Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teen Sexting Update: 27 Percent Have Received, 15 Percent Have Sent

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

About 15 percent of teenagers say they've shared a sexually explicit image or video of themselves over the internet or via phone messaging, researchers say.

And nearly twice as many -- about 27 percent -- said they've received a "sext," either from the original sender or from someone passing it along, according to a review of 39 prior studies.

Sexting between teenagers is increasing with the widespread use of camera-equipped smartphones and computers, said Sheri Madigan, lead researcher of the new report.

Madigan said she doesn't find the study results surprising, given that 2 out of every 5 high school students engage in sexual intercourse and half of adults report that they've sexted.

"I think 15 percent of youths reporting that they're sexting isn't as surprising when you think about those other statistics," said Madigan, an assistant professor of psychology with the University of Calgary in Canada.

What's more surprising and concerning, she said, is that nearly as many teens say they've shared a sext that wasn't theirs.

"About 12 to 13 percent of kids are reporting they have forwarded on a sext to another person without consent of the sender," Madigan said. "They're forwarding on other people's sexually explicit images or videos without consent."

Teenagers don't appear to grasp the consequences of sexting, psychology experts said.

For example, they don't realize that the photos they share could wind up in others' hands, where they might be used to threaten or blackmail, Madigan said.

The 39 sexting studies that Madigan's team analyzed were conducted between 2009 and 2016. Twenty-two were done in the the United States, 12 in Europe, 2 in Australia, and 1 each in Canada, South Africa and South Korea.

"Sexting has increased over that time span, from 2009 to 2016, so it's on the rise," Madigan said.

Teens are more likely to sext as they age, the researchers found, and are more likely to use a mobile device than a computer to share their explicit self-images.

Boys and girls were equally likely to sext, Madigan said.

The new study appears Feb. 26 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/pregnancy-information-29/love-sex-and-relationship-health-news-452/15-percent-of-teens-say-they-ve-sexted-731441.html

Study Shows Letting Kids Taste Alcohol is a Risky Behavior

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MedicalXpress.

Parents who allow their young children to occasionally sip and taste alcohol may be contributing to an increased risk for alcohol use and related problems when those kids reach late adolescence, according to a new study by a University at Buffalo psychologist.

The findings contradict the common belief that letting kids sip and taste alcoholic drinks is harmless, and might even help to promote responsible drinking later in life.

But these beliefs run counter to new findings which appear in the journal Addictive Behaviors, according to the study's lead author, Craig Colder, a professor in UB's Department of Psychology.

Colder says the sipping alcohol with adult supervision in childhood, so often viewed as innocuous, can be harmful when kids get older and age into peak periods of heavy drinking.

"Early sipping and tasting is predicting increased drinking behavior in young adulthood," says Colder. "Sipping and tasting alcohol in childhood with adult permission is associated with more frequent drinking and an additional drink per drinking episode.

"It's not only how often they're drinking and how much they're drinking in late adolescence, but the negative consequences related to drinking increase as well, like being hungover, getting into trouble, arguing and fighting."

Roughly a third of all children before the age of 12 will taste alcohol with their parent's permission.  Though common in practice, that sipping and tasting still happens infrequently, perhaps four or five times a year.

"If I say a kid sips or tastes an alcohol drink a couple of times a year, few people would bat an eyelash," says Colder. "But the data strongly suggest that such infrequent tasting in early childhood is not a benign behavior."

In fact, Colder says, his findings support educational interventions already developed by other researchers to reduce sipping and tasting among children.

Early sipping represents what is often a child's first direct experience with drinking, yet little research has examined the long-term impact of this behavior,  in part because most studies do not measure early sipping and tasting alcohol with parental permission.

"Alcohol use without parental permission is typically initiated around age 13 or 14," says Colder. "The early sipping measured in this study was prior to age 13, before most kids initiate alcohol use without parental permission."

Colder, who conducted the research with co-authors Kathleen Shyhalla, a UB research assistant, and Seth Frndak, a graduate student at the university, annually interviewed two demographically representative community samples, each consisting of approximately 380 families, for seven years. He says the data clearly show that these were average kids who were not growing up in problem families, yet these kids who engaged in early sipping and tasting were embedded in a social context that supports drinking.

Colder says there is no evidence that the sipping and tasting that occurred within the two samples was in any way related to deficient parenting and or poor family functioning. It was limited to what he calls alcohol-specific socialization.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-02-kids-alcohol-risky-behavior.html

When One Teen Vapes, Others Often Follow

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Teenagers are impressionable when it comes to e-cigarettes, new research suggests.

Nearly four out of 10 U.S. teens who use e-cigarettes said seeing others vape led them to try the devices themselves, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Tempting flavors and the belief that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional smokes are the other top draws for kids, the researchers found.

Electronic cigarettes are the most commonly used form of tobacco among middle school and high school students, the report noted. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared their use by young people a public health concern.

"Continued efforts are important to further reduce all forms of tobacco product use, including e-cigarettes, among U.S. youths," the researchers wrote in the report. The team was led by Dr. James Tsai, of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Although the battery-powered products vary, e-cigarettes contain a heating element that produces an inhalable vapor.

To shed light on their use by young people, the researchers analyzed data from a 2016 national survey of middle school and high school students.

The investigators found that 39 percent of those who'd tried e-cigarettes said that use by a "friend or family member" was the reason.

Almost one-third said that enticing "flavors such as mint, candy, fruit or chocolate" led them to try vaping.

A smaller percentage -- 17 percent -- figured e-cigarettes would be safer than other forms of tobacco, such as cigarettes, the findings showed.

However, there's mounting evidence that e-cigarettes aren't harmless. The Surgeon General has determined that the devices can contain harmful components, including nicotine. Besides being addictive, nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain, the authors noted in the report.

The study findings were published in the CDC's Feb. 16 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/electronic-cigarettes-970/when-one-teen-vapes-others-often-follow-731178.html

What's Hot? 02/23/18

Trending Today on Twitter - 2/23/18
1. #onUp
2. #BoycottNRA
3. #FridayMotivation
4. Yahoo
5. #CANvsGER
6. #SSAC18
7. #FAT2018
8. Mark Emmert
9. General Mills
10. Tommy John
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 2/23/18
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Mirai Nagasu
3. net neutrality
4. National Margarita Day
5. Annihilation
6. Game Night
7. Brendan Fraser
8. medal count
9. Eric Greitens
10. Rachel McAdams
Source: Google

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 2/23/18
1. God's Plan - Drake
2. Meant to Be (feat. Florida Georgia Line) - Bebe Rexha
3. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
4. Pray For Me - The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar
5. All the Stars - Kendrick Lamar, SZA
6. Perfect - Ed Sheeran
7. You Make It Easy - Jason Aldean
8. Say Something (feat. Chris Stapleton) - Justin Timberlake
9. Finesse (Remix) (feat. Cardi B) - Bruno Mars
10. Havana (feat. Young Thug) - Camila Cabello
Source: iTunes

Top 10 TV (Broadcast) Shows - Week Ending 2/18/18
1. Winter Olympics - Tues.
2. Winter Olympics - Mon.
3. Winter Olympics - Wed.
4. Winter Olympics - Fri.
5. Winter Olympics - Sun.
6. Winter Olympics - Thurs.
7. Winter Olympics - Sat.
8. 60 Minutes
9. The Big Bang Theory
10. Young Sheldon
Source: Nielsen Co.

Trending Today on YouTube - Today - 2/23/18
1. Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel
2. Ed Sheeran - Supermarket Flowers
3. Watch the full shootout between the USA and Canada
4. I Followed My Dad Around With a Confetti Cannon
5. I Tried Following A Simply Nailogical Nail Art Tutorial
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Last Weekend
1. Black Panther
2. Peter Rabbit
3. Fifty Shades Freed
4. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
5. The 15:17 to Paris
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Raising the Minimum Wage Hurts Teen, Young Adult Employment Rates

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on The Daily Signal.

A new study shows that raising the minimum wage has played a role in the decline of teen employment and the labor force participation rate, which has fallen by about half since 1994.

The study, conducted by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, examined three possible factors to explain why teen employment has declined since 2000: higher minimum wages, more labor competition from immigrants, and rising returns to schooling.

Mercatus found that a higher minimum wage was the “predominant” factor in lower teen employment.

“The percentage of teens not in the labor force who reported wanting a job fell by almost half between 1994 and 2009, from 24 percent to 13.2 percent,” according to the study, “Declining Teen Employment: Minimum Wages, Other Explanations, and Implications for Human Capital Investment,” published Feb. 7.

The study found that teen labor participation rates declined much more than those of adults, which dropped about 3 percentage points, according to the study. Additionally, the study found that the labor participation rate of young adults “does not coincide with swings in economic activity.”

During the period Mercatus studied, many states increased their minimum wage, and some states raised their minimum wage “quite substantially,” according to the study, and it found that a “rising minimum wage could have priced some teenagers out of the labor market.”

A higher minimum wage is associated with a lower share of 16- and 17-year-olds both in school and with jobs, and with a higher share in school and not employed, the study showed.

There is not a positive relationship between higher minimum wages for teens and higher future earnings, the study found. Additionally, teens exposed to higher minimum wages have acquired fewer skills in adulthood since the year 2000.

Source: The Daily Signal
http://dailysignal.com/2018/02/15/raising-the-minimum-wage-hurts-youth-employment-study-finds/

Gen Z Engaging with 10 Hours of Online Content a Day

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MarketingTech.

According to research by Adobe into the UK’s content consumption habits, millennials spend an average of 8.5 hours a day reading, watching, creating and engaging with content on their devices.

If this sounds high, it is above the UK average of 6.9 hours, but well below that of the generation below them. According to the research, Generation Z spend a whopping 10.6 hours engaging with online content every single day.

The survey 1,000 UK consumers found that the smartphone is by far the most popular method of content consumption. Millennials spend an average of 5.2 hours a day consuming content on their phones, compared to 5.9 hours for Gen Z.

54% said that they use multiple devices at any one time, with the average being 1.8 devices.

Recent events have made the average content consumer more savvy and cautious. The rise of fake news has made people much more sceptical of the authenticity and quality of the content they consume. 77% reported being more cautious about what they engage with now then they were half a decade ago.

One of the main effects of this has been to make people more likely to engage with content that comes from a trusted source. 58% would share content from friends and family, compared to only 29% for a well-know YouTuber or the 26% that would share from a known brand.

The research also pointed towards the fact that consumers still responded strongly to branded content as long as it ticks the boxes of being authentic, well designed and relevant. 46% said that content that provides a good experience influences their purchasing decisions, while 24% would share it with their friends.

Bad content, however, can have pronounced negative consequences for brands. Consumers pointed to badly written content (49%), irrelevant (44%) and poorly designed (35%) as their biggest content gripes. 71% said they would not buy from a brand that published this kind of content.

Source: MarketingTech
https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2018/feb/09/gen-z-engaging-10-hours-online-content-day/

What's Hot? 02/16/18

Trending Today on Twitter - 2/16/18
1. Mitt Romney
2. #WhatImKnownForIn4Words
3. #FlashbackFriday
4. #TheWorstThingToRead
5. #friyay
6. #ChineseNewYear
7. Ronan Farrow
8. The N.R.A. Can Be Beat
9. Karen McDougal
10. Toy Story Land
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 2/16/18
1. Lunar New Year
2. Black Panther
3. CNN
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Chinese New Year 2018
6. Amy Schumer
7. Adam Rippon
8. Lil Pump
9. Lindsey Jacobellis
10. Early Man
Source: Google

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 2/16/18
1. God's Plan - Drake
2. Meant to Be (feat. Florida Georgia Line) - Bebe Rexha
3. Perfect - Ed Sheeran
4. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
5. The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
6. Pray For Me - The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar
7. Finesse (Remix) (feat. Cardi B) - Bruno Mars
8. You Make It Easy - Jason Aldean
9. Havana (feat. Young Thug) - Camila Cabello
10. Let Your Down - NF
Source: iTunes

Top 10 TV (Broadcast) Shows - Week Ending 2/11/18
1. Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
2. Winter Olympics
3. Winter Olympics
4. Winter Olympics
5. NCIS
6. Bull
7. This Is Us
8. The Good Doctor
9. NCIS: New Orleans
10. Ellen's Game of Games
Source: Nielsen Co.

Trending Today on YouTube - Today - 2/16/18
1. Incredibles 2 - Olympics Sneak Peek
2. LaurDIY and Alex Wassabi's Epic Two-Tone Room Makeover
3. Jimmy Kimmel on School Shooting in Parkland, Florida
4. Muse - Thought Contagion [Official Music Video]
5. Frank Ocean - Moon River
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Last Weekend
1. Fifty Shades Freed
2. Peter Rabbit
3. The 15:17 to Paris
4. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
5. The Greatest Showman
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Facebook Sees Its Gen Z Audience Slipping Away to Snapchat

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on AdAge.

Facebook is not just losing its audience, it's losing its youth.

The social network is expected to shed 18-to-24-year-old users this year for the first time, according to a new report from eMarketer, which predicts a 5.6 decline for the age group on Facebook. The analytics and data firm had already predicted a decline in usage of kids younger than 18, but now sees that exodus widening.

Facebook could find some comfort in the fact that it owns the youthful Instagram, but rival Snapchat might be the new destination of choice among youth, according to eMarketer. Snapchat already has more 12- to 24-year-old users than Instagram, and is still adding more users in that age range than Instagram, eMarketer says.

This year, Instagram will add 1.6 million users younger than 24, while Snapchat will add 1.9 million, eMarketer says.

The decline in usage coincided with Facebook facing up to its problems with false news, a toxic political atmosphere, and general dissatisfaction detected among its user base. At the start of the year, Facebook promised changes to its product to try to brighten the mood and foster more community pride on the social network.

Facebook still has 1.4 billion daily active users globally and Instagram has more than 500 million, while Snapchat has 187 million daily active users. Twitter, which only reveals monthly active users, has 330 million.

That massive user base will likely insulate Facebook from any dip in younger audiences, according to Noah Mallin, head of experience, content and sponsorships at Wavemaker. "They're probably not too worried," Mallin says. "Facebook isn't just Facebook, they've got Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. That age group is pretty well represented."

Still, for a company like Snapchat that's confronting the Facebook empire, any gains help. The messaging and media app relies on its popularity with youth to offer advertisers an audience that is hard to reach elsewhere.

Source: AdAge
http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-sees-gen-z-audience-slipping-snapchat/312330/

Youth Violence Declines, But Remains a Serious Issue

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Far fewer young people are turning up in U.S. emergency rooms with assault injuries, but youth violence remains a serious issue, a new government study shows.

The good news: The number of nonfatal assault patients aged 10 to 24 dropped 28 percent between 2011 and 2015, reaching the lowest level in the 15 years studied, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Still, almost 486,000 youths were treated in ERs for assault-related injuries in 2015. Most were males in their early 20s, the researchers found.

More than 81 percent had been intentionally struck. Stabbing, cutting and piercing accounted for more than 8 percent of the injuries. Guns led nearly 6 percent to seek treatment.

"Youth violence remains a major public health problem," said psychiatrist Dr. Victor Fornari, who wasn't involved in the research.

"The underpinnings of this violence include mental health problems, substance abuse and histories of childhood adversity," said Fornari. He's director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y.

For the study, David-Ferdon and her colleagues examined data from a nationally representative sample of emergency rooms between 2001 and 2015. They focused on nondeadly assault injuries, excluding sexual assault, among patients aged 10 to 24.

Overall, they found a significant decline in assault injuries during those years.

Still, about 9.6 million young people received emergency room treatment for assault injuries over the 15-year period. About 10 percent were hospitalized.

These numbers may be unrealistically low, the researchers noted, because many other victims may have sought treatment in different types of medical centers or not needed medical care.

The findings were published Feb. 9 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC publication.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/violence-health-news-787/youth-violence-in-u-s-declines-but-the-war-s-not-over-730960.html

Energy Drinks Unsafe for Children, Teens

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Highly caffeinated energy drinks aren't safe for children and teens, and should not be marketed to them, a leading sports medicine organization warns.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has released an official statement about the beverages.

"Energy drinks are extremely popular, and concerns about their consumption are coming from every sector of society, which is why we've published these recommendations," said Dr. John Higgins. He's an associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston.

Children and teens appear to be at particularly high risk of complications from energy drinks because of their smaller body size, and potentially heavy and frequent use, according to the statement.

The warning applies to beverages like Red Bull and Full Throttle. The fact that they are not meant for children needs to be emphasized and widely publicized, the group stated.

"Our review of the available science showed that excessive levels of caffeine found in energy drinks can have adverse effects on cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, renal and endocrine systems, as well as psychiatric symptoms," Higgins said in an ACSM news release.

"More needs to be done to protect children and adolescents, as well as adults with cardiovascular or other medical conditions," he added.

Among the group's recommendations was a warning for children and teens to avoid consuming energy drinks before, during or after intense exercise, as some deaths linked with energy drinks occurred when a person consumed energy drinks before and/or after vigorous activity.

The statement, which also called for more research into the safety of energy drinks, was published Feb. 9 in the journal Current Sports Medicine Reports.

The American College of Sports Medicine is said to be the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/caffeine-health-news-89/hey-kids-just-say-no-to-energy-drinks-730950.html