“How to use your HEAD to guard your HEART: a 3-D Guide to making responsible music choices” This colorful 12 page booklet has quickly become one of our most popular resources. We want to get this resource into the hands of parents, youthworkers, and teens. The “3-D Guide” walks you through the 3-Ds of “Discover,” “Discern,” and “Decide” as you listen to today’s popular music and media. The “3-D Guide” will help you and your teens decide whether you “mindlessly consume” media, or “mindfully critique” it. This is a great tool to use in youth meetings as you discuss with your teens how to “think Christianly” and make wise media choices.

Limited time bulk order “3-D Guide” discount: On our website you can obtain 1-5 copies of the “3-D Guide” for a suggested donation of $3.00 each, or 6 or more for $2.00 each. Now through February 6^th (just in time for the Grammys!) we’re offering a bulk order suggested donation of $1.50 each for orders of 25 or more (phone orders only). Give us a call at 800-807-CPYU (2798).

A “3-D” Challenge: Get the “3-D Guide” into the hands of teens and have them write their own “3-D” reviews of songs, videos, movies, television shows, or any other media. They can submit them to us and we may even choose some of them to put up on our website. For examples of the format we use to write the “3-D” reviews check out the reviews in our quarterly newsletter or visit the “3-D” page on our website at: http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?PageID=7278 . All submissions must follow this format, and CPYU reserves the right to use or not use the submissions on our website.

New @ www.CPYU.org

“Media & Music Survey”: Walt’s been promising to deliver a practical and comprehensive tool to discover how your teens are interacting with music and media. We’ve created this downloadable survey for you to use in your unique ministry setting.

“Teens to Watch”: This section gives profiles of teen youth culture icons. These are the teens that your teens are watching, so you should be watching and understanding them too. So far we have profiled Hilary Duff and LeBron James. A new teen will be featured every two weeks.

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The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s

Youth Culture E-Update

Edition #51: January 15, 2004

EASY way to SUBSCRIBE for FREE!

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Contents:

I. Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) Overweight Teens

2) Bullied Teens

3) Teen Religion Alienation

4) Teen Sex and Contraception

5) Nicotine and Snuff

6) Youth Substance Use

7) Steroids and Sports

8) Paintball Injuries

9) Top Selling Albums in 2003

II. CPYU Resources

III. Pop Culture Quotes: Dave Matthews, Charlize Theron, Ryan Seacrest, Pharrell, etc.

IV. Lyrical Expressions: Beyonce Knowles, Nick Lachey, and The Offspring

V. Current Culture Image

VI. Culture Links:

VII. Walt Mueller’s Commentary

VIII. E-update & CPYU information

Youth Culture Stats and Trends:

1) Overweight Teens

According to the results of a 15 nation study appearing in the January 2004 edition of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the U.S. had the highest percentage of overweight (Body Mass Index 95^th percentile or higher) teens. In the U.S., 12.6% and 10.8% of 13 year-old boys and girls, respectively, and 13.9% and 15.1% of 15 year-old boys and girls, respectively, were overweight.

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/158/1/27 (free abstract) or

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/teen_obesity.cfm

See also: Fast food and fat teens

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/1/112 (free abstract) or

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/79/96083.htm?

2) Bullied Teens

The Gallup Tuesday Briefing reports on the incidence of bullying in the lives of teens from a survey of 517 teens conducted in August 2003. 37% of teens said they get teased or picked on by someone at school (31% said they were above average or higher students and 45% average or lower students). Also, 30% of boys and 18% of girls reported that they were in a physical fight during the past year.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/tb/educaYouth/20031230.asp (fee to access)

See also: Internet bullying article

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1230/p11s01-legn.html

3) Teen Religion Alienation

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. 12^th graders are not alienated from, or hostile to, organized religion, according to researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion. Almost 15% of 12^th graders appear to be alienated from organized religion with another 15% being disengaged.

http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/2004-0107.html

http://www.youthandreligion.org/publications/docs/Alienation.pdf (32 page pdf file)

See also: Sunday school competes with sports

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1226/p01s01-usgn.html

4) Teen Sex and Contraception

According to a study released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, titled “Patterns of Contraception Use Within Teenagers’ First Sexual Relationships”, the longer teens wait to initiate sex after the start of a relationship the more likely they are to use birth control. Researcher analyzed data of 1,027 adolescents (608 female and 419 male) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Some key findings:

Average age of first sex was 15.8 years
Average length of first sexual relationship was 3.8 months
24.3% of adolescents reported having first sex during the same month as the start of the relationship (37.5% 1-3 months after the start of the relationship and 40.1% after 4 months)
23.4% of first sexual relationships were “one-night stands” (21.2% for girls and 26.5% for guys)
Girls report their first sexual partner was 1.8 years older, on average, while guys said 0.1 years younger
16.7% of adolescents (20.6% girls and 11.2% boys) who took virginity pledges became sexually active

http://www.agi-usa.org/media/nr/2004/01/07/index.html

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3524603.pdf (10 page pdf file)

See also: “Morning-after pill” considered for over-the-counter sales

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1218/p02s01-ussc.html

5) Nicotine and Snuff

From research appearing in the in the December 2003 issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, as reported by Reuters, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the 3 largest selling brands of smokeless tobacco (Kodiak, Skoal and Copenhagen) contain high levels of the most easily absorbed form of “free-base” nicotine.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4033212

See also: Second-hand lung cancer risk

http://drkoop.com/template.asp?page=newsdetail&ap=93&id=516481

See also: Teen smoking down

http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pressreleases/03cigpr.pdf (5 page pdf file)

See also: Youth targeted Shag cigarettes in UK

http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,568538,00.html

6) Youth Substance Use

The 2003 Monitoring the Future youth substance abuse survey, conducted on 48,467 students in 8^th, 10^th and 12^th grades, reveals an overall decline in drug use. Current drug use was down 11% between 2001 and 2003 (19.4% and 17.3%, respectively). Lifetime substance use data for 8^th graders (in %):

8^th Grade Lifetime Drug Use 1997 2000 2003

Any Illicit Drug 29.4 26.8 22.8

Inhalants 21.0 17.9 15.8

Alcohol 53.8 51.7 45.6

Marijuana 22.6 20.3 17.5

Cocaine 4.4 4.5 3.6

Ecstasy (MDMA) 3.2 4.3 3.2

Steroids 1.8 3.0 2.5

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031219a.html

http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

See also: Teens and non-prescription cough medication abuse

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031229/5794479s.htm or

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/79/96081.htm?

See also: Alcohol-related traffic deaths report

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/pressdisplay.cfm?year=2003&filename=pr54-03.html

See also: Working teens more likely to drink heavily

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-07-2004/0002084970&EDATE=

See also: Eating disorders and substance abuse connection

http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/templates/PressReleases.asp?articleid=350&zoneid=46

http://www.casacolumbia.org/pdshopprov/files/food_for_thought_12_03.pdf (83 page pdf file)

7) Steroids and Sports

A New York Times poll, conducted on 1,057 U.S. adults in December 2003, reveals public perception about the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. 55% of adults under the age of 30 believe at least half of pro athletes use steroids (40% for 30+ years-old adults). 41% of adults under the age of 30 are not concerned at all about pro athletes using steroids (34% for 30+ year-old adults).

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/16/sports/othersports/16STER.html (fee to access)

http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,568236,00.html

See also: Diet supplement drug Ephedra banned

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031230.html

8) Paintball Injuries

With a growing percentage of teens—predominantly boys—playing paintball there has been a simultaneous increase in the number of emergency room visits for paintball related eye injuries. In 1999, there were an estimated 1,273 emergency room visits for paintball related eye injuries (out of a total of 2,982 paintball injuries), with 519 eye injuries for youth under 15 years of age.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/113/1/e15.pdf (free access to full 4-page pdf file)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4071272

See also: Football hits have similar impact as car crashes

http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=516798

10) Top Selling Albums in 2003

The top 10 selling albums in 2003, according to Nielsen SoundScan as reported by the Associated Press on January 2, 2004, were: 1) “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” by 50 Cent, 2) “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones, 3) “Meteora” by Linkin Park, 4) “Fallen” by Evanescence, 5) “Speakerboxx\The Love Below” by Outkast, 6) “Dangerously in Love” by Beyonce Knowles, 7) “Chocolate Factory” by R. Kelly, 8) “Metamorphosis” by Hilary Duff, 9) “Shock N Y’All” by Toby Keith, 10) “Rush of Blood to the Head” by Coldplay.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TOP_SELLING_ALBUMS?

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=4068481

See also: “Radio hits drove album sales in 2003”

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-01-05-radio-hits-sidebar_x.htm

See also: CPYU’s “Top 10” media list page

http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?pageid=7599

See also: Music downloading down after RIAA lawsuits

http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=109

http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_File_Swapping_Memo_0104.pdf

CPYU Resources:

To order resources from CPYU visit our “Resource Center” at http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?PageID=8871 or call 800-807-CPYU (2798).

All suggested donations include shipping and handling.

Reproducible Handouts CD: This 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

“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.

“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. See “Highlighted Resource” at top of e-Update.

“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 for the “More Than Noise” DVD is $22; $17 for VHS.

Newsletter: “YouthCulture @ Today” is the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding’s 24-page, ad-free, quarterly newsletter that is full of up-to-date information and in-depth analysis on today’s youth culture. The Winter 2003 edition highlights the music of Dashboard Confessional, and much more. ” “YouthCulture @ Today” is available for a suggested donation of $15 for one year (4 issues). To order your copy go to http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?PageID=7265 or give us a call at 800-807-CPYU (2798).

“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 $17.

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, go to http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?PageID=7275 and/or contact CPYU at 800-807-CPYU (2798).

Pop Culture Quotes

“I guess as a culture we’ve grown to admire youth and the naïve wonder of youth as somehow better than the wrinkles and wisdom that come with age, and that somehow there’s a fault in accepting mortality. . . Mortality makes it so much more spectacular. That’s the thing we should talk about more than the delusions of grandeur that come along in the afterlife. What an utter waste of time. But I guess it’s more comforting if you think there’s this Santa Claus in the sky who’s waiting to make us happy, or if we haven’t bee good, he’s not going to give us any presents. God has no plan. It’s simple to think that we’ll go to heaven or hell when we die. To me, that seems like a way to avoid living.”

- Dave Matthews, Rolling Stone, January 22, 2004, p. 54

“You shouldn't have those things around because when people get irrational and emotional and drunk, terrible things can happen.”

- Charlize Theron, whose mother shot and killed her father in their native South Africa, speaks about the dangers of having guns around the house from an interview with ABC News.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/Entertainment/Charlize_Theron_040108-1.html

“If I had had a gun, I would have shot myself. And if I had shot myself, it would have been awful because it would have confirmed what everybody thought.”

- Who guitarist Pete Townsend, as reported by Reuters, speaking about his emotional state following his arrest for viewing child pornography on the Internet and his claim that it was only for research.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=4050010

“Our culture is obsessed with the people we see on television and watch in the movies.”

- American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Weekly, January 9, 2004, p. 48.

“I don’t walk around all day going, ‘I’m famous!’ I get in line at the grocery store or wherever I’m at, I don’t expect people to know and be like, ‘Oooh!’ I really appreciate where I am at. I feel really lucky; I pray every night and thank God. But, at the same time, fame holds me back.”

- Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden, Alternative Press, January 2004, p. 55

“If I learned anything, it’s that it’s not the easiest thing in the world to find someone you can actually trust. And it’s very hard to find someone who doesn’t just want to be with you because of your fame.”

- Puddle of Mudd’s frontman Wes Scantlin, Revolver, February 2004, p. 90.

“English popular culture has absorbed a great deal of American popular culture, and vice versa. Music has been very much the catalyst for that.”

- Actor Colin Firth, USA Weekend, January 4, 2004.

http://usaweekend.com/04_issues/040104/040104colin_firth.html

“A lot of people assume that the NBA influences kids, and that’s true. But kids influence the NBA, too, especially with so many players in the league so young and from urban communities heavily influenced by hip-hop culture.”

- Author Robert (Bobbito) Garcia, Sports Illustrated, December 22, 2003, pp. 52-53.

“I do think when you have a kid, you become so much more aware of the world around you, because you’re scared to death that it’s going to affect your kid in a negative way.”

- Blink 182 guitarist Tom DeLonge, Revolver, February 2004, p. 52.

“My friends used to smoke weed, but I was never really into that. I knew drug dealers [in high school], and they all respected me because I didn’t do drugs.”

- Rapper Pharrell Williams, Teen People, February 2004, p. 48.

“Witchcraft is something my family and I practice. It’s not necessarily white or black magic, but I think that if you will certain things, they can happen. A lot of people don’t believe in those energies, but I do, and that is how I’m raising my children.”

- DevilDriver singer Dez Fafara, Revolver, February 2004, p. 47.

“I’m just not into organized religion . . . Everybody needs something to put their faith in, but I can’t believe people are so naïve not to see that every war and every conflict we’ve ever had on this planet is because of religion.”

- Korn singer Jonathan Davis, Revolver, February 2004, p. 57.

“For me, [a nude scene] is just another scene. I’m sorry, it’s easy to take your clothes off. Sometimes it’s much harder to actually show raw emotion.”

- Actress Charlize Theron (movie Monster) Entertainment Weekly, January 9, 2004, p. 30.

“There’s a fine line between slut and smart.”

- R&B singer Kelis (Rogers) talking about her provocative “Milkshake” video, Entertainment Weekly, December 19, 2003, p. 41.

“These women were trying to figure out their romantic situations, and they weren't ashamed of the fact that they were interested in sex. They weren't embarrassed about all the men they went to bed with. It didn't make them bad girls. It just made them single women.”

- Actress Cynthia Nixon (Miranda from HBO’s “Sex and the City”), USA Today, Jan 2, 2004.

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040102/5807667s.htm

“With my first marriage, it was so fast. Basically within a week, I was going to be married.”

- Actress Nicole Kidman speaking about falling in love with Tom Cruise, Entertainment Weekly, December 19, 2003, p. 34.

“We were just looking at each other and said, ‘Let’s do something wild, crazy. Let’s go get married, just for the h___ of it.”

- Jason Alexander, whose marriage to Britney Spears was quickly annulled, quoted by Access Hollywood and reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, January 6, 2004, E3.

See also: Walt Mueller’s “blog” about Britney’s wedding fiasco, dated January 12, 2004.

http://www.cpyu.org/pageview.asp?pageid=8394

“It’s not a decision that’s meant for the whole world, but it was better for my self confidence. Even though having a sex life with Nick would have been fun, something about our wedding night was so magical. So magical!”

- Singer/actress Jessica Simpson talking about her decision to save sex until marriage, Seventeen, February 2004, p. 95.

Lyrical Expression

Love is so blind, It feels right when it's wrong
Now that it's over, Stop calling me, Come pick up your clothes
No need to front like you're still with me, All your homies know
Even your very best friend tried to warn me on the low
It took me some time but now I am strong

Because I realized I got me myself and I, That's all I got in the end
That's what I found out, And it ain't no need to cry
I took a vow that from now on, I'm gonna be my own best friend

- Me, Myself and I by Beyonce Knowles from the Dangerously In Love album. The song is #10 after 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100™ chart, dated January 17, 2004.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beyonceknowles/memyselfi.html

See also: Beyonce’s liner note “Thank You’s” from the Dangerously In Love album: “Lord, thank you for protecting me and surrounding me with beautiful people and opportunities. May your will be done.”

See also: Lyrics to Beyonce’s horoscope based love song Signs

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beyonceknowles/signs.html

I may not say it quite as much as I should, When I say I love you darling that means for good
So open up your heart and let me in and I will love you 'til forever
Until death do us part we'll be together, so take my hand and hold on tight
And we'll get there, This I swear

- This I Swear by Nick Lachey (married to Jessica Simpson) from the SoulO album

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nicklachey/thisiswear.html

What was family is now a shell, We're raising kids now who raise themselves
Sex is a weapon and it's like a drug, It gets him right into that grave that he just dug

- Hit That by the Offspring from the Splinter album

http://www.offspring.com/splinter_ht.html

Current Culture Image

This BOD man fragrance body spray ad appeared in the October and December 2003 issues of Blender (pp. 71 and 87, respectively) and the September, October and December 2003 issues of Spin (pp. 91, 39 and 87, respectively) and the January 2004 issue of Spin (p. 7). The ad features a shirtless and sculpted cartoon guy being lustfully admired by 3 different cartoon character females with the following words beside each female, “I want your BOD!” The ad’s tag line reads, “Get Some!” This ad could be used to facilitate a discussion on appearance pressure (see Walt’s Commentary below). Youth leaders could focus on lust, incorporating passages such as Matthew 5:27-30. One of the teen girl magazines, CosmoGirl, features a monthly pin-up style centerfold of a “ripped” guy.

Culture Links

Visit youth ministry veteran Jim Burns’ informative and resource-full site that assists youth workers, parents, and anyone working with today’s youth.

http://www.youthbuilders.com

As taken from their web-site, “Dads and Daughters inspires fathers to actively and deeply engage in the lives of their daughters and galvanizes fathers and others to transform the pervasive cultural messages that devalue girls and women.”

http://www.dadsanddaughters.org/

“Parent-Teen.com is an online magazine for families with teens.”

http://www.parent-teen.com/

Walt Mueller’s Commentary

As bodies change and grow, our teens hope against hope that they will end up with the prototypical physique and figure—like the beautiful people in the media . . . The pressure is incredible. No matter what age you are, a perfect body draws attention and praise. Conversely, we have been taught to believe that an imperfect, out-of-proportion, or overweight body makes us less than desirable. Acceptance hinges on what we look like.

- Excerpt from Walt’s award winning book, Understanding Today’s Youth Culture, p. 220.

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The CPYU “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.”

“CPYU Youth Culture E-Update” Subscription Info:

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