The ym360 Trends and Culture Update (Vol. 21)

At ym360, we're committed to equipping youth workers. While most of our energy is dedicated to doing this in the areas of Bible Study Resources and Training, we believe it's valuable for youth workers and parents to stay in the loop on what is happening in youth culture and culture in general. (Read why we think it's important here.) A couple times a month, we'll do a post like this one, where we link to relevant articles and studies that give you a better glimpse into the world teenagers are living in.

[Note: By nature, some of the articles and subject matter we deal with in Trends & Culture often conflicts with our beliefs and ethics as Christ-followers. Our purpose in linking to this type of material is to simply give you the option of knowing the culture your students are surrounded by. Use discretion to determine which links to click on.]

We'd love to know that we're not just equipping you, but those you serve, as well. Consider using this article to equip your community in the following ways:

• Email this link to your adult volunteers
• Repost it on your blog or church website
• Email the link to all your parents to help equip them to better understand their teen's world
• SHARE IT with your youth ministry networks. This is a great way to help your peeps!

Without further ado, here are some relevant links we think you should know about.

Some Social Media & Tech News

• Facebook launching "instagram-like" photo filter feature. (Say that 5-times fast . . . "photo filter feature.")
• Interesting study shows that Millennials are "looking to forge relationships with those businesses that 'help them express their personal brands.'" Over 43% have "liked" twenty or more brands. (h't YPulse)
• Facebook makes long awaited (by many) privacy updates. Some are calling them tedious or a little clunky. Wonder if people will actually utilize them?
• New Pew Study shows that only 50% of US Adults use social media. Surprising? Or not?
• Pretty cool new feature on Twitter: User Galleries. Granted, this article is a little dry, but, it looks pretty cool. Seems like there might be some youth group applications.
• Here's a favorite here at the Trends & Culture report, the top 10 Twitter trends for last week.

A Glance At Recent Research

• Yikes. Study shows that said 80% of 3,080 students polled slept with their phone. Girls are worse than guys: "Half the girls surveyed tucked phones under their pillows and set them to vibrate." (H/t CPYU)
• Fuller Youth Institute has a really great take on a CDC report about teenagers and risky behavior. According to the study, quoting FYI, "On basically every measure the CDC evaluated, gay teens scored higher on their participation in risk behaviors than their heterosexual peers." This is a link to FYI's post where you can link to the study.
• Does social networking increase the risk of teen drug abuse? A new Reuter's study says so. Check it out.
• Wow. Not sure what to say about this, other than to simply pass it along: "A new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Austin psychologist finds sexually active teenagers in romantic relationships are less likely to exhibit anti-social behavior than their peers who have casual sex."
• New study finds that "happy teenagers are less involved in crime and drug use compared to their unhappy peers."
• Very interesting study: UK study shows that if an older sister has a teenaged pregnancy, the younger sister is more likely to also have a teenaged pregnancy. Wonder if the same findings would hold true here in the US?
• Another UK study shows that parents and kids are bonding over smart phones and video games. Are you OK with this? Does it matter what they're doing if they are indeed bonding? 

The World of Youth-Culture & Entertainment

• Jonathan McKee always has the best wrap up of the MTV Video Music Awards (sounds funny saying music in the same sentence as MTV as, you know, they haven't really played music in a deco or so.) His wrap-up isn't up at the time we published this post, but here's a quick overview. I encourage you to check back later on to catch the full review.
• I don't get the Pop-idol fragrance thing. Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato . . . all have fragrances. At least Selena Gomez is letting her fans choose the fragrance. [Sigh . . . ]
• After Fox announces an 8-day delay of releasing its shows to Hulu, piracy of said shows skyrocketed. Huh . . .
• Of all the things we link to on the Trends & Culture Update, the one that makes me cringe the most, and the most frequently is the link to Billboard's Hot 100. Why does it make me cringe? 1) I love music. And SO much of what is popular is just bad music. It makes me sad. 2) Music shapes people. And SO much of what is popular is so unbelievably debased, immoral, ridiculous, etc. It makes me sad for teenagers and young adults. We link to it so you can be informed, and so that you can look for spots to engage your students in a dialogue about what they are listening to. Glad to have that off my chest . . . :)

That's it for this edition of the ym360 Trends & Culture report. Look for another one the week of September 12.

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Any specific study or link stand out to you? Disagree with anything? Let us know by sharing your thoughts below.