’re truly
committed to maintaining a good relationship, but not a
marriage.”
- Bicyclist Lance Armstrong
speaking of his impending divorce, Reuters,
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3388259
“I don’t think
that [magic] is hocus-pocus nonsense, but I don’t believe in it either. I do
believe in angels.”
- Actor Drew Fuller (Charmed), Teen People, October 2003, p.
74.
“I pray about
everything. Anything that I’m about to do with my career, I always pray about it
first. Afterward, I don’t worry about it anymore. I just know it’s gonna be
okay.”
- American Idol winner Ruben
Studdard, Seventeen, September 2003,
p. 172.
“I've never been
afraid of death because it’s such a mystery, since you don’t know what's going
to happen, it’s probably the greatest thing that’s going to happen to you. Why
else would nobody know about it? I bet, if we all knew what happens after we
die, I bet everybody would go and jump off a cliff right now, because that’s
probably why we don’t know.”
- Singer Macy Gray, Associated
Press,
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PEOPLE_GRAY?
Lyrical
Expression
On behalf of every
man looking out for every girl, you are the god and the weight of her
world
So fathers, be
good to your daughters
Daughters will
love like you do
Girls become
lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be
good to your daughters too
- Daughters by John Mayer from the Heavier Things
album
I’m not alone, I
wish I was cause then I’d know I was down because
I couldn’t find a
friend around to love me like they do right now
I’m dizzy from the
shopping mall, I searched for joy but I bought it
all
It doesn’t help
the hunger pain, and a thirst I’d have to drown first to ever
satiate
Something’s
missing and I don’t know how to fix it
Something’s
missing and I don’t know what it is, at all
- Something’s Missing by John Mayer from
the Heavier Things
album
Ring around the
Rosy, pocket full of posies, ashes to ashes, we all fall down
Gravedigger,
when you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain,
oh Gravedigger
- Gravedigger by Dave Matthews from the
Some Devil
album
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/dave-matthews-band/gravedigger.html
Watch the video on MTV:
http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/dave_matthews_band/artist.jhtml
Current
Culture Image
This FCUK
fragrance ad is pushing the boundaries of decency as it jumbles, in dyslexic
fashion, the all too familiar expletive to promote its fragrance with the
equally suggestive tag line, “Scent to bed.” The ad appeared in the September
and October 2003 editions of Seventeen (p. 89 and 21, respectively)
and Teen People (pp. 115 and 103-104,
respectively). Discussion could focus on obscenity and explicit sexuality in
marketing campaigns, but also the current trend of putting provocative messages
on shirts and shorts.
See also: “Teen fragrance’s
titillating name and promotion could create a
stink”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2003-09-10-fragrance_x.htm
Culture Links
Ransom
Fellowship’s ministry is dedicated to having people “think Christianly about all
of life”. The site offers movie and music reviews along with discussion guides.
Visitors can request to be added to their mailing list to receive the thought
provoking “Critique” newsletter
(published 9 times per year), which critically examines contemporary culture.
The price is right too, free!
http://ransomfellowship.org/index.html
The
RateMyTeachers.com web-site encourages students to anonymously evaluate their
teachers.
http://www.ratemyteachers.com/index.jsp
Walt Mueller’s
Commentary
“50 Cent and his
music are commonplace in an already violent and morally void youth culture. We
may find it shocking that our kids don’t find 50 Cent shocking. The fact
they—both Christian and non-Christian kids alike—purchase, accept and celebrate
his message without criticism show us how far our culture has
gone.”
- Excerpt from
Walt Mueller’s “Hotlight” article on 50
Cent from the Fall 2003 edition of CPYU’s “YouthCulture @ Today”, p. 9.
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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 youth workers, 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
“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.
CPYU grants
permission to cite or quote the “Youth Culture e-Update” electronically or in
print as long as the source is cited as “the Center for Parent/Youth
Understanding's Youth Culture e-Update - Doug West,
ed.”