ym360 Trends and Culture Update (Vol 15)

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

• Want to resource your students' parents with a great article? Send this to them. It's an article on how mobile phones, apps, and games are serious privacy issues for teens, and for moms and dads.
• We Tweeted this last week, but it's worth mentioning again. 7.3 million kids under the age of 13 are on Facebook, a lot of them with mom and dad's permission.
• Sony Playstation network coming back online after a rash of security blunders and breaches. Are you hearing any fallout from your students? Are they aware of the security issues? (h/t Mashable)
• Interesting article by a teenager about "Facebook Marriages" among her friends at school. I've noticed some of this as well in the teenagers in our youth group. Worth a read.

A Glance At Recent Research

• From the fine folks at Fuller Youth Institute: a new study shows that 85% of college grads will move back home. Yikes!!!!
• Study shows that 1/3 of young girls clothing designed to be "sexy." ym360's Les Bradford was interviewed on this study by the Christian Post. Read the article here. (h/t YPulse)
• A study finds that millennials support their causes with time and money. I'd be interested to see if this translates to Christian Millennials supporting Christian charities and/or tithing. (h/t YPulse)
• New study shows that different types of media have different effects on teenagers' ability to sleep.
• New study shows that teens who drink alcohol spend more time using the computer for activities such as social networking than do those who don't drink alcohol.
• New study shows that virtual objects may be more important to teenagers than some physical artifacts (think digital photos and media) according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

The World of Youth-Culture & Entertainment

• The Biebs has teamed up with a company called PhoneGuard to stop teen texting while driving. Worthy cause, but wonder if it will have a real impact?
• Looks like there is going to be a remake of the Flintstones. What, the remake with John Goodman and Halle Berry wasn't good enough? Yikes . . .
• As always, we link you to the Billboard Hot 100, a source where you can listen to and see what many of your student are listening to. But, as always, do so with your own discretion.

That's it for this edition of the ym360 Trends & Culture report. Look for another one the week of May 30.

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