Reproducible
Handouts CD: This NEW resource includes 46 of CPYU’s best and most
recent articles written to help parents, youth workers, and educators understand
and engage today’s teens and their culture. Each article is in “PDF” format for
easy and unlimited distribution through print and/or email. Over 250 pages of
material are included on topics ranging from adolescent development, music and
media, substance abuse, teen values, etc. The “Reproducible
Handouts CD” is available for a suggested donation of $17, but as an “e-Update”
subscriber we are offering it to you at a special
introductory suggested donation of $12 (through November 14, 2003), which
includes shipping and handling. To order your copy, give us a call at 800-807-CPYU (2798).
COMING
SOON!!!
The CPYU web-site (www.cpyu.org)
will have a new look and lots of new content in the very near future! Also, the
e-Update subscriber list will be transitioning to a new server. Stay
tuned!
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
The
Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s
Youth Culture
E-Update
Edition #47:
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) Complacent Parents and
Ecstasy
2) Belief in God and Church
Attendance
3) Deciphering Colored Bracelet
Code
4) Internet Youth
5) Violent Entertainment
Marketing
6) Kids and Media
7) Revised SAT’s
8) Hip-Hop Suburban Fashion
II. CPYU
Resources
V. Current Culture
Image
VII. TV/DVR
Alert
IX.
E-update & CPYU information
Youth Culture
Stats and Trends:
1) Complacent Parents and
Ecstasy
The Partnership
for a Drug-Free America® released its 2003 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study
conducted on 1,228
See also: US Food and Drug
Administration bans latest performance enhancing steroid,
THG.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2003/NEW00967.html
See also: Time magazine cover story,
“Are we giving kids too many drugs?”
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031103/story.html
2) Belief in God and Church
Attendance
Harris
Interactive® conducted an online survey of 2,306
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=693
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=408
See also: God’s gender
questioned
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=409
See also: Barna survey on heaven and
hell
http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=150&Reference=A
See also: “Christian
artists find new reason to rejoice”
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=3642142
See also: According to the
Gallup Tuesday Briefing, 43% of teens
said they attended religious services in the past week, and 30% attended
extra-curricular church/synagogue activities (youth group, choir, religious
studies), from an Internet survey of 517, 13-17 year old teens conducted in
August 2003.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/tb/educaYouth/20031028b.asp (registration and fee
required)
3) Deciphering Colored Bracelet
Code
Time magazine
reports on the significance of colored coded “jelly bracelets”, which were made
popular by musical artists like Madonna and Avril
Lavigne.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031027-524487,00.html
See also: Teen girls and
multiple dating
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=3668445
See also: Oral sex &
STD report
http://www.medinstitute.org/medical/updates/Spring%202003.pdf (6 page pdf
file)
4) Internet Youth
Nielsen//NetRatings reports that there were 27 million
2-17 year-old Internet users in September 2003, representing 21% of all Internet
users. The top 5 web-sites for children and teens:
Age 2-11 Age
12-17
1 Diva Starz
Originalicons.com
2 ToonTown Online Blunt
Truth
3 Polly Pocket Teen
People
4 Barbie
FireHotQuotes.com
5 DisneyChannel.com
Buddy4U.com
http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_031021.pdf (3 page pdf file)
See also: Top 50 Internet property
rankings
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?id=360
See also: “Is online porn leaving kids
too sex-savvy?”
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Living/GMA031028Online_porn_relationships-1.html
5) Violent Entertainment
Marketing
The Federal Trade
Commission reports progress in the battle to block teen access to
age-inappropriate media (R-rated movie tickets and DVD rentals, explicit-labeled
music, and M-rated video games) from its nationwide “mystery shopper” study of
13-16 year old teens attempting purchases in 899 theatres and stores.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/10/shopper.htm
See also: GamesAsylum.com’s Top 40 All
Formats Chart
http://gamesasylum.com/showarticle.php?articleID=2214
See also: “Troubling days at
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031021/5605116s.htm
6) Kids and Media
The Kaiser Family
Foundation reports the results of a study examining the media consumption
patterns of children 6 years of age and younger. Researchers surveyed 1,065
parents between April and June 2003. Some key
findings:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1006
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/uploaded_files/102803_kff_kids_press.pdf (3 page pdf)
7) Revised SAT’s
Time magazine
reports on the overhauled Standardized Aptitudes
Test.
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031027/story.html
See also: Standardized test cheating by
teachers
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHEATING_TEACHERS?
See also: “Grade inflation takes a toll
on students”
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031021/5605105s.htm
8) Hip-Hop Suburban
Fashion
The Christian
Science Monitor reports on the trend of hip-hop fashion infiltrating to
suburbia.
http://csmonitor.com/2003/1022/p14s01-lihc.html
See also: “Ghettopoly”
controversy
http://csmonitor.com/2003/1027/p01s02-ussc.html
See also: Hip-hop energy drinks
(Nelly’s “Pimp Juice”)
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031028/5627154s.htm
CPYU
Resources:
“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 $17, and includes shipping and handling. To order,
call CPYU at 800-807-CPYU (2798).
“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. The suggested donation of $22 includes shipping and handling.
“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
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) is currently
under MAJOR re-construction. The NEW site will debut
soon!!!
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 (
Pop Culture
Quotes
“I did feel kind
of weird after those photos. I was in a moment. I had, like, eight Red Bulls and
said, 'OK, let's do it.' I learned my lesson and you won't see me like that for
a while. I'm kinda over it myself. Not that it's dirty or tacky, but it is
really revealing and I wouldn't want my kid, at 21, to be dressing like
that.”
- Britney Spears
speaking about her provocative cover photo shoot for Esquire, Newsweek,
“It’s a visual
thing. That’s why I’m here right now, because I dreamed of these moments. Kids
need that. If they don’t dream, they have what? That’s what makes you feel
spiritual, connected with God.”
- Britney Spears
responding to a question about the effect her steamy performances are having on
kids, Newsweek,
http://www.msnbc.com/news/984647.asp (full interview
article)
“When I was
thirteen years old, I used to walk around my house completely naked. And my dad
would say, ‘Britney, put some clothes on, we have people over.’ My family just
always walked around the house naked.”
- Britney Spears, Esquire, November 2003, p.
178.
“You look at the
Bush twins, and it's like, yes, O.K., so maybe what they're doing is not right.
But what teenagers at parties aren't drinking?”
- Actress/singer Mandy Moore
talking about her role as Jenna Bush, Time,
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031027-524489,00.html
“People always
say, ‘You’re living a dream,’ and we are living a dream. We’re blessed to be
able to do what we do and to have done it for this long, but my daughter learned
how to walk, learned how to eat, learned how to do everything without me
there.”
- Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose,
Associated Press,
“I appreciate
everything I have, but money, to me . . . I don’t know. Money makes people
evil.”
- Singer Pink, Blender, November 2003, p. 98 and p.
101, respectively.
“I'm singing about
suicide, insomnia, and paranoia. There's nothing piano recital-y about it. It's
Goth . . . I'm beyond the diary-confessional chapter of my writing. It can get a
bit heavy, but it's kind of tongue-in-cheek at times, and it's not so
end-of-the-world.”
- Singer/songwriter Vanessa
Carlton speaking about her upcoming album, Launch.com,
http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentid=214816
“I equate movies,
in a visceral kind of way, to either sex or drugs. You’re getting high. Or
you’re being turned on.”
- Movie director Quentin
Tarantino (Kill Bill), Rolling Stone,
See also: Michael Medved’s commentary
on Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” film
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-10-21-medved_x.htm
“Our job is like
making doughnuts. You come in, punch the time clock, and leave. It’s a very
asexual atmosphere.”
- Porn star/director and husband
of porn star Jenna Jameson, Entertainment
Weekly,
“Sometimes God
offers you circumstances that sort of fall in your lap that you thought wouldn't
happen. Getting busted spurred my desire to seriously get back into
recovery.”
-
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3651053
“I feel that I
have reached out and touched the face of God, and he
smiled.”
-
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=3685139
“If I love the
girl, I would definitely like to wake up and see her there and do it all over
again. It depends on the lady. If not, then there are those times when you just
get it on and over.”
- Dancehall DJ Sean Paul, The Source, July 2003, p.
101
“I'm abstaining
from sex. Two weeks is a long time for me, because I'm a very healthy Scorpio.
My hormones are raging. I'm a young man, very passionate, very romantic. But
it's for the kids.”
- Sean “P. Diddy”
Combs speaking about his preparation for the New York City Marathon, USAToday,
October 24, 2003, p. 3E.
“Yes, I'll sign
the ban on partial birth abortion. And no, I don't think the culture has changed
to the extent that the American people or the Congress would totally ban
abortions.”
- President George W. Bush,
Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3707155
“Certainly, I was
lost at times in my life. I'd like to think I was never a bad person, but I
certainly went through times where I was not clear about who I was . . . where I
never had a sense of purpose, never felt useful as a person. I think a lot of
people have that feeling - wanting to kill yourself or take drugs or numb
yourself out because you can't shut it off or you just feel bad and you don't
know what it's from.”
- Actress Angelina Jolie,
Associated Press,
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FILM_ANGELINA_JOLIE?
“I will never
forget my father sitting us down to tell us that they weren’t going to be
together. We were just sobbing for what seemed like five
hours.”
- Comedian/actor Will Ferrell
speaking about his parents divorce, Parade Magazine,
Lyrical
Expression
You know I'm not
the little boy that I used to be, I'm all grown up now baby can't you
see!?
Stacy's mom, has got it goin on, She's all I want, and I've waited for
so long
Stacy can't ya
see? you're just not the girl for me
I know it might be
wrong but, I'm in love with Stacy's mom . . .
And I know that
you think its just a fantasy
But since your dad walked out your mom could use
a guy like me
- Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne from
the Welcome Interstate Managers
album. The lustful video has been in heavy rotation on MTV and VH1, and the song
is #28, after 4 weeks, on the Billboard Hot 100™, dated
http://www.tophitsonline.com/lyrics.php?songid=813
Watch the video: http://rollingstone.com/artists/videos.asp?oid=206
(Registration
required and viewer discretion advised)
Man, have you ever
really wondered, Like why are we here? What the meanin to all of
this?
[Chorus: Big Boi]
Sometimes life can keep you down, with your
face all in the dirt (HALL-LE-LU-JAH)
Now if you feel that left behind, need
to get up and go to church (HALL-LE-LU-JAH)
[Interlude]
But what about
repentance? What about the tension?
What about you eating dinner in the
devil's kitchen? But what about repentance?
What about committing the same
sin over and over again and again and ah..
[Hook -
singers]
Why are we here? Huh? Huh? Huh?
Please tell me -
what are we here foooooooorrrrrrrrrr?
- A portion of Church by Outkast from the
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” album
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/outkast/church.html
Current
Culture Image
This Best Buy ad
appeared on page 35 of the October 6, 2003 issue of Sports Illustrated, the inside back
cover of the October 13, 2003 issue of Time, page 31 of the October 16, 2003
issue of Rolling Stone, p. 78 of the
October 24, 2003 issue of Entertainment
Weekly, and page 33 of the November 2003 issue of Spin. The ad shows a bikini topped
female contently wading in a sea of media (CD’s, video games and movies). This
ad could be used to start a discussion about the effects of “swimming” in the
media waters.
Culture
Links
NeosCosmos—which
means “the world of the young”—is dedicated to providing extensive and cutting
edge information and analysis on youth culture, on both a free and fee
basis.
In their own
words, “The Medical Institute for Sexual Health identifies, evaluates and
communicates credible scientific data in practical, understandable and dynamic
formats to promote healthy sexual decisions and behavior in order to
dramatically improve the welfare of individuals and
society.”
http://www.medinstitute.org/medical/index.htm
TV/DVR
Alert
The 2003 Source
Hip-Hop Music Awards are set to air on Wednesday November 11 at 8PM ET/PT on
BET, check local listings.
http://www.bet.com/articles/0,,c2sc25gb7705-8546,00.html
Walt Mueller’s
Commentary
“Media has an
incredible ability to replace the family. When kids don’t communicate with
parents, they will sit and listen to the TV, radio, and Walkman. When kids don’t
feel respected by their parents, the media will accept them for who they are.
When parents don’t spend time with their kids, the TV is always there to keep
them company. And when our kids don’t feel like we are committed to them, the
TV, in search of advertising dollars and ratings points, is there to let them
know that they are important and needed.”
- Excerpt from
Walt Mueller’s award winning book, Understanding Today’s Youth Culture, p
196.
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
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.”