The Center for Parent/Youth
Understanding’s
Youth Culture
E-Update
Edition #57: April 15,
2004
EASY way to
SUBSCRIBE for FREE!
Go to
http://www.cpyu.org/cpyu_eupdate.asp
Contact
eupdate@cpyu.org if you have any questions or
experience any problems.
Contents:
I. Youth Culture
Stats and Trends:
1) “Kid’s Choice Award” Winners
2) Cohabitation Views
3) Internet Spirituality
4) News and Teens
5) Teen Media Consumption
6) TV and Toddlers
7) Music Sales Jump
8) Teen Substance Use
II. CPYU Resources
V. Current Culture Image
VI. Culture Links
VIII. E-update & CPYU information
Youth Culture
Stats and Trends:
1)
“Kid’s Choice Award” Winners
Check out the list of winners from
Nickelodeon’s 17th Annual “Kid’s Choice
Awards”.
http://www.nick.com/all_nick/specials/kca_2004/index.jhtml or
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=4746155§ion=news
2)
Cohabitation Views
The Gallup Tuesday Briefing reports that 69%
of teens approve (30% disapprove) of living together before marriage from an
online survey of 785 teens conducted in early 2004. Also, 49% of teens who
attended religious services in the past week (86% for non-attenders) approve of
cohabitation.
http://www.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=11272
(fee to access)
3)
Internet Spirituality
The Pew Internet & American Life
Project found that 64% of the estimated 128 million Internet users in the
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=119
See also: Religious summer camp
participation
http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/2004-0414.html
4) News
and Teens
USA Weekend magazine reports the
results of its 17th Annual Teen Survey of more than 65,000 13-18
year-old teens. Some of the findings:
http://usaweekend.com/04_issues/040411/040411teen_survey.html
or
http://usaweekend.com/classroom/survey/teen_survey2004_results.html
5) Teen
Media Consumption
Knowledge Networks/SRI released the
results of its MultiMedia Mentor™
study which reveals the daily media consumption patterns and preferences of
12-17 year old male youth. Television accounts for 45% of the time each day male
youth spend with media, followed by radio (17%), Internet (16%), video games
(15%), newspapers (3%) and magazines (3%).
http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/info/press/releases/2004/040504_MMMvideogames.htm
See also: “Children spend more time
playing video games than watching TV”
http://www.newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/1943/content.htm
6) TV
and Toddlers
Researchers found a connection
between early television viewing and later attention problems from analysis of
longitudinal data of 1,278 one year-old and 1,345 three year-old children.
According to the researchers, 10% of children had attention problems by the age
of 7. Each additional hour of daily TV watching increased the likelihood of
later attention problems by 9%.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/4/708
(free abstract)
See also: TV violence causing ‘mean
world syndrome’
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1080918938149230.xml
7)
Music Sales Jump
Nielsen SoundScan, as reported by the
Associated Press on April 12, says
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MUSIC_INDUSTRY
8) Teen
Substance Use
The Gallup Tuesday Briefing surveyed 785
13-17 year old teens between January 22 and March 9, 2004 about their use of
alcohol and marijuana. Overall, 20% of teens have tried marijuana (28% of boys
and 12% of girls; 32% of 16-17 year-olds and 12% of 13-15 year-olds) and 27% of
teens drink alcohol (37% for 16-17 year-olds and 20% for 13-15
year-olds).
http://www.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=11236
(fee to access)
See also: Underage drinking
decline
http://www.beerinstitute.org/pdfs/SoP0204.pdf
(23 page pdf file)
See also: Test kit for detecting rape
drugs in drinks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3603119.stm
CPYU
Resources:
To order resources from CPYU visit our “
All suggested donations include shipping and
handling.
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 just released Spring 2004 edition highlights the
music and message of Outkast, 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).
“How to
use your HEAD to guard your HEART: a 3-D
Guide to making responsible music
choices” This colorful 12 page booklet is one
of our most popular resources. 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 to “mindfully critique” media and not “mindlessly consume” 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. The suggested donation has
been lowered to $2.00 each for 1-5 copies or $1.00 each for 6 or more
copies!
Seminars: Walt Mueller is
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’m not going to tell you how I
believe, but I do believe in God.”
- Film director Quentin
Tarantino (Kill Bill movies), Entertainment Weekly, April 16, 2004, p.
27.
“To serve the Father. I’m here to do
what makes Him happy. I did a lot of bad s--- in my life . . . But, I did a lot
of good, too—my scale is balanced
out.”
- Former Wu Tang Clang member and
current solo artist Ghostface Killah (Toney Starks) speaking about his purpose,
Vibe, May 2004, p.
144.
“I have faith. It only becomes
cultish when people start to think that their way is the only way. I feel bad
for Hilary Faye—her whole identity is her relationship with
Jesus.”
- Singer/actress Mandy Moore speaking
about the character (Hilary Faye) she plays in the upcoming movie Saved, Teen Vogue, May 2004, p.
118.
“It was divine intervention. I have a
great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe ... and had just looked up at the $2
million and said a little prayer to her when I hit the jackpot. Our Lady really
looks out for me.”
- Jennifer Lopez’s mom, Guadalupe,
talking about winning $2.4 million on a slot machine in
“I think there’s a great void that
many Americans feel about the purpose of their lives and the speed of their
lives, and they’re looking for their own sort of answers. And art, whether it be
movies, books, or whatever, allows them an entry to find some sense of what it
is that they’re looking for without preaching to them. If you do something that
just preaches, then they recoil a little
bit.”
“I think there’s a hunger for faith
in this country, not a faith. There’s
a hunger for a sense of purpose, not a
purpose.”
- Author Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven), Entertainment Weekly, April 16, 2004, p.
36.
“I’m interested in man’s search for
meaning. When there’s an emptiness in somebody’s soul, and it gets filled in
some brilliant way. I always like when that happens in
movies.”
- Actor Matthew Perry (TV show
Friends) discussing his dream role, Teen
People, May 2004, p. 144.
“I've always had a very intimate
relationship with God. I've been writing those songs for
years.”
“I had a wonderful life, and I was
stupid enough to fall into the entrapment of drugs. Drugs do not discriminate.
They don't care who you are. Anybody can fall into that trap. So I wanted people
to know that, and I think God let me live to spread that word and to be his
witness.”
- Veteran singer Smokey
Robinson, Reuters, April 4, 2004.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=4744090§ion=news
“I always felt like a marriage works
best on, say, a farm, where you are together and everyone has real clear-cut
roles. But you know, our whole marriage was time negotiation. You hear actors
say, ‘Oh, we rotate taking jobs,’ but that means that someone is always
away.”
- Actor Ethan Hawke talking
about his divorce from Uma Thurman, People, April 5, 2004, p.
72.
“I really believe in being with your
partner through all the good and bad times in life. I think that will happen for
me.”
- Actress Jennifer Garner, who
was recently divorced, Parade, April
11, 2004, p. 5.
“My music is just an expression of
who I am. That’s the beauty of free
will.”
- Singer Marie Wright, aka Free,
Vibe, May 2004, p.
93.
“The truth will set you
free.”
- R&B singer Usher answering the
following question in the May 2004 issue of Seventeen, p. 126, “What’s the biggest
lesson you’ve learned in the past
year?”
“I was too young, and it wasn’t
romantic. This girl asked me if I wanted to have sex with her friend. I didn’t
want to do it—I was anxious about sex at that time. Like, would I know how to
use a condom? Would I know what to do? I didn’t want to look like I was scared,
so I did it.”
- R&B singer Usher talking
about his “first time”, Teen People,
May 2004, p. 113.
“I’ll be the first person to go out
and tell everybody that I ain’t perfect. I’m a man. Men make mistakes, and 9
times out of 10, a man is going to cheat. Especially a man in my position.
Having women throw themselves at me 24-7, I fell victim. That just means I’m
weak in that sense.”
- R&B singer Usher (Usher
Raymond), Vibe, May 2004, p.
110.
“I thought the more explicit I got
without being totally explicit was a nice approach. The little girls would enjoy
them, and it would go right over my grandparents’
heads.”
- Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine
speaking about the sexual nature of the lyrics from the hit song “This Love”, Rolling Stone, April 15, 2004, p.
48.
“When you write 30 songs, you have to
pick so many, right? And of course, the ones that everybody likes are about sex.
There’s a whole pile of other songs sitting on the shelf that aren’t about
sex.”
- Former ‘N Sync member JC Chasez
speaking about writing songs for his solo album debut, People, April 5, 2004, p.
77.
Lyrical
Expressions
Tonight i'll be your naughty girl,
I'm callin all my girls, We're gonna turn this party out
I know you want my
body, Tonight i'll be your naughty girl, I'm callin all my girls
I see you
look me up and down and i came to party
You're so sexy, tonight i am all
yours boy,The way your body moves across the floor
You got me feelin
n-a-s-t-y, I might just take you home with
me
- Naughty Girl by Beyonce Knowles from
the Dangerously In Love album. The
song is #9 on the Billboard Hot 100™ charts after 4 weeks, dated April 17,
2004.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beyonceknowles/naughtygirl.html
Watchin’ you work the stick in the
ride, the motion how you move from 3rd to 5
And imagine what it’s gon’ be
when we get inside
And you put that ooh wee on me and you want me the same
way, ooh I can’t wait
I’m tired of thinkin’ about it, speakin’ about it, baby
it’s time to be about it, turn off the lights, take off your
clothes, jump in
the bed, and let it flow
- Portion of Do It To Me by Usher from the Confessions album. The album was #1 on
the Billboard charts, dated April 10 and 17, 2004, selling over 1.5 million
copies. The hit single, Yeah!, has
been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100™ charts the past 8 weeks, and another song, Burn, was the greatest airplay gainer
on the Hot 100 charts, dated April 17, 2004., jumping to #5 from #10 after 6
weeks.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/usher/doittome.html
Current Culture
Image
This Volatile® ad appeared in the May
2004 edition of Teen Vogue, p. 90.
The ad shows a person carrying an open umbrella and meandering off into a desert
with the tag line, “Follow your own path.” The ad could facilitate a discussion
of moral relativism.
Culture Links
ChristianParenting.net provides lots
of practical and biblical materials on a wide-range of topics and in an array of
formats to help facilitate the parenting
process.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/parenting
The Pure Revolution web-site, which
is subdivided into a separate teen and parent page, is devoted to a “whole-life
approach to purity”. Visitors can find lots of relevant articles, stats, links,
and information.
Walt Mueller’s
Commentary
There’s absolutely no way to
effectively shield children from the culture, and I don’t think Christians are
called to be shielded from it anyhow—it is the ministry and missions arena God
has sent us into. We are not to adopt the values and philosophies of the world,
but like Jesus and Paul, we need to understand them in order to reach people who
live out those worldviews.
When Teens express an interest
in a topic, I want them to process it from a biblical worldview, so I process it
with them. If we say we don’t like something, we need to explain why, so that
ultimately when we release them into the world they can thing Christianly for
themselves.
- Interview excerpt of Walt from the
Spring 2004 Pennsylvania Families & Schools newsletter, p.
7.
http://www.pafamily.org/publications/fs/MAR2004fs.pdf
(see pp. 4-7 of 24 page pdf
file)
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
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
“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 “CPYU 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.”