Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teen to Face Trial on Charges of Posting Nude Pic on MySpace

As a follow up to earlier posts on the topic of teens and digital pictures - here, and here - comes this story from Wisconsin about a 17-year-old boy who is facing felony charges for posting nude pictures of a 16-year-old girl classmate on his MySpace page. The girl has testified that she emailed him the photos. While certainly the boy is in the wrong for posting the photos on MySpace, this story raises the issue of moral ambiguity for teens who are figuring out the rules of how to navigate these new waters of a digital culture.

LA CROSSE, Wis. - A teen accused of posting nude pictures of a 16-year-old girl on his MySpace page was bound over for trial Wednesday after he refused to enter pleas to three charges.

Alex Phillips, 17, of La Crosse, pleaded not guilty, according to online court records updated Thursday.

He is charged with felony counts of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, and a misdemeanor count of defamation. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 16 years, nine months in prison and a $45,000 fine.

The girl, who testified by phone, said she took the photographs of herself and e-mailed them to Phillips about two months ago. When she learned on May 17 that Phillips had posted the photos to his Web page, her mother called police.

Source: Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/19354284.html?

Patterns: Vomiting Raises Risk of Irregular Periods

As a parent, if you become aware that your daughter has irregular periods, you'll want to dig a bit deeper to see whether or not there is also any indication of vomiting as a means of weight control...

Teenage girls who vomit one to three times a month to control weight increase their risk of having irregular menstrual periods by 60 percent, a new study reports; those who vomit once a week or more triple their risk. When researchers restricted the analysis only to girls of normal weight, the association was even stronger.

Researchers analyzed self-reported data from 2,791 girls ages 14 to 19 nationwide. Almost 9 percent reported vomiting for weight control one to three times a month; an additional 3.1 percent vomited once a week or more. The report appears in the May issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health.

S. Bryn Austin, the lead author and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard, said that about two million teenage girls a year vomit for weight control. “A girl may keep the vomiting a secret, but may talk about her irregular menses. If she does, this presents an opportunity to intervene.”

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/health/research/27patt.html?

Energy Drinks Emerge as Predictor of Risky Behavior by Teens

Previously linked to health problems such as nausea and abnormal heart rhythms, caffeinated energy drinks like Red Bull and Amp may also be a predictor of high-risk behavior by teens, The New York Times reports.

About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds are regular users of energy drinks.

The Journal of American College Health published a report in March on the link between energy drinks, athletics and risky behavior.

The March study's finding doesn’t mean the drinks cause bad behavior. Rather, the data suggests that teens and 'tweens who regularly consume them are more likely to take risks with their health and safety, Kathleen Miller, the study's author, said.

Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,358523,00.html

I've been noticing some other news stories this year that indicate a rising alertness toward kids who use energy drinks. Parents should keep an eye on this trend. While this study does not provide a causal link between using energy drinks and involvement in risky behaviors, the finding that those kids who regularly use these drinks and those who engage in risky behaviors ought to be enough of a caution flag for parents to take notice. Are you personally aware of any links between energy links and risky behaviors? Let me know.

Study: U.S. Kid, Teen Obesity Stabilized

The number of obese or overweight American children has stabilized at about one out of three youngsters, researchers say.

A report by the National Center for Health Statistics, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the prevalence of high body mass index among children and adolescents showed no significant changes between 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006. In fact, the report says there were no significant trends between 1999 and 2006.

Source: United Press International
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/05/27/study_us_kid_teen_obesity_stabilized/7012/

Top 10 Lycos Web Searches for the Week ending 5/17/08

1. YouTube
2. Jessica Alba
3. Mariah Carey
4. Clay Aiken
5. Paris Hilton
6. Pamela Anderson
7. Facebook
8. WWE
9. Kim Kardashian
10. Pokemon

Source: Lycos
http://50.lycos.com/

iTunes – Top 10 Downloaded Songs 5/23/08

1. The Time of My Life – David Cook
2. Dream Big – David Cook
3. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – David Cook
4. The World I Know – David Cook
5. Viva La Vida  – Coldplay
6. Take a Bow – Rihanna
7. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – David Archuleta
8. Pocketful of Sunshine – Natasha Bedingfield
9. In This Moment – David Archuleta
10. Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis

Source: Apple iTunes
http://www.apple.com/itunes/weekly/

Top 10 TV Shows in Prime Time – Week ending 5/18/08

1. American Idol – Wednesday
2. American Idol – Tuesday
3. Dancing With The Stars
4. CSI
5. Dancing With The Stars - Results
6. Desperate Housewives
7. Grey’s Anatomy
8. Without A Trace
9. NCIS
10. CSI: Miami

Source: Neilsen Media Research
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/menuitem.43afce2fac27e890311ba0a347a062a0/?vgnextoid=9e4df9669fa14010VgnVCM100000880a260aRCRD

Top 5 Movies – Week ending 5/15/08

1. Iron Man
2. What Happens in Vegas
3. Speed Racer
4. Made of Honor
5. Baby Mama

Source: Box Office Mojo
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekly/chart/?yr=2008&wk=04&p=.htm

Hazards: Despite Dangers, Hookahs Gain Favor

A new study finds that the use of water pipes may be on the rise among college students. Some believe that smoking tobacco this way is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes —which is not the case, the researchers say.

The study, which appears in the May issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health, looked at water-pipe use among students at Virginia Commonwealth University. It found that of more than 700 students surveyed, more than 40 percent reported having used a water pipe in the previous year.

The pipes, often called hookahs or shishas, are perhaps best known in the Middle East and are used to smoke flavored and sweetened tobacco. The tobacco is heated over charcoal, and then is cooled as it passes through a bowl of water and is inhaled from a hose.

Despite the belief of some students, water pipes may expose users to more toxic materials than cigarettes. Each puff has as much as 100 times the smoke as a puff from a cigarette, the study said. And smokers are also inhaling fumes from the charcoal.

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/health/20haza.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

Not sure if this rises to the level of a widespread trend, but it's something parents should be aware of and keep in mind...

Dancing the Night Away, With a Higher Purpose

COLORADO SPRINGS — In their floor-length gowns, up-dos and tiaras, the 70 or so young women swept past two harpists and into a gilt-and-brocade dining room at the lavish Broadmoor Hotel, on the arms of their much older male companions.

The girls, ages early grade school to college, had come with their fathers, stepfathers and future fathers-in-law last Friday night to the ninth annual Father-Daughter Purity Ball.

After dessert, the 63 men stood and read aloud a covenant “before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity.”

The gesture signaled that the fathers would guard their daughters from what evangelicals consider a profoundly corrosive “hook-up culture.” The evening, which alternated between homemade Christian rituals and giddy dancing, was a joyous public affirmation of the girls’ sexual abstinence until they wed.

Yet the graying men in the shadow of their glittering daughters were the true focus of the night. To ensure their daughters’ purity, they were asked to set an example and to hew to evangelical ideals in a society they say tempts them as much as it does their daughters.

The purity pledges for the fathers to sign stood in the middle of the dinner tables. Unlike other purity balls, the daughters here do not make a pledge, said Amanda Robb, a New York-based writer researching a book about the abstinence movement who was at the Broadmoor event.

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/19purity.html?ex=1211860800&en=0c3deaf7fefecdb0&ei=5070&emc=eta1

I found this to be an interesting take on the purity ball experience, that in this case, it's really more about the fathers than the daughters, with the dads being the ones who sign pledges.