The ym360 Trends And Culture Update (Vol. 30)

You've asked us for it, and we listened. Back by popular demand, it's the ym360 Trends & Culture Update, a twice monthly look at studies and articles designed to keep youth ministers, adult volunteers, and parents in the loop on what's happening in youth culture. (Read why we think it's important here.)

We Want To Equip You And Those You Serve

Consider using this article to equip your community in the following ways:

• Use the PRINT and/or EMAIL buttons at the top and bottom of the page to share this content with your ministry team and especially your students' parents.
• Repost it on your blog or church website
• 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. 

Social Media & Technology

• Have you seen Hadouken? It's the newest Internet/Twitter meme, and it's kind of fun.
• Teens Picking Pandora Over AM/FM Radio
• “Don't Fear Your Kids' Technology Use; Embrace it.” Interesting article.
• Adults worse than teens when it comes to texting and driving.
• Just for fun: Cell-ebration! 40 Years of Cellphone History

Culture & Entertainment

• Another harmful body image trend plagues teen girls: the 'Thigh Gap' Obsession"
• Judge rules that the morning-after pill must be made available over the counter to women of all ages.
• “The Juvenilization of Christianity,” an excellent video from the folks at Youth Specialties
• What movies are your students and/or their friends watching? Click here to check out which movies won the weekend. 
• Stay in touch with what your students and/or their friends are listening to. The Billboard Hot 100 tracks songs across all mediums. By clicking here you can listen to and watch the videos for the most popular songs in the country right now. (NOTE: Use discernment when previewing this content as, sadly, much of it is objectionable.)

A Glance At Recent Research

• Study: 80 percent of U.S. teens have a bad diet. 
• Study: Insufficient sleep in teens linked to obesity especially among already overweight teens
• Study: Fewer US teens dying in teen-driver crashes
• Study: 1 out of 5 teen moms has second child before age 20
• Study: Number Of Teens Expecting To Depend On Parents Into Adulthood Has Doubled Since 2011. 
• Study: Overall, teens less sexually active than commonly thought, especially among younger teens. 

That's it for this edition of the ym360 Trends & Culture report. Look for another one the week of April 22.

[**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.] 

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