Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

What's Hot? 4/29/11

Current Top Internet Searches - 4/29/11
   1. facebook
   2. youtube
   3. kathleen turner
   4. kate hudson
   5. kristin cavelleri
   6. kara dioguardi
   7. britney spears
   8. nicollette sheridan
   9. pippa middleton
  10. american idol
Source: CyberWyre

Top 10 U.S. Websites - 4/29/11
   1. Google
   2. Facebook
   3. Yahoo!
   4. YouTube
   5. Amazon
   6. Wikipedia
   7. Twitter
   8. Blogger
   9. eBay
  10. Craigslist
Source: Alexa

iTunes Top 10 Downloaded Songs - 4/29/11
   1. Rolling in the Deep - Adele
   2. E.T. (feat. Kanye West) - Katy Perry
   3. Till the World Ends - Britney Spears
   4. The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
   5. Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
   6. I Feel Pretty / Unpretty - Glee Cast
   7. On the Floor (feat. Pitbull) - Jennifer Lopez
   8. Blow - Ke$ha
   9. Written in the Stars - Tinie Tempah
  10. Give Me Everything - Pitbull
Source: Apple iTunes

Top 10 TV Shows in Prime Time - Week Ending 4/24/11
   1. American Idol - Wednesday
   2. American Idol - Thursday
   3. Dancing with the Stars
   4. Dancing with the Stars Results
   5. NCIS
   6. Hawaii Five-0
   7. Body of Proof
   8. NCIS: Los Angeles
   9. The Mentalist
  10. Survivor: Redemption Island
Source: Nielsen Co

Top 5 Most Viewed Videos on YouTube - Week Ending - 4/29/11
   1. Dead alien found in UFO hotspot in Russia
   2. Orphan Tears
   3. Pokemon in Real Life
   4. Bugs Bunny'd
   5. Alien Found?
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Week Ending 4/21/11
   1. Rio
   2. Scream 4
   3. Hop
   4. Soul Surfer
   5. Hanna
Source: Box Office Mojo

More Parents Flying Solo

When it comes to parenting, American parents are increasingly on their own.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development studied 27 industrialized countries and revealed yesterday that the United States has the highest proportion of single-parent households, at 25.8 percent. It's a percentage that has been on the rise, the organization's report said.

Experts point to a variety of factors to explain the high U.S. figure, including a cultural shift toward greater acceptance of single-parent child-rearing.

The world average for single-parent households stands at 14.9%.

Following the United States, Canada has the second highest percentage of single-parent households at 22.1%. The country with the lowest percentage of single-parent households is Greece, at 5.3%

Source: The Daily
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/04/28/042811-news-single-parent-homes-chart/

Kids With ADHD More Likely to Use Drugs

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are up to three times more likely than other kids to use, abuse or become dependent on substances such as nicotine, cocaine and marijuana in adolescence and as young adults, new research suggests.

Adolescents with ADHD also were more likely to experiment with nicotine and illegal substances at earlier ages than those without ADHD, according to an analysis of 27 long-term studies that followed 4,100 ADHD and 6,800 non-ADHD children into young adulthood — in some cases for 10 years or more.

The study, by psychologists at the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of South Carolina-Columbia, was funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It was published online in the journal Clinical Psychology Review and will appear in the journal's print edition this summer.

The analysis suggests that kids with ADHD are three times more likely to develop nicotine dependence, 1.5 times more likely to use marijuana, and twice as likely to use cocaine, compared with kids without ADHD.

Source: USA Today
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011/04/Kids-with-ADHD-more-likely-to-use-drugs-analysis-finds/46475082/1

Youth Football Injuries on the Rise, Study Finds

New data shows that youth football injuries are on the rise.

The annual number of football injuries among players aged 6 to 17 who were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments rose 27 percent over 18 years, from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007, the report finds.

During the study period, there were an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among youngsters in this age group, according to the researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

"We found that nearly 2,000 pediatric and adolescent football-related injuries were treated every day in emergency departments during football season," study co-author Lara McKenzie, a principal investigator at Nationwide's Center for Injury Research and Policy, said in a hospital news release. "We need to do a better job of preventing football-related injuries among our young athletes."

The most common types of injuries were sprains and strains (31 percent), fractures and dislocations (28 percent), and soft tissue injuries (24 percent). The researchers also found that there were 8,631 football-related concussions per year.

Players aged 12 to 17 accounted for the majority of injuries (78 percent), and were more likely than younger players to sustain a concussion or be injured at school. Children aged 6 to 11 were more likely to sustain lacerations and were often injured at home.

The study was published in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Pediatrics.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/fitness/articles/2011/04/13/youth-football-injuries-on-the-rise-study-finds

Severely Obese Teens No More Depressed Than Slimmer Peers

Severely obese teens are no more likely to be depressed than their normal weight peers, new research suggests.

"People assume that all obese adolescents are unhappy and depressed; that the more obese a teen may be, the greater the impact on his or her mental health," study author Dr. Elizabeth Goodman, director of the Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, said in a hospital news release. "Our findings suggest this assumption is false."

Researchers tracked 51 severely obese teens in grades 7-12 and compared them to a similar group of non-obese teens. The obese teens had a body mass index of 40 or above, which is considered severely obese and in the top 1 percent for their age group.

Teens were assessed for depression at the start of the study and again two and three years later.

The researchers found no link between obesity and depression, although there were signs of a connection in white teens at year three.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/04/26/severely-obese-teens-no-more-depressed-than-slimmer-peers

College Students Get Hard Lessons in Finance

In these tight times, college students are getting a lesson in economics no matter what their major. Students say money influences everything from what school they attend and what career they pursue to how quickly they complete their degrees — or whether they graduate at all.

Money problems, not bad grades, are the reason cited by most college students who have considered dropping out, an Associated Press-Viacom poll finds.

Almost 6 in 10 students rely on loans to help with college costs, and nearly half who do say they’re uncomfortable with the debt. A majority of students at four-year colleges say they routinely feel at least a little worried about having enough money to make it through the week, according to the poll, conducted in partnership with Stanford University.

Most college students — 84% — need more than one source of cash to keep up, says the poll of people ages 18 to 24.

About two-thirds say they work part time or more to help pay for college. That’s supplemented by another popular source of funds: Mom and Dad. Six in 10 get help from parents. The same number rely on scholarships for part of the bill.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/college/2011-04-23-college-students-money-poll.htm

What's Hot? 4/22/11

Current Top Internet Searches - 4/22/11
   1. facebook
   2. youtube
   3. iPhone 5
   4. skynet
   5. kara dioguardi
   6. jennifer egan
   7. petra nemcova
   8. lindsay lohan
   9. jennifer lopez
  10. pia toscano
Source: CyberWyre

Top 10 U.S. Websites - 4/22/11
   1. Google
   2. Facebook
   3. Yahoo!
   4. YouTube
   5. Amazon
   6. Wikipedia
   7. Twitter
   8. Blogger
   9. eBay
  10. Craigslist
Source: Alexa

iTunes Top 10 Downloaded Songs - 4/22/11
   1. Rolling in the Deep - Adele
   2. E.T. (feat. Kanye West) - Katy Perry
   3. Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
   4. The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars
   5. Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce
   6. Judas - Lady Gaga
   7. On the Floor (feat. Pitbull) - Jennifer Lopez
   8. Country Girl - Luke Bryan
   9. Down On Me (feat. 50 Cent) - Jeremih & 50 Cent
  10. Look at Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne) - Chris Brown
Source: Apple iTunes

Top 10 TV Shows in Prime Time - Week Ending 4/17/11
   1. American Idol - Wednesday
   2. American Idol - Thursday
   3. Dancing with the Stars
   4. NCIS
   5. Dancing with the Stars Results
   6. NCIS: Los Angeles
   7. Criminal Minds
   8. Castle
   9. Bones
  10. Survivor: Redemption Island
Source: Nielsen Co

Top 5 Most Viewed Videos on YouTube - Week Ending - 4/22/11
   1. The T-Mobile Royal Wedding
   2. Lady Gaga - Judas
   3. Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Ep. 1
   4. Bruno Marz - The Lazy Song
   5. President of Czech Republic steals pen
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Week Ending 4/14/11
   1. Hop
   2. Hanna
   3. Arthur (2011)
   4. Soul Surfer
   5. Your Highness
Source: Box Office Mojo

Teen Triangle, Facebook Feud, Leads to Murder of 15-Year-Old

A teen triangle and bitter Facebook feud culminated in the savage killing of a 15-year-old Florida boy who was lured to his death by his former girlfriend, law-enforcement officials said.

Seath Jackson was hit in the head and shot, but he still tried desperately to flee the home in Summerfield where the attack occurred Sunday, police said.

He was shot again and his body was placed in a bathtub, where his knees were broken so his body would fit in a sleeping bag. He was still alive, so he was shot again, and then his body was burned in a backyard fire pit, according to arrest documents. His ashes were shoveled into paint containers.

Michael Bargo, 18; Amber Wright, 15; her brother Kyle Hooper, 16; Charlie Ely, 18; and Justin Soto, 20, have been charged with first-degree murder. James Haven, 37, has been charged with accessory to murder for allegedly helping to dispose of the body and driving Bargo out of town.

"It's an unimaginable act, the idea that six people would come together and carry out to kill a 15-year-old," Marion County Police Officer Judge Cochran said. "It's not something you expect to happen anywhere, particularly not in Marion County. We're a religious community. People move here for the level of quiet."

Police said the killing had its origins in the animosity between Bargo and the victim. "This violence came from Michael Bargo's intense hatred for Seath Jackson. Because of the hatred, he formed a plan to kill him," said Cochran.

The hatred seemed tied to Jackson's relationship with Amber Wright, his ex-girlfriend. In early March, he wrote "love you Amber" on his Facebook wall, but by April 7 he was calling her "slut."

A public battle began on Facebook on April 8 when Wright wrote on Jackson's page: "I got so tired of you treating me like I was nothing. If you're so perfect, why don't you get over your jealousy and get a new girl you can hurt. ... You know I cared deeply about you. I stuck with you through a lot of stuff. ... It takes a real man to accept the fact he got broken up with."

According to Bargo's lawyer, Charles Holloman, Bargo "had affection" for Amber that sparked fury at Jackson. "He was concerned about the way she was being treated. He wasn't the only one who was concerned," the lawyer said.

On Sunday, Wright sent a barrage of text messages to Jackson luring him to Ely's house, according to arrest documents. When he arrived, Bargo, Hooper and Soto hit him in the head with wooden objects, police say. Then the grisly and prolonged killing began, cops said.

Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-triangle-leads-vicious-murder-15-year-florida/story?id=13422887

Teens' Facebook Profiles Affecting College Admissions

How are teens' social media habits affecting college admissions? Apparently a lot. Especially when it comes to their Facebook profiles.

According to schools.com’s infographic (data based on Kaplan and Cappex.com), 80 percent of America’s top colleges use social media in their recruiting process. In particular, Facebook.

Source: Penn-Olson.com
http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/04/17/how-social-media-is-reshaping-college-admissions/

Early School Start Tied to More Teen Crashes

Teens who start school earlier in the morning are at increased risk for traffic crashes, a new study finds.

But starting the school day a little later seems to improve teens' attention and reduce impulsiveness, another study finds.

In 2008, the weekday traffic crash rate for 16- to 18-year-olds in Virginia Beach, Va., was about 41 percent higher than for the same age group in nearby Chesapeake, Va. High school classes started at 7:20 to 7:25 a.m. in Virginia Beach and at 8:40 to 8:45 a.m. in Chesapeake.

For every 1,000 teen drivers, there were 65.8 car crashes in Virginia Beach and 46.6 crashes in Chesapeake, the investigators found.

Similar differences were seen in 2007, the researchers said.

When the researchers focused only on the school months of September 2007 through June 2008, they found the weekday crash rate for teen drivers was about 25 percent higher in Virginia Beach than in Chesapeake -- 80 versus 64 per 1,000 teen drivers.

The research, originally presented last year at a meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Societies, is published April 15 in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Israeli researchers, reporting in the same issue of the journal, say pushing back school start times by just one hour appears to improve teens' mental functioning.

Their study of eighth-graders found that the 14-year-old students were more attentive and made fewer mistakes when school started one hour later. The students got about 55 minutes more sleep and did better on tests requiring attention, the researchers found.

Source: Businessweek