Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers’ Cruising Declines

For car-loving American teenagers, this is turning out to be the summer the cruising died.

From coast to coast, American teenagers appear to be driving less this summer. Police officers who keep watch on weekend cruising zones say fewer youths are spending their time driving around in circles, with more of them hanging out in parking lots, malls or movie theaters.

The price spike in gasoline, to an average of $4.07 a gallon for regular unleaded, is so recent that government statistics do not yet capture the teenage-driving trend. But the figures show that overall demand for gasoline is dropping. In dozens of interviews, teenagers and their parents said the price of gasoline was forcing hard choices on them.

To be sure, the number of teenage drivers nationwide was already on a downturn over the past decade, a trend fueled by tighter state laws governing the hours when teenagers can drive, higher insurance costs and a move away from school-sponsored driver’s education programs to more expensive private driving academies.

These days, teenagers who do have licenses are not only driving less, but they are also having to come up with their own gasoline money. Any long trip involving a group of teenagers is likely to involve careful negotiation over who pays. And some teenagers are realizing that gasoline prices have put their dream of owning a car out of reach.

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/us/29teengas.html?

Save Your Hide — Skip the Tanning Booth

I was just hanging out with some sunburned teens yesterday, and then came across this article on MSNBC, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a friendly reminder that with summer is here, comes the dangers of tanning - not only in the tanning booths, but under the sun as well. Most kids are pretty resilient in terms of burn recovery, but it's what can catch up with them in later years that should keep parents pushing their kids to use sunscreen. (My sun exposures are catching up with me. I had a squamous cell skin cancer taken off my head last year...)

A couple of high school students in my neighborhood recently told me they are getting ready to hit the beach this summer by tuning up their suntans inside tanning beds.

When I asked one of my colleagues here at Penn, Dr. William James, a professor of dermatology, if the high school students had the right idea about getting a head start on a tan, he laughed out loud.  A tan, he said, represents nothing more than damage to the skin. It is the body trying to defend itself against an environmental hazard — too much UV light. In other words, indoor tanning gets you ready for the beach in the same way that getting scalded in a hot tub gets you ready to be boiled alive.

So who is to blame for the idea that damaged skin is beautiful? Why do so many societies view a tan as a sign of radiant health rather than as a sign that you are starting to resemble a charcoal broiled steak? The main culprit, of course, is the fashion industry.

Source: MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25378496/

Prescription Drugs: Rock's New Coke and Heroin?

Aerosmith screamer Steven Tyler was once the poster boy for drug addiction in the music biz. In fact, Tyler and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry were known as the "Toxic Twins" for their heroin and sundry other habits. But Tyler has a new drug, and this time it's over-the-counter.

While promoting the release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York on Friday, Tyler told the Associated Press that he recently checked back into rehab not to kick heroin or coke, but prescription meds and sleep aids. After undergoing surgery and physical therapy on his foot, Tyler couldn't hack the pain and admitted himself into a facility for help.

Prescription meds are the new drug of choice for rock and movie stars, some of whom have fallen prey to lethal doses.

Teens are currently abusing prescription meds more than coke, heroin and meth combined.

Source: Wired
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/prescription-dr.html#more

The Next Tween and Teen Starlets You Need to Know

You probably already know to be on the lookout for rising stars like Selena Gomez and Aly and AJ, but here are a few more on the rise...

Demi Lovato: By now you've probably heard about the Disney Channel's latest smash hit, Camp Rock. The 2nd highest rated Disney telepic ever (just behind last year's High School Musical 2), the Jonas Brothers vehicle premiered this weekend to almost 9 million viewers. The movie also marked the breakout of tween star-to-watch Demi Lovato, who is expected to become the next Miley Cyrus.

Keke Palmer: Best known for her star turn in Akeelah and the Bee, in which she gave a critically-acclaimed performance, Palmer is now Nickelodeon's next big thing.

Sara Paxton: Already a tween screen queen with roles in Discovery Kids TV series Darcy's Wild Life (for which she received an Emmy nomination) and Aquamarine (in which she played a mermaid) under her belt, Sara Paxton is transitioning into more mature roles; she'll next be seen playing a lead role in the remake of the classic 1972 Wes Craven horror film The Last House on the Left.

Source: Trend Central
http://www.trendcentral.com/Webapps/App/SnapShots/Article.aspx?ArticleId=7391

Study: Many Teens Get Alcohol From Adults

Many of the nation's estimated 10.8 million underage drinkers are turning to their parents or other adults for free alcohol.

A government survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 said slightly more than half had engaged in underage drinking.

Asked about the source of alcohol, 40 percent they got it from an adult for free over the past month, the survey said. Of those, about one in four said they got it from an unrelated adult, one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from another adult family member. Roughly 4 percent reported taking the alcohol from their own home.

The nationwide study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, being released Thursday, tracks the social contexts involved in underage drinking, a problem leading to thousands of alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries each year.

About one out of five of those aged 12 to 20 — or roughly 7.2 million people — said they had taken part in binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past month, the survey said. Rates were significantly higher if they lived with a parent who engaged in binge drinking.

The study, which uses data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, is based on a scientific random sample of 158,000 people aged 12 to 20 in the United States.

Source: Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iqcz4qefFuB-WzZl_dobVvodK-zwD91HHARO0

It interesting to me to see the number of articles being published on this study that imply surprise by the notion that adults provide teens with alcohol. Where else are teens going to get alcohol?! At least going as far back as to when this generation of parents were teens, kids have typically relied on adults for acquiring alcohol. It certainly isn't typical that a teen is going to walk into a store and purchase it. If there is anything surprising to me in this study it's that so many teens are getting their alcohol free. A cost factor is involved, so it's costing someone! I honestly don't understand that part. I would have also thought that the percentage of teens taking alcohol from their own home (4%) would have been greater. What are your thoughts?

Teens Say E-mail Just Doesn't Cut It

What about e-mail, which not only is more familiar to most parents but also remains the primary form of communication in office settings? Could e-mail be going the way of the telegram? The stamped letter? The rotary phone?

It's not that suburban teens never use e-mail. When compelled to communicate with adults who - bless their technology-challenged hearts - don't know any better, teens will resort to the technology of yesteryear.

In other words, high school and college students don't mind using e-mail as a bridge with older adults. But when it comes to social communication, most view e-mail as Samuel Morse viewed the Pony Express - yesterday's news.

How do teens decide when to text, when to instant message and when to use Facebook?

Texting dominates, they say, because they always have their phones.

Source: Daily Herald
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=206573

According to the article, some parents are jumping on the texting bandwagon as they find it the quickest, most reliable way to contact their kids when they are away from home.

Family Meals Turn Teenaged Girls Away From Drugs, Alcohol

Adolescent girls who sit down for frequent meals with their families are half as likely to smoke, drink and use marijuana as those who share family meals less often, according to a new study.

"Part of it is just parents being more in touch with their kids, being able to see earlier on if their kids are veering down a path that might not be filled with healthy choices," says Marla Eisenberg, lead author of the paper and a professor of pediatrics in the University of Minnesota's medical school.

Family meals may also offer protection simply because they increase the amount of time teens spend at home instead of out with their friends, she says - the environment where they are most likely to experiment with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.

Interestingly, teen boys do not enjoy the same benefit, with frequent family meals having no bearing on their substance use down the road.

"It's really not as clear for boys, we've had a hard time pinning down what's going on with boys," says Eisenberg.

She speculates the difference may be due to the distinct ways in which they engage with their families, with girls tending to be emotionally closer to their parents and better equipped to pick up on "emotional cues" of support.

Source: OttawaCitizen.com
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=68993b1b-67d7-4584-b4fc-2a4b5d43f43c

Teens Who Abuse Alcohol Or Drugs Are More Likely To Die Young

More reason for parents to attempt early intervention when kids are on a path toward alcohol and drug abuse...

Teens who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to die in early adulthood, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers published in the current issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The study, the first in a sample of U.S. adolescents, found that substance abuse disorders (SUDs) in adolescents significantly predicted young adult mortality. These deaths were linked to specific high-risk behaviors in adolescence, including intoxicated driving and drug trafficking.

Among the 870 adolescents studied, researchers noted 21 deaths, or about 2 percent of the group, at an average age of nearly 25 years. Fourteen of those deaths occurred in males with SUDs, or more than 10 percent of that group. Among African-American males with SUDs, 23 percent had died by the age of 25. Males with SUDs in this study group had a mortality rate far in excess of the rate of 137 per 100,000 reported for young adult males in the U.S. general population.

Source: Medical News Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112094.php

Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant

There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. Seventeen students there are expecting and many of them became that way on purpose.

Time Magazine first reported that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of them is older than 16.

Schools Superintendent Christopher Farmer told WBZ's Bill Shields Thursday the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

According to Time, school officials started looking into the spike in pregnancies after an unusual number of girls came to the school clinic for pregnancy tests. Some came by several times.

"Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan told the magazine.

A recent graduate who had a baby during her freshman year told Time she knows why the girls wanted to get pregnant.

"They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Amanda Ireland, 18, said. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

Source: WBZ TV
http://wbztv.com/local/gloucester.high.school.2.751873.html

Top 10 Lycos Web Searches for the Week ending 6/14/08

1. Lindsay Lohan
2. YouTube
3. Kim Kardashian
4. Megan Fox
5. Naruto
6. Clay Aiken
7. Paris Hilton
8. Jessica Alba
9. Pokemon
10. Angelina Jolie

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