Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

A Third of Teens Say They've Texed While Driving

According to a new survey from Pew Internet, when it comes to texting while driving, the nut (teens) don't fall far from the tree (parents)...

A third of teens ages 16 and 17 say they have texted while driving and 48 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting, according to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

While those findings may not surprise some, Pew senior research specialist Amanda Lenhart said she was surprised "to hear (from teens) about how it’s often parents or other adults who are doing the texting or talking and driving, and how for many teens, this is scary or worrisome behavior."

"Much of the public discussion around these behaviors has focused on teens as young, inexperienced drivers, but some of the adults in these young peoples' lives are clearly not setting the best example either," said Mary Madden, Pew senior research specialist who also worked on the survey.

"Teens spoke not only of adults texting at the wheel, but also fumbling with GPS devices and being distracted because they're talking on the phone constantly," she said. "And the reactions from the teens we spoke with ranged from being really scared by these behaviors to feeling as though it wasn't a big deal."

One teen boy quoted in the study said his dad "drives like he's drunk. His phone is just like sitting right in front of his face, and he puts his knees on the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text."

Another boy, a middle-school student, was asked how often he is in "moving vehicle when the driver sends a text message." His answer? "All the time. My mom, sister or brother will sit behind the wheel the whole time and just text away."

Source: MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33920495/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Teen Boys Drink, Fight More, Girls Less, When Playing Sports

When young people are involved in team sports there are certainly many benefits. Skills are taught and honed, physical fitness is improved, social skills are exercised, teamwork, leadership and discipline are learned. And, the list goes on.

There are injury risks involved with playing sports, but that's about as far as I've gone when thinking about any negative aspects of sport involvement.

Until now.

An interesting new study has revealed that when boys are involved in team sports, they are more likely to engage in at-risk behaviors. The study was gender specific, and girls in fact are less likely to engage in at-risk behaviors when they are involved in sports.

I certainly won't make the leap that because of one study like this, parents should pull their male kids from involvement in sports. But, it is worthwhile to note the findings of the study and give a bit more thought these potential negative outcomes.

Playing team sports increases teenage boys’ likelihood to binge drink and fight, while reducing unhealthy behavior in girls, a new study by the Injury Prevention Center at University Hospitals’ Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland found.

Teen girls who played team sports said they fought less, were depressed less often and didn’t smoke as much. Male athletes who played team sports also reported some benefits, such as less depression and smoking, the organization said in a news release.

The study surveyed 13,000 U.S. high school students to evaluate links between team sports and risky behavior.

The boys playing team sports reported binge-drinking rates 40 percent higher and fighting 30 percent more often than nonathletes. The athlete boys also showed 30 percent lower rates of depression and 20 percent less smoking.

The girls showed no link to drinking in the study, the research reported. The athletic girls showed 10 percent lower rates of fighting, 30 percent less depression, 50 percent less smoking and 10 percent less unhealthy weight loss habits compared with nonathlete girls, the study found.

Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aP4ya7B6YYt0

Teen Girls' Weight May Affect Sexual Behavior

A teenage girl's weight, or perception of her weight, may affect her odds of risky sexual behavior, a new study suggests.

The study, of nearly 7,200 U.S. high school girls, found that in general, sexually active girls who were underweight were less likely than their normal-weight peers to use condoms. The same was true of girls who viewed themselves as overweight — accurately or not — when compared with girls who perceived themselves as normal-weight.

The findings, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics, "add to a growing body of literature that girls at the weight extremes may be at increased risk for engaging in sexual risk-taking behaviors."

Exactly why this is the case is not fully clear.

Overall, half of the girls said they had ever had sex, and actual body weight showed no influence over those odds.

Perceptions did seem to matter, however. Girls who saw themselves as overweight, however, were about 20 percent less likely to say they were sexually active. At the same time, though, when these girls were sexually active, they were more likely than their peers to have started having sex before age 13.

Across the study group, the only time actual weight was related to sexual behavior was in the case of underweight girls — who were 60 percent less likely than their normal-weight peers to have used a condom the last time they had sex.

Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568789,00.html

Stereotypes Can Fuel Teen Misbehavior

When parents expect their teenagers to conform to negative stereotypes, those teens are in fact more likely to do so, according to new research by professor of psychology Christy Buchanan.

"Parents who believe they are simply being realistic might actually contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy," says Buchanan, who studies adolescent development and behavior. "Negative expectations on the part of both parents and children predict more negative behaviors later on."

In her study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence, Buchanan found that adolescents whose mothers expected them to take more risks and be more rebellious reported higher levels of risk-taking behavior than their peers one year later. The same was true for adolescents' negative expectations.

"By thinking risk-taking or rebelliousness is normal for teenagers and conveying that to their children, parents might add to other messages from society that make teenagers feel abnormal if they are not willing to take risks or break laws. This can mean, for example, that when parents expect teens to drink before they turn 21 or to engage in other risky behaviors, kids are less likely to resist societal pressures to do so."

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS168645+16-Oct-2009+PRN20091016

More Teens Visiting Web on Mobile Phones

Do you know what web sites your teen is visiting on his or her mobile phone? It's a timely question, as teens (13 - 17) are visiting the web via their cell phones in increasing numbers (up 45% in the past year,) only being outpaced by senior adults (65+). As difficult as it has been for parents to monitor their kids' Internet usage, web access on mobile phones has made the task even harder.

Given that by 2011, cell phones will be the greatest provider of Internet pornography and that the greatest number of new users of Internet pornography are guys, ages 11 - 17, Internet access via cell phones might just be the perfect storm, setting up lots of teenagers for the potential of becoming addicted to porn.

Looking to the future, I can envision a time when all mobile phones have Internet access. We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, parents should consider whether or not their teens really need a new phone that has Internet access. Think through the pros and cons. Then, make the best decision you can.

For more information, see Jim Burns share some tips on guiding your teens online in a brief video, here.

According to a recent release from The Nielsen Company, web visitors using a mobile device increased 34% year-over-year, from 42.5 million mobile Web visitors in July 2008 to 56.9 million in July 2009. Overall, year-over-year growth among the 13-17 and 65+ age groups outpaced the growth of the total mobile Web audience, with a youth increase of 45% and seniors surging upwards 67% in July.

Source: Center for Media Research
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115213

Teenage Girls 'Living on One Meal a Day'

Teenage girls are regularly skipping up to two meals a day because they think they are overweight, according to a new UK survey examining children's lives.

One in 10 girls aged 14 and 15 often go without both breakfast and lunch, the poll found.

A quarter (26 per cent) of them frequently skip breakfast and 22 per cent routinely pass on lunch.

The survey, by the UK Schools Health Education Unit, also found that most teenage girls believe they are overweight, even when they are not.

Even among younger girls, those aged 10 and 11, 40 per cent thought they needed to lose weight.
Breakfast appears to be the meal that is most often missed, despite the old adage that it is the most important meal in the day.

While 26 per cent of 14 and 15-year-old girls said they often missed it, the problem appears to start at a younger age, with 20 per cent of 12 and 13-year-olds going without, and seven per cent of 10 and 11-year-olds.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6313715/Teenage-girls-living-on-one-meal-a-day.html

Teen Brain: Adult Reasoning Capacity, Emotional Maturity Not So Much

If you have or have had teens at home or work with them, there is absolutely no surprise in this new study's finding that their emotional maturity development lags behind their reasoning capacity.

From a physiological standpoint, this study seeks to provide more understanding into the developing teen brain. From a practical standpoint, quite simply teens are "rookie" adults. They need time, guidance, and experiences to help them move toward maturity. It's worthwhile to note that teens are prone to experimentation and making some poor choices along the way.

Parents can mitigate some of the negative consequences by equipping teens with decision making skills including helping them learn to evaluate outcomes of different choices, and by providing loving support, appropriate discipline, along with lots of patience and grace.

A 16-year-old might be quite capable of making an informed decision about whether to end a pregnancy – a decision likely to be made after due consideration and consultation with an adult – but this same adolescent may not possess the maturity to be held to adult levels of responsibility if she commits a violent crime, according to new research into adolescent psychological development.

"Adolescents likely possess the necessary intellectual skills to make informed choices about terminating a pregnancy but may lack the social and emotional maturity to control impulses, resist peer pressure and fully appreciate the riskiness of dangerous decisions," said Laurence Steinberg, PhD, a professor of developmental psychology at Temple University and lead author of the study. "This immaturity mitigates their criminal responsibility."

Steinberg and his co-authors address this seeming contradiction in a study showing that cognitive and emotional abilities mature at different rates.

The findings appear in the October issue of American Psychologist, published by the American Psychological Association.

Source: ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007153745.htm

Interest in iPhone High as iPod, iTunes Dominate Teen Market

The of the 18th bi-annual Piper Jaffray teen survey shows that Apple's share among teen consumers continues to grow. The results were based on a survey of approximately 600 teenagers, who were queried about their buying patterns and preferences.

Apple's smallest market among teens -- the iPhone -- is poised to greatly expand. While 15 percent of those surveyed currently own an iPhone, 22 percent intend to purchase one in the next six months.

"We believe the $99 iPhone 3G has been a meaningful part of share gains in the last six months," Senior Research Analyst Gene Munster said. "Previously, teens were indicating that the plan pricing and handset pricing were too high for them (and their parents) to buy iPhones. The lower pricing appears to have been a catalyst for share gains."

Apple has maintained its utter dominance of the portable media player market (iPods), with an 87 percent total share, up from 84 percent one year ago. Coming in second was Microsoft with 3 percent, followed by Sony with 2 percent.

Those who plan to buy overwhelmingly choose Apple as well, though Microsoft's share of that question grew significantly. Of those who plan to buy a media player in the next 12 months, 74 percent said they will choose an iPod, while 13 percent said Zune, and 9 percent opted for a Sony product.

"Apple's dominance in the PMP market remains largely unchecked," Munster said, "and it is clear to us that Apple has captured the 'cool factor' among high school students across America."

Source: AppleInsider
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/06/interest_in_iphone_high_as_ipod_itunes_dominate_teen_market.html

Internet Addiction Linked to ADHD, Depression in Teens

Some children and teens are more likely than their peers to become addicted to the Internet, and a new study suggests it's more likely to happen if kids are depressed, hostile, or have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or social phobia.

Although an Internet addiction is not an official diagnosis, signs of a potential problem include using the Internet so much for game playing or other purposes that it interferes with everyday life and decision-making ability. (The diagnosis is being considered for the 2012 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the "bible" of mental ailments published by the American Psychiatric Association).

Past research suggests that 1.4 percent to 17.9 percent of adolescents are addicted to the Internet, with percentages higher in Eastern nations than in Western nations, according to the study published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Definitions vary, but an Internet addiction usually includes symptoms such as spending a lot of time on the Internet (especially more time than intended), an inability to cut back on usage, a preoccupation with online activities, and symptoms of withdrawal such as anxiety, boredom, or irritability after a few days of not going online.

Boys were at a higher risk of Internet addiction than girls, and those who used the Internet for more than 20 hours a week, every day, or for online gaming, were at higher risk as well.

Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, says the findings were no surprise.

"The study's indication that children who are hyperactive or diagnosed ADHD are finding an outlet on the Web makes such perfect sense," he says, because those children crave the constant stimulation of fast-paced video games and interactive social networks.

If at-risk children -- such as those identified in the Taiwanese study -- are given sufficient time and exposure without careful monitoring, Internet addiction could easily become one of the most chronic childhood diseases in America, says Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis of the Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, in Seattle.

Since adolescents cannot easily avoid computers, treatment for addiction cannot simply involve abstaining from the Internet, says Christakis. Parents, educators, and medical professionals need to identify high-risk children early on and monitor their Internet usage to prevent problem behavior from forming.

Time on the Internet needs to be monitored as well, especially for children who may be at high risk for addiction because of depression, ADHD, or social problems, says Christakis.

Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/05/depression.adhd.internet.addiction/

Study Finds Peer Pressure Helpful for Teens

Those of us involved in youth ministry have long stressed to kids the negative influence of peer pressure. We've given kids lots of advice on how to avoid giving in to the pressures to conform and have urged them to step up to be a positive influence in the lives of their friends.

All well and good. Yet, a newly released study reveals (in the book Escaping the Endless Adolescence by Joe Allen) that peer pressure is actually good for kids. In the end, it appears, the more peer pressure kids face, the better off they are as adults. Who knew?!

According to Allen, kids who face a lot of peer pressure learn skills that are important to success in adult relationships, such as empathy, negotiation, accommodation, and the ability to agree to disagree while preserving friendship. These kids had better academic scores, healthier romantic relationships, and were less likely to have problems with drugs or alcohol.

Conversely, kids who do not experience much peer pressure, or who easily say no to peer pressure, did not fare as well in the long run in terms of developing relational skills. Academically, their GPAs were almost a full point lower than kids who felt more peer pressure.

And what about the stereotypical peer pressure to smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs? Allen says that this type of pressure occurs less than people think, and is more about peer selection than peer pressure, with kids about to engage in these at-risk behaviors selecting friends who are in a similar spot.

So, perhaps its time that we youth workers and parents ratchet down the rhetoric about peer pressure, while encouraging kids to actively engage in their friendships (so kids can hone their relational skills) and expend more energy in talking about the importance of selecting good friends.

According to every pop theory of adolescence, peer pressure is peril. Being able to resist it should be considered a sign of character strength. But a funny thing happened as Joe Allen, a professor at the University of Virginia, studied kids and peer pressure over a period of 10 years: the kids who felt more peer pressure when they were 12 or 13 were turning out better.

Notably, they had much higher-quality relationships with friends, parents, and romantic partners. Their need to fit in, in the early teens, later manifested itself as a willingness to accommodate ─ a necessary component of all reciprocal relationships. The self-conscious kid who spent seventh grade convinced that everyone was watching her learned to be attuned to subtle changes in others’ moods. Years down the road, that heightened sensitivity lead to empathy and social adeptness.

Meanwhile, those kids who did not feel much peer pressure to smoke, drink, and shoplift in seventh grade didn’t turn out to be the independent-minded stars we’d imagine. Instead, what was notable about them was that within five years they had a much lower GPA ─ almost a full grade lower. The kid who could say no to his peers turned out to be less engaged, all around, socially and academically. Basically, if he was so detached that he didn’t care what his peers thought, he probably wasn’t motivated by what his parents or society expected of him, either.

Source: Newsweek
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/nurtureshock/archive/2009/09/23/teens-who-feel-more-peer-pressure-turn-out-better-not-worse.aspx