TEENS AND TRENDS . . .

Teens Drinking Alcohol ... Teenage girls are now drinking alcohol more than teenage guys. While boys tend to drink for fun, girls drink to relieve stress and their worries. Prevention experts point to the number of alcohol products that have been developed in the past decade that make it more appealing for teenage girls to drink (Newsweek, "Report Shows Teen Girls Are Drinking More Than Boys, for Different Reasons," June 29, 2010).

Kids Owning Cell Phones and more ... Young people are much more likely to own mobile electronic devices today compared to young people five years ago. Today, 76 percent of teenagers own an mp3 player or iPod (compared to 18 percent of kids five years ago). Sixty-six percent now have a cell phone, compared to 39 percent of young people five years ago. Twenty-nine percent of kids now own a laptop computer compared to 12 percent of young people a half a decade ago (Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, A Kaiser Family Foundation study, 2010).

Too Many Teens Are Bullied ... Nationwide, one out of five high school students say they have been bullied. Teenage girls are more likely to be bullied than teenage guys (CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, June 4, 2010).

More Teens Have Hearing Loss ... One out of five teenagers now has some type of hearing loss, researchers report. This is a 31 percent jump since the mid 1990s. Studies show that even a slight hearing loss can hurt kids in three ways: through their social interactions (by not being able to hear what peers say), language development, and school performance (USA Today, "Study Is Loud and Clear: Teen Hearing Loss Rising," August 18, 2010).

Helping Teens Succeed ... Researchers have identified three key strengths that teenagers need to succeed. They include: 1. Having a spark (a deep passion or interest); 2.  Having a voice (being able to influence things that matter to them); and 3.  Having high-quality relationships that nurture their strengths

Unfortunately, only 7 percent of teenagers have all three strengths.  Seventy-six percent of teenagers have none of the three strengths-or only one (Search Institute and Best Buy, "Teen Voice 2010," 2010).

Savvy Teen Girls & Cosmetics ... Teenage girls who use cosmetics are learning that the FDA has tested only 11 percent of the 10,500 cosmetic ingredients used in the United States. While Europe has banned more than 1,000 ingredients used in personal care products, the United States has banned only nine. More and more girls are now using personal care products that are natural and organic (No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt, 2010).

SKINS Controversy ... MTV's new racy show "Skins" is everywhere. Not only did its premiere episode attract more than 3 million viewers, it's been written about in hundreds of newspapers, magazines and blogs. That's because advertisers are dropping like flies; Shick, Wrigley, General Motors and today, Subway, all pulled the plug. That makes seven so far. The sexually charged show features high school students who routinely have sex, drink alcohol and do drugs. . . .The Parents Television Council asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether an upcoming episode violates federal child pornography statutes. ... Media expert Mark Joyella says all this controversy and all this media attention may spell success for the sexually charged show, but cautions parents, that if you're letting MTV teach your kids, you might deserve what you get, "If you wait and let your kids find out about sex by watching Skins, well, you've probably already made a few mistakes down the road. And I don't think you can really fault MTV for that."  (January 24, 2011, WPIX-TV Web site, Cleveland, OH)

FINAL THOUGHTS ... Christian Smith, in his presentation at the symposium said, "You get what you are."  In the "Skins" article from Teens and Trends above the same thing, "If you're letting MTV teach your kids, you might deserve what you get."  All the studies show that parents are the number one influencer in the lives of their kids.  And you can influence for good and for bad or for indifference.  Never has there been such a need for good, solid, faith-filled parenting.  And never has there been such a need for solid parenting education.  What is your church doing to train up Christ-centered, God-fearing parents?  It's a very haunting question.

-tkd