Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Stupid Teenage Tricks, for a Virtual Audience

A fascinating blog post appears in the New York Times which ponders the question of whether teenagers are prone to take more risks today for the purpose of filming their antics and posting them to YouTube or Facebook. Given the lack of research into the matter, it can't yet be determined whether or not kids really are taking more risks or if it's just easier for teens to capture their antics on video for posting on the Internet. Either way, it's a good idea for parents to be aware of the trend.

Is the Internet making teenagers do more dumb things than ever?

Some child specialists worry that it is. Teenagers have always been prone to taking foolish risks (thanks partly to the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making and is still developing in adolescence). But with the rise of sites like YouTube and Facebook, these experts say, teenagers now face virtual peer pressure to emulate all kinds of dangerous stunts and dares, and post them online.

There are no data to demonstrate whether Web-inspired recklessness is really increasing or whether teenagers are taking the same risks as earlier generations — and just finding it easier to document idiotic exploits for all to see.

But some doctors say that at the very least, the Internet is causing adolescents to ratchet up the danger level. A few weeks ago, Dr. E. Hani Mansour, a burn specialist in Livingston, N.J., treated a teenager who had been severely burned after lighting fireworks. This was not your father’s fireworks accident. The boy had filled the family bathtub with fireworks, covered his body in protective clothing and set up a video camera to record the event. The resulting explosion, which the teenager later said he had hoped to post on YouTube, created a fireball that left the boy with burns on about 14 percent of his body.

“Boys have been trying to be rocket scientists for many years,” said Dr. Mansour, medical director of the burn center at St. Barnabas Medical Center. “But now we’re seeing it in a more brazen way. They’re doing it for the purpose of filming it.”

Source: New York Times
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/teens-take-high-risks-for-a-virtual-audience/

Father's Day Spending

According to the National Retail Federation's 2010 Father's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the average person will spend $94.32 on dear ol' dad this year, up from $90.89 last year. Total Father's Day spending is expected to reach $9.8 billion.

Shiny new toys for dad will be one of the biggest hits this year, along with special outings, gift certificates and clothing.

The survey found that 39.9% of those celebrating dad this year will treat him to a special outing such as dinner or brunch, spending $1.9 billion. 31.2% will give dad a gift card, spending an estimated $1.2 billion. 36.7% are planning on spending a total of:

$1.3 billion on clothes
$1.2 billion on electronics,
$749 million on greeting cards,
$578 million on tools or appliances,
$550 million on home improvement or gardening tools and
$400 million on automotive accessories.

Source: Center for Media Research
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=130038

MTV Movie Awards Review: Pushing the Limits

Our ministry colleague Jonathan McKee at The Source for Youth Ministry has posted a review of the MTV Movie Awards: "Pushing the Limits". As uncomfortable as it might make you, it's worth the read.

Source: The Source for Youth Ministry
http://www.thesource4ym.com/youthculturewindow/article.asp?id=144

Today's College Students: 40% Less Empathy

College students today show less empathy toward others compared with college students in decades before, a study from the University of Michigan says.

Sara Konrath, a researcher at the university's Institute for Social Research, looked at 72 studies that gauged empathy among 14,000 college students in the past 30 years. She found that empathy has been declining — especially since 2000.

The research finds that college students today show 40% less empathy vs. students in the 1980s and 1990s. The students are less likely to agree with statements such as "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me" and "I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective."

The study did not evaluate why students are less empathetic, but Konrath says one reason may be that people are having fewer face-to-face interactions, communicating instead through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

"Empathy is best activated when you can see another person's signal for help," Konrath says.

Michigan graduate student Edward O'Brian, who helped collect data for the study, says the "explosion" in social networking has caused college students to spend less time with each other.

"You might spend your night posting on Facebook walls and sending out tweets to hundreds of your online friends, but by doing so, you're also not spending time with real people and gaining valuable interpersonal experiences," O'Brian says.

Another cause may be changing expectations about success. Since the 1980s, there has been a steady trend in people feeling more stressed about trying to "get ahead," Konrath says.

"With so much time and effort devoted to yourself so you can succeed, who has time for others?" O'Brian says.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-08-empathyresearch08_st_N.htm

CDC Study: 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results

Since 1991, The U.S. Center for Disease Control has surveyed teens every two years in order to identify trends in risky adolescent behaviors. The results of the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey have just been released.

First, let's look at the percentages on some of the areas surveyed:

• Have had at least one drink of alcohol (during their life): 72.5%, down from 75% in 2007.
• Have had at least one drink within 30 days of the survey: 41.8%, down from 44.7% in 2007.
• Have had five or more drinks within a few hours, within 30 days of survey: 24.2%, down from 26% in '07.

• Have used marijuana at least once (during their life): 36.8%, down from 38.1% in 2007.
• Have used marijuana at least once within 30 days of the survey: 20.8%, up from 19.7% in 2007.

• Have tried cigarette smoking (during their life): 46.3%, down from 50.3% in 2007.
• Have smoked cigarettes at least once within 30 days of the survey: 19.5%, down from 20% in 2007.

• Have had sexual intercourse (during their life): 46%, down from 47.8% in 2007.
• Have had sexual intercourse with 4 or more persons (during their life): 13.8%, down from 14.9% in '07.
• Have had sexual intercourse within 30 days of the survey: 34.2%, down from 35% in 2007.
• Drank alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse: 61.1%, down from 61.5% in 2007.

• Seriously considered attempting suicide during 12 months before survey: 13.8%, down from 14.5% in '07.
• Made a plan about how they would attempt suicide during 12 mos before survey: 10.9% down from 11.3% in '07.
• Attempted suicide during 12 mos before survey: 6.3%, down from 6.9% in 2007.

• Rarely or never wore a seat belt: 9.7%, down from 11.1% in 2007.
• Rode with a driver who had been drinking within 30 days of survey: 28.3%, down from 29.1% in 2007.
• Drove when drinking alcohol within 30 days of survey: 9.7%, down from 10.5% in 2007.

While on the surface it appears that there are broad, although slight decreases in at-risk behaviors, the study indicates that in terms of trends, most changes are statistically insignificant, amounting to "no change." The areas noted above where changes in trends were indicated were:

• Have had at least one drink within 30 days of the survey - decrease
• Have tried cigarette smoking (during their life) - decrease

To view the extensive overview of the report, click the source link below.

Source: CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/us_overview_yrbs.pdf

Vodka 'Eyeballing' Latest Fad With Teens

"Eyeballing," a drinking game where participants pour vodka directly into someone's eye, is the latest -- and dangerous -- fad, and videos of the act are even popping up online.

"They're not doing this eyeballing to get drunk, they're doing it after they're drunk and they're drunk enough to act stupid," Mike Gimbel, a substance abuse expert told Fox41. "They're actually doing it as part of a fad. You know, I dare you to do this."

Hundreds of YouTube videos have been put up to document the practice.

"Vodka is about 40 to 50 percent pure alcohol, which can take off the top layer of the cornea," Robert Stutman, president of the Maryland Optometric Association told Fox41. "It can cause scarring. Can it make you go blind? I suppose it probably could, if it causes severe enough scarring of the cornea."

Dr. Barry Eiden told AOL Health that once the damage to these surface cells of the eye occurs, there is a possibility that with prolonged exposure damage to deeper layers of the cornea may lead to permanent vision loss.

He added that because these teens are intoxicated while "eyeballing" it's likely that their pain tolerance will be heightened and sense of urgency depleted, so they would not try to immediately flush their eye out with water.

Source: AOL Health
http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/05/26/blind-drunk-vodka-eyeballing-latest-fad-with-teens/

Prom is Still the Big Ticket Despite Slow Economy

A $15,000 prom during an economic downturn might seem extravagant.

That didn't stop Litchfield students and their families from renting the theme park at Mall of America recently for about 200 excited teenagers. It was twice the cost of last year's prom, when wallets were fatter and times were better.

People may be driving less, shopping for more discounts and eating more meals at home, but almost no one is skimping on prom, industry experts said. The teen rite of passage appears to be recession-proof.

"I probably spent between $250 and $300" on a dress, prom ticket, manicure, hair styling and other preparations, said Litchfield High junior Kalli Swanson. "It was worth it."

"We're not feeling any ill effects" from the economic downturn, said Jim Hardin of Knights Formal Wear. "Prom is a big event in a young person's life. They usually beg, borrow or steal to come up with money to have a nice night."

Source: Star-Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/18536444.html

Recession Hits Male Teens Harder Than Females

Gender mattered during this recession.

The downturn, the worst since the Great Depression, hit men harder than women, a fact that has been widely discussed.

What is less well known is that the recession hit male teens harder than female teens. And economists are still trying to sort out the reasons.

Males ages 16 to 19 have an unemployment rate of 29.3 percent. That compares with a 21.4 percent rate for females of the same ages, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During the national recession, which began in December 2007, the male teen jobless rate peaked at 30.9 percent in December 2009. By contrast, the peak for girls was 24 percent, reached in October.

Source: Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/jobs/recession-hits-male-teens-harder-than-females-1.1945875

YouTube Turns 5

Is it just me or does it seem like YouTube has been a part of the fabric of our culture for more than five years?

Early this year, the most popular YouTube video of all time — a 2007 clip of a British toddler gleefully biting the finger of his older brother — was supplanted by a brash newcomer.

The upstart was Lady Gaga’s slithering, sci-fi-themed music video for her hit single “Bad Romance.”

The shift was symbolic: YouTube, a subsidiary of the search giant Google, is growing up. Once known primarily for skateboard-riding cats, dancing geeks and a variety of cute-baby high jinks, YouTube now features a smorgasbord of more professional video that is drawing ever larger and more engaged audiences.

On Monday, YouTube will celebrate its fifth birthday by announcing it has passed two billion video views a day; YouTube said it reached the one billion mark in October.

Google executives said in January that the site, which has perennially lost money, had increased its revenue, and that ad space on YouTube’s home pages for 20 countries was sold out every day toward the end of 2009. Many analysts say YouTube could break even this year for the first time, after five years of large losses generated by its high bandwidth and storage costs.

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/technology/17youtube.html?hpw

Immigrant Competition Contributes to Decline in Teen Employment

The summer of 2010 is shaping up to be worst summer ever for the employment of U.S.-born teenagers (16 to 19 years old). But even before the current recession, the share of U.S.-born teens in the labor force – working or looking for work – was declining. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies finds that competition with immigrants (legal and illegal) explains a significant share of this decline. The fall in teen employment is worrisome because a large body of research shows that those who do not hold jobs as teenagers often fail to develop the work habits necessary to function in the labor market, creating significant negative consequences for them later in life.

Source: PRNewswire
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/immigration-vs-teen-employment-study-finds-immigrant-competition-contributes-to-decline-in-work-93572064.html