“More Than Noise” Now available on DVD: 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” DVD, CPYU’s Walt Mueller takes viewers on an informative and practical journey through the confusing maze of today’s popular music. The DVD is broken up into 5 parts for classroom use, and includes a helpful study-guide. For a limited time we are offering “e-Update” subscribers a $5 discount off the regular suggested donation of $22 for the “More Than Noise” DVD (through October 22, 2003). The suggested donation of $17 includes shipping and handling. Order your copy with a credit card by calling CPYU at 800-807-CPYU (2798).

ATTENTION YOUTH WORKERS: Help us gather input from teenage guys! We need information for an upcoming article about teenage guys and magazines. If the guys in your youth group would be willing to help us out by filling out a quick, anonymous, open-ended survey, then e-mail Chris Wagner at wagnercpyu@yahoo.com for a copy. We suggest you forward the survey to the guys in your youth group and have them reply directly back to us. All surveys must be returned by Monday, October 20^th. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

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The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s

Youth Culture E-Update

Edition #46: October 15, 2003

EASY way to SUBSCRIBE for FREE!

Go to http://www.cpyu.org/cultquest.htm

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Contact eupdate@cpyu.org if you have any questions or experience any problems.

Contents:

I. Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) Sexy Tattoos

2) “Unmarried America”

3) “In God We Trust”?

4) Music Sales Slipping

5) Music Downloading Morality

6) Teen Bedroom Technology

7) Light Load Homework

8) Adolescent Spending

9) Seventeen Magazine Sex Survey

10) Teen People Sex Survey

II. CPYU Resources

III. Pop Culture Quotes: Dave Matthews, Mandy Moore, Cal Ripken, Jr., Charlie Sheen, etc.

IV. Lyrical Expressions: Nickelback and Sarah McLachlin

V. Current Culture Image

VI. Culture Links:

VII. Walt Mueller’s Commentary

VIII. E-update & CPYU information

Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) Sexy Tattoos

According to the results of an online survey of 2,215 adults conducted by Harris Interactive® in July 2003, 16% of adults have at least one tattoo (13% for 18-24 year olds, 36% for 25-29 year olds, 28% for 30-39 year olds, 14% for 40-49 year olds, 10% for 50-64 year olds, and 7% for 65+). Of those with tattoos, 34% said a tattoo makes them feel more sexy (42% for women and 25% for men).

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-08-2003/0002032359&EDATE=

2) “Unmarried America”

The October 20, 2003 issue of Business Week features a cover story on the growing trend of being unmarried in America. Citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the story states that married-couple households comprise just 50.7% of the population, down from nearly 80% in the 1950’s.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_42/b3854001_mz001.htm

See also: “Shaping the future of marriage”

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1002/p12s02-lire.html

See also: “Civil marriage on rise across USA”

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031007/5565356s.htm

3) “In God We Trust”?

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll conducted in September 2003 reveals diverging opinions on the public display of religion in the U.S. Some of the key findings, as reported by USA Today on September 30, 2003:

90% approve of the “In God we trust” inscription on U.S. coins; 8% disapprove.
78% approve of a non-denominational prayer at public school ceremonies; 21% disapprove.
71% consider a Bible on a public-school teacher’s desk a good thing; 18% bad; 9% doesn’t matter.
70% approve of the public display of the Ten Commandments

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030930/5544398s.htm

4) Music Sales Slipping

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reports that worldwide music sales for the first half of 2003 were down 10.9% compared to 2002 (from $14.2 billion to $12.7 billion).

http://www.ifpi.com/site-content/press/20031001.html

See also: The mid-year 2003 statistics as released by the Recording Industry Association of America.

http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/082903.asp

See also: The mid-year 2003 top 50 concert tours as released by Pollstar.

http://www.pollstaronline.com/my2003top50.asp

See also: 50 Cent wins album of the year at The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards held Monday October 13 and due to air on November 11 on BET.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SOURCE_AWARDS?

5) Music Downloading Morality

The Gallup Tuesday Briefing reports that 83% of teens say downloading music for free from the Internet is “morally acceptable” (15% said “morally wrong”), from the results of an online survey conducted in August 2003 on 517 13-17 year old teens. On a separate question, 81% of teens said cheating on tests was “morally wrong” compared to 18% who said it was “morally acceptable”. Divorce, gambling and pre-marital sex were considered “morally acceptable” by 67%, 61% and 57% of teens, respectively.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/tb/educayouth/20030930.asp (fee to access)

See also: 66% of teens oppose music file sharing fines

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-09-2003/0002033155&EDATE=

See also: Resurrected Napster

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-10-08-napster_x.htm

6) Teen Bedroom Technology

A Knowledge Networks/SRI report, “How Children Use™ Media Technology”, reveals that 61% of kids have a TV set in their bedrooms, and 17% have their own PC. The report is based on interviews conducted between May and July 2003 on 245 8-17 year old youth. http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/info/press/releases/2003/100603_kidsbedrooms.htm

http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/info/press/collateral/HCUT_2003_PressSummary.pdf (7 page pdf)

See also: The October 2003 edition of “Trends & Tudes” highlights the “Brave New Media World”

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/k12news/HI_Trends&TudesNews2003_V2_iss10.pdf

7) Light Load Homework

Researchers from Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution and the RAND Corporation conclude that the homework load on today’s students is lighter than in the past after analyzing data from four social science sources. Some of the key findings:

66% of college freshman in 2002 reported spending less than 5 hours per week on homework during their senior year in high school
In 1999, 83% of 9 year olds, 66% of 13 year olds and 65% of 17 year olds reported having less than an hour of homework per day.
In 1981 54% of all students reported doing homework, while in 1997 the percentage dropped to 46%
In 1981 children reported spending an average of 14 minutes in daycare, while in 1997 the number increased to 2 hours 57 minutes. (see table 2-1 on page 4 of 12 page pdf file below)

http://www.brook.edu/comm/news/20031001brown.htm

http://www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/gs/brown/20031001.pdf (12 page pdf file)

8) Adolescent Spending

According to the results of the “Coinstar® Teen Talk Poll: Teens Report on Money, Spending and Buying” conducted on 500 12-17 year olds, adolescents spend $264 per month. 27% of teens receive a regular allowance averaging $42 per month.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-30-2003/0002026665&EDATE=

9) Seventeen Magazine Sex Survey

The Kaiser Family Foundation and Seventeen magazine (November 2003, pages 74-75) released the results of its Sex Smarts telephone survey conducted in June 2003 on 508 15-17 year old teens in regards to perceptions on virginity and first-time sex. Some key findings:

41% of teens report planning their first-time sex, 57% said it was unplanned
92% of teens agree with the statement that being a virgin in high school is a good thing
42% of teens are waiting to have sex until they are in a committed relationship; 37% until marriage
Of sexually active teens 49% wish they had waited until they were older before having sex, 25% would change their first partner, and 28% regret the decision to have sex altogether

http://www.kff.org/content/2003/3368/

http://www.kff.org/content/2003/3368/3368_Sexsmarts_Virginity.pdf (4 page pdf file)

See also: “Hooking Up, Hanging Out and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today” http://americanvalues.org/html/r-hooking_up.html

10) Teen People Sex Survey

The results of an Internet survey of 1,337 13-19 year old teens appears in the November 2003 issue of Teen People, pp. 124-129. Some key findings:

46% of teens are NOT having sex; 76% have tried kissing at least once
Of sexually active teens, 16% “lost” their virginity at age 14, 23% at 15, 21% at 16, and 18% at 17.
70% of teen girls were pressured by their partner to have sex; 15% gave in

See also: United Nations Population Fund report on the 1.2 billion 10-19 year old adolescents

http://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm

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. Suggested donations are $3 each for 1-5 copies and $2 each for 6+ copies, and include shipping and handling. To order, contact CPYU at 800-807-CPYU (2798), 717-361-8964 (fax), or e-mail cpyuinfo@cpyu.org

“MEET the MILLENIALS” CD: This 90-minute presentation is a practical and eye-opening look at the emerging Millennial generation. If you work with teens, this double-CD set will be extremely valuable as Walt helps you understand the culture in which today's teens live, with its own set of values and attitudes. Walt also presents practical and necessary responses that Millennials need from the adults in their lives. The CD-Rom also includes Walt's PowerPoint presentation and a .pdf file of the presentation worksheet. “Meet the Millenials” is available for a suggested donation of $15. To order, call 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 several months, but is currently under major re-construction. 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

“Youth Culture e-Update: Archive I”: The first 40 editions of the CPYU Youth Culture e-Updates (Nov 15, 2001 to July 15, 2003) have been archived onto CD in PDF format. The “CPYU e-Update: Archive I” CD can be easily searched and printed out, and the material can be a reference source for research papers and articles, incorporated into presentations and newsletters, and can help facilitate discussion groups. 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. To order your copy, give us a call at 800-807-CPYU (2798).

Pop Culture Quotes

“Death and love are the only things I can sing about without feeling like a preacher.”

- Dave Matthews, USA Today, September 30, 2003, 6D.

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030930/5544259s.htm

“And my feeling is, if kids watch violent movies, that doesn’t make them grow up and be violent people.”

- Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), Vibe, November 2003, p. 120.

“I’m sitting in the gondola, and there’s this big romantic scene and there’s kissing—and I love Matthew, he’s a great guy—but I’m sitting there the whole time thinking, my boyfriend should be here. This is wrong, I feel like I’m cheating, I shouldn’t be in Venice by myself.”

- Singer/actress Mandy Moore, who dates tennis star Andy Roddick, speaking about kissing co-star Matthew Goode on the set of her movie in Venice, Italy. Found on YM.com October 8, 2003.

http://www.ym.com/stars/inthespotlight/index.jsp

“I’m really enjoying being a woman. Just eight months ago, I got boobs . . . I even have hips now! So I’ll do sexier photo shoots than I used to do, because I’ve grown into my own skin.”

- Mandy Moore, Teen People, November 2003, p. 104.

“I protect her from sex full stop. She’s not aware of sex, nor should she be. We’ve had little conversations about where babies come from, but sex is not, and shouldn’t be, part of her repertoire right now.”

- Madonna speaking about shielding her 6 year old daughter Lourdes from sexual images, USA Today, September 15, 2003, 3D

“The record label wanted me to do certain kinds of songs, and I was like, ‘Look, if you want me to be some kind of sex thing, that’s not me.’ I will never do that. I’m still doing what I love to do.”

- Britney Spears, as reported by the Associated Press on October 9, 2003 from an interview in the November 2003 edition of Esquire.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITNEY_SPEARS?

“There are certain words and emotions I don’t want kids hearing, and I’m not changing because they think it’s going to sell better.”

- American Idol runner-up and devout Baptist Clay Aiken, speaking about the lyrical content for his upcoming album, Time, October 13, 2003, p. 74.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031013-493242,00.html

“Youth baseball has gotten way too serious, emphasizing winning at all costs and not teaching the right lessons.”

- Cal Ripken, Jr., Sports Illustrated, October 6, 2003, p. 68.

People’s attention spans are extremely short—I see this in my own two kids. They have such a vast array of things to choose from: TV, videogames, satellite radio. It’s sensory overload. But it’s the nature of life at this time. With music, it’s hard for them to follow something beyond one or two singles. That’s the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

- Singer Gloria Estefan answering a question about today’s musical landscape, Reuters, October 4, 2003

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3558113

“I dabbled in drugs, but there was no addiction problem. But my mom and I fell out big time. I was terrible. I would have thrown me out. I was a very, very bad girl. But also just a teenager trying to figure out who I was.”

“I got married when I thought I knew everything about the world. I realize I knew nothing. I didn’t know the fundamentals of relationships, the roles we play, honor and trust, etc.”

- Distillers frontwoman Brody Armstrong, Blender, October 2003, p. 79.

“After ‘Family Portrait’ I was like, ‘I should not have done this.’ And I took it home to my mom and she cried for four days. It was s--- we never talked about.”

- Pink speaking about the impact of the song “Family Portrait” from the 5+ million selling album ‘Missundaztood’, EW.com, September 29, 2003.

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,490980~4|6820||0~0~,00.html

“If I didn’t have any love for myself, or my foundation, which is God, I would be finished.”

- Rapper Mary J. Blige, Vibe, November 2003, p. 102.

“My momma always told me that the higher you go, you’re going to pay a price. And you’ve got to believe that God’s got your back.”

“I never saw my father. I was raised by mom, my grandmother, my great-grandmother.”

“People think I’m going through something—but I know God is real.”

- R&B singer R. Kelly, Blender, October 2003, p. 77.

“I think we’re all in charge of our rockets. And, you know, if they take us to good places or they take us to bad places, it’s because we steered them there.”

- Madonna quoted about controlling her own destiny, ABC News, October 1, 2003

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Entertainment/GMA031001Madonna_Sawyer.html

“The New Testament. It’s a dark story.”

“The premise of Christian Science is that it’s not a state of belief, it’s a state of understanding, of accepting and seeing life.”

- Actor Val Kilmer responding to questions about what he is reading lately and how his faith has informed his work, Rolling Stone, October 16, 2003, p. 54.

“I think I always did have faith, but I never knew its true power until it was revealed in my darkest times. I had a hole in me that got bigger and bigger the more I tried to fill it with people and expensive things and drugs. Then it was all stripped away, and I learned you can’t fill the hole inside that way. It has to be filled with something else—with faith and love and humility.”

- Actor Charlie Sheen, Parade Magazine, October 5, 2003, p. 6.

“One of the things people miss about every system of belief is that it’s true. Absolutely true.”

- Author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman), Entertainment Weekly, October 3, 2003, p. 38.

Lyrical Expression

Believe it or not, everyone, have things that they hide
Believe it or not, everyone, keep most things inside
Believe it or not, everyone, believes in something above
Believe it or not, everyone, needs to feel loved
Feel loved, well we’re young and we won’t until we figure out
Can someone believe in us, and send some kind of sign
So close to giving up, ‘cause faith is so hard to find . . .
Believe it or not, most of us, wanna know why we’re here . . .

- Believe It Or Not by Nickelback from The Long Road album

http://www.tophitsonline.com/lyrics.php?songid=2819

Heaven bend to take my hand, I've nowhere left to turn
I'm lost to these I thought were friends, To everyone I know
Oh they turn their heads embarrassed, Pretend that they don't see
That it's one wrong step one slip before you know it, And there doesn't seem away to be revealed

- Fallen by Sarah McLachlin from the soon to be released (Nov 4) Afterglow album

http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/lyrics.jsp?s=7656

Current Culture Image

This Jeep ad appeared in the September 5, 2003 issue of Entertainment Weekly, p. 52, and the November 2003 issue of Spin, p. 40. The ad shows a Jeep on a beach with a larger than life sun on the horizon with the tag line, “You can’t buy your way into heaven. Paradise, however, is another story.” Youth leaders could use this ad to initiate a discussion on materialism, incorporating the following scriptures: Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12: 13-21, Acts 8:9-23, 1Timothy 6:6-10, and others.

Culture Links

As taken from their web-site, “The National Institute on Media and the Family is a national resource for research, education and information about the impact of media on children and families.”

http://www.mediafamily.org/

Plugged In magazine’s (Focus on the Family) free, weekly “Culture Clips” e-mail archive.

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/cultureclips2/A0001519.cfm

Walt Mueller’s Commentary

Attention all Charlotte Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention attendees (Oct. 23-27, 2003, see http://youthspecialties.com/convention/sa.php?id=152): CPYU’s Walt Mueller will be speaking again at this year’s convention. If you’ll be attending and can help Walt set-up and assist in the seminar rooms, contact Walt at cpyu@aol.com. By the way, you might walk away with some CPYU resources.

On Saturday October 25 at 10:00pm, you can catch Walt on the “Crossfire Panel on Music, Media, and Ministry.”
On Sunday October 26 from 8:00-9:30am is Walt’s first seminar presentation. He’ll be debuting his new “Busted Stuff: What Dave Matthews Can Teach Us about Youth Ministry” seminar. If you come to this one, you’ll get a full-blown case study that’s grown out of CPYU’s "Mars Hill Ministry" and “Walk Through Athens” ministry paradigms. Dave Matthews is one of the most fascinating musical phenomenons out there and he’s got enduring popularity among kids. Be sure to keep Walt in your prayers as he puts the finishing touches on this one.
On Sunday October 26 from 2:00-3:30pm you can catch the “How Music and Media Affect Your Students” seminar. This was one of the Top Ten Most Popular seminars at last year’s conventions.

“50 Cent offers listeners a materialistic road to redemption. His new music echoes the long-familiar old theme—that things bring happiness and money buys things. Like so many others in the music industry, 50 Cent has chosen to try to fill his God-shaped vacuum with materialistic excess . . . Jesus regularly warned of the dangers of materialism. Still, our kids are buying the lie. Redemption was secured on the cross—nowhere else.”

- Excerpt from Walt Mueller’s “Hotlight” article on 50 Cent from the Fall 2003 edition of CPYU’s “YouthCulture @ Today”, pp. 8, 10.

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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 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.

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.”

www.cpyu.org