Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Pot Replacing Tobacco, Booze as Teens' Drug of Choice

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

Pot is increasingly replacing cigarettes and alcohol as the first drug of choice among young Americans, researchers have found.

Boys, black Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and multi-racial Americans were the most likely to turn to marijuana before other recreational drugs, the new report suggests.

For the study, the investigators analyzed nationwide surveys done between 2004 and 2014 that assessed drug use among 275,000 American boys and girls aged 12 to 21.

"We also observed a significant increase in youth abstaining from substance use altogether, which rose from 36 percent to 46 percent, and therefore, it is unclear the degree to which increases in those initiating marijuana first could be due to youth abstaining or delaying cigarettes," said study author Brian Fairman. He's a researcher with the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The concern is that studies have shown that young Americans whose first recreational drug is marijuana are more likely to end up becoming heavy users, the study authors noted.

According to Fairman, the findings also suggest that American Indian/Alaska Natives and black youth are important targets for prevention programs, because these groups are less likely to have access to drug treatment or successful treatment outcomes.

The report was published online recently in the journal Prevention Science.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/marijuana-news-759/pot-replacing-tobacco-booze-as-teens-drug-of-choice-734021.html

Social Media Stars Influence Kids, But Parents Still Rule

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MediaPost's Marketing Daily.

Sorry, Kardashian-Jenner family, moms and dads, by far and away, carry the most influence as kids say their parents (86%) are their top role models.

Further cementing today’s parent-child relationship, 85% of kids agree that they have a closer relationship with their parents than most kids. Other top role models for kids and teens are teachers (62%) and siblings (41%).

till, there’s no denying the influence of social media celebrities on America’s youth as new research from Mintel reveals that more than one third (34%) of kids aged 6-17 consider social media stars to be among their top role models, outranking the influence of musicians (33%), athletes (27%), actors (22%) and the President (16%).

Further proof of the influence of social media, while TV commercials (62%) are the main way kids find out about new entertainment such as toys and movies, YouTube ranks as the second most common source of information (58%).

Today’s parents seem to be taking a different approach than previous generations when it comes to raising kids. Mintel research shows that nearly half (47%) of parents overall say they give their kids more of a say in family decisions than their parents gave them and another 47% say they are closer with their kids than their parents were with them. When it comes to parents’ own behavior, more than two in five (46%) agree that they’ve changed their behavior to be an example for their kids.

Most children aren’t shy when it comes to asking for the things they want. In fact, 8 in 10 (82%) parents with kids aged 6-11 say their kids ask for things they see on TV. Meanwhile, more than three-quarters (77%) of parents with kids aged 6-11 say their children ask for things that their friends have.

Parents are more likely to be including kids in family decisions and kids may look to their parents for guidance on decisions well into their teen years.

Source: MediaPost's Marketing Daily
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/319720/social-media-stars-influence-kids-but-parents-sti.html

Teen Sexting Often Tied to Past Sexual Abuse

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

Teens who share sexually explicit texts or emails -- "sexters" -- are more likely to have suffered sexual abuse than their peers, recent survey results suggest.

For some teenagers, "sexting may be a part of normal sexual development," said study lead author Dr. Kanani Titchen.

But for others, it "may be an indicator of an unhealthy romantic relationship or a history of sexual abuse," said Titchen, a postdoctoral fellow at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

The research team surveyed nearly 600 teens living in a high-poverty area of the Bronx in New York City.

"We found that approximately 25 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys between the ages of 14 and 17 years old had ever sent a sexually suggestive or naked picture by text or email," Titchen said.

Teens who sexted were also more likely to have had sex, she added.

"These two findings were not surprising, and are consistent with findings from previous studies of sexting among teens," Titchen said.

But girls who said they'd been sexually abused or victimized by an intimate partner were four and three times more likely, respectively, to have sexted than other girls, she said.

And boys who had been sexually abused or victimized were twice as likely to say they'd exchanged sexual messages or images.

The study also indicated that while girls and boys send sexts at similar rates, girls are about three times more likely to feel pressured to sext.

The findings "suggest that in urban, high-poverty communities like the Bronx, teen sexting may be part of a continuum of abusive and exploitative sexual experience for both girls and boys," Titchen said.

Participants were recruited in hospital clinic waiting rooms. Just over a third were boys. Almost 60 percent were Hispanic, and more than one-quarter were black.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/health-technology-information-18/cellphone-health-news-729/teen-sexting-often-tied-to-past-sexual-abuse-733730.html

What's Hot? 05/25/18

Trending Today on Twitter - 5/25/18
1. Harvey Weinstein
2. #FridayFeeling
3. #NationalWineDay
4. #MemorialDayWeekend
5. #DAYTONA
6. Noblesville
7. #FlashbackFriday
8. Fiat Chrysler
9. Pusha
10. James Wong Howe
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 5/25/18
1. ASAP Rocky
2. James Wong Howe
3. Morgan Freeman
4. TotalBiscuit
5. Solo
6. North Korea
7. Harvey Weinstein
8. Jack Johnson
9. Justin Timberlake
10. Michael Jackson
Source: Google

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 5/25/18
1. Like That - Kris Wu
2. Fendiman - Jackson Wang
3. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes
4. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
5. Whatever It Takes - Imagine Dragons
6. High Hopes - Panic! At the Disco
7. No Tears Left to Cry - Ariana Grande
8. Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Post Malone
9. Dinero (feat. DJ Khaled & Cardi B) - Jennifer Lopez
10. Meant to Be - Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
Source: iTunes

Top 10 TV (Broadcast) Shows - Week Ending 5/20/18
1. NCIS
2. Roseanne
3. NCIS: New Orleans
4. The Voice - Mon.
5. 60 Minutes
6. The Voice - Tues.
7. Billboard Music Awards
8. NCIS: Los Angeles
9. Dancing with the Stars
10. Grey's Anatomy
Source: Nielsen Co.

Trending Today on YouTube - Today - 5/25/18
1. Jake Paul - Randy Savage
2. John Mayer - New Light
3. Buying Used Things 2
4. BTS - Airplane pt.2
5. Live It Up - Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Last Weekend
1. Deadpool 2
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Book Club
4. Life of the Party
5. Breaking In
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Teens Exposed to More Junk Food Ads Eat More Junk Food

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on U.S. News & World Report.

The largest study of its kind found teens who were exposed to more junk food advertising consumed more unhealthy foods every week.

According to the largest study of its kind, people aged 11 to 19 who watched one extra advertisement per week about junk food, over the average of six, ate an additional 350 calories in foods high in salt, sugar and fat every week, adding up to 18,000 extra calories per year.

The study of 3,300 teens, titled Familiarity With Junk-Food Ads Linked with Obesity in Young People, was conducted by Cancer Research UK and is being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna from May 23 to 26. According to a press release, it is "the first to look at online TV viewing in such a systematic fashion, and adds to the growing evidence that TV and streaming adverts can influence young people's unhealthy diet."

Jyotsna Vohra, head of the Policy Research Centre for Cancer Prevention at Cancer Research UK, led the research. She said in the release that the key takeaway from the research is "junk food marketing is associated with obesity in young people of all ages, and we know that obesity is linked to at least 13 types of cancer."

In the United States, almost 38 percent of adults are obese and about 18.5 percent of kids under 19 years old are obese. Obesity leads to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, bone and joint problems and asthma.

Obesity has many complex causes, but previous research has shown links between junk and fast food advertising and rates of childhood obesity, according to the study. Consuming high-calorie drinks and foods, which are usually high in fats as well as salt and sugars, greatly increases a child's chances of becoming overweight or obese.

The average teen watches 21 hours of television with advertisements per week, with a little more than half viewed on streaming services, the study found. However, obese teens watched significantly more television --- approximately 26 hours, which is the equivalent to one extra advertisement per week.

The participants reported eating about 30 foods containing high levels of fats, sugars and salt per week, compared to only 16 portions of fruits or vegetables.

All the teens were able to remember a junk food or fast food advertisement they saw while watching TV, and 80 percent of the brands they were able to recall had at least one fast food product as their top product. Researchers also said that those from what they described as a "more deprived background" were more likely to recall such advertisements.

Researchers found that an increased sense of familiarity with the advertising was linked to an increase in consumption of the junk and fast foods, which led to higher weight, regardless of age and gender.

"The food industry wouldn't pump hundreds of millions into advertising their products by creating catchy adverts if it didn't get people to eat more," the authors said. "With today's teens spending more time in front of screens than any other activity apart from sleeping, curbing exposure to junk food ads on streaming platforms as well as TV will be key to helping teens make healthy diet choices and reducing obesity rates."

Source: U.S. News & World Report
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-care-news/articles/2018-05-22/study-teens-exposed-to-more-junk-food-ads-eat-more-junk-food

Teen Night Owls More Prone to Emotional and Behavioral Problems

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

Adolescents who are naturally inclined to stay up late at night are more likely to suffer from insomnia as well as behavioral and emotional problems than their peers who prefer an earlier bedtime, a recent study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 4,948 secondary school students in Hong Kong, ages 12 to 18, about their sleep habits and their physical and mental health. Overall, about 23 percent had a night owl or “eveningness” circadian rhythm, or a natural tendency to be late-to-bed and late-to-rise types.

Night owls were 88 percent more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems than other teens and 25 percent more likely to have poor mental health.

Roughly half of these night owls had insomnia symptoms, especially trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. Insomnia was independently associated with more than tripled odds of emotional, behavioral and mental health issues.

“Not getting enough sleep or having poor sleep may negatively affect one’s ability to regulate emotions and decision making, thereby contributing to the risk of developing mental health problems,” said lead study author Shirley X. Li of the University of Hong Kong.

Roughly two-thirds of the teens in the study were considered “intermediate-type” sleepers, meaning their biological clocks weren’t set for an exceptionally early or late bedtime. About 9 percent of the participants were early to bed, early-to-rise types with a “morningness” circadian rhythm.

Among participants with an “eveningness” circadian rhythm, about 11 percent had difficulty falling asleep and almost 4 percent had trouble staying asleep.

A greater proportion of these night owls, 22 percent, also reported poor mental health, compared to about 15 percent of other teens, as well as emotional and behavioral problems: 38 percent versus 24 percent.

The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how sleep might cause mental health issues, nor does it explain whether or how behavioral or emotional problems might cause poor sleep.

Another limitation is that researchers relied on teens to recall and report on their sleep habits and mental health issues, which might not always be accurate, the authors note in Sleep Medicine.

Even so, the results offer fresh evidence of the relationship between short sleep duration and poor sleep quality and emotional and behavioral health in teens, said Dr. Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and a researcher at Harvard Medical School.

Source: Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-adolescents-sleep/teen-night-owls-more-prone-to-emotional-and-behavioral-problems-idUSKCN1IH2QO

Parents More Lenient If PG-13 Movie Violence is 'Justified'

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

Parents are more likely to let their kids see violent PG-13 movies if they feel the mayhem is "justified," a new study suggests.

The study, of 610 U.S. parents, found that moms and dads were less disturbed by gun violence in PG-13 movies when they deemed it justified. That included the typical action-movie scenario where a hero defends others from the bad guys.

In general, parents were more lenient about letting their own kids see that kind of violence, versus "unjustified," random violence.

In addition, most said that movies with justified gun violence were suitable for a 15-year-old. Films with unjustified violence, meanwhile, were typically deemed suitable for a 16-year-old.

What does it all mean? It's not clear, the researchers said.

But one worry is that kids who see a lot of supposedly justified gun violence might learn that gun use is acceptable when you feel threatened, according to lead researcher Daniel Romer.

"We're concerned there is a risk that kids might be influenced by this, especially if there's a gun in the house," said Romer, who is research director of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, in Philadelphia.

Right now, there is no evidence that is the case, he stressed. "We can't say that these movies are harmful to kids," Romer said.

But, he added, that's a question for future studies to look into.

Romer and his colleagues published their findings online May 14 in Pediatrics.

Christopher Ferguson is a professor of psychology at Stetson University, in Florida, who has studied the correlation between media violence and kids' aggression -- and found it lacking.

He said it's no surprise that parents would have different attitudes toward senseless violence and violence coming from a hero defending the innocent masses, for example.

The question is whether that matters to kids. "There's no evidence, from this study, that these movies are bad for kids," Ferguson said.

For the study, Romer's team recruited 610 parents who had at least one child between the ages of 6 and 17. The parents watched short clips from several movies online; most were PG-13 and all featured relatively "sanitized" gun violence -- free of the blood and graphic content that would typically earn a film an R rating.

Parents were asked whether they thought the violence in each was justified; what their emotional reaction was; whether they would let their own child watch it; and what they thought was a generally appropriate viewing age for the movie.

Overall, parents were more lenient when it came to violence they deemed justified. But most still thought that even justifiable violence was too much for 13- and 14-year-olds.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/media-health-news-760/parents-more-lenient-if-pg-13-movie-violence-justified-733840.html

Many Teens Switch from Hi-Cal Sodas to Hi-Cal Sports Drinks

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

Teens who were once hooked on sugary sodas may now be now turning to sugary sports drinks, a new study reveals.

While soda's popularity declines, the number of U.S. high school students who drank sports drinks at least once per week actually rose slightly, from 56 percent in 2010 to nearly 57 percent in 2015.

The good news is that, over the same period, those who drank one or more sports drinks dailydid fall a bit -- from 16 percent to just under 14 percent, the researchers found.

"Still, about 10 percent of kids who are not physically active are drinking these daily," said lead researcher Dr. Andrew Adesman. He is chief of the division of pediatrics at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

"So for some kids, sports drinks are clearly a beverage of choice not related to physical activity," he said.

Adesman isn't sure whether marketing accounts for the increase in weekly consumption, or if kids think these drinks are healthier than sodas.

"Not everyone who wears sportswear is athletic, and not everyone who drinks sports drinks is physically active," he said.

Popular sports drinks include Gatorade, Powerade, All-Sport, Hydrafuel and 1st Ade.

Sports drinks, in addition to sugars and flavorings, contain electrolytes and carbohydrates, and are designed to restore energy and fluids.

Electrolytes are minerals necessary for the normal functioning of body cells, especially heart muscle, and include potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium and phosphate.

As you sweat during exercise or while playing sports, the body loses electrolytes, which sports drinks help replenish.

"Parents and teens need to recognize, however, that sports drinks are not necessary, even if you are having routine physical activity. Water is probably the best thing," Adesman suggested.

"We don't need empty calories and [we] don't need the electrolyte or other additives that are part of sports drinks," he said.

For the study, Adesman and colleagues collected data on more than 11,000 teens who responded to the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey, and more than 11,300 who responded to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

In the new study, Adesman's team found that the number of sports drinks consumed by obese children did not decrease. In addition, the number of teens who drank sports drinks increased significantly among those who watched two or more hours of TV daily.

Sports drinks were most popular among boys, Hispanics and blacks, the findings showed.

The report was published online May 7 in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/kids-health-information-23/adolescents-and-teen-health-news-719/many-teens-switch-from-hi-cal-sodas-to-hi-cal-sports-drinks-733621.html

What's Hot? 05/18/18

Trending Today on Twitter - 5/18/18
1. Sante Fe High School
2. #FridayFeeling
3. #BikeToWorkDay
4. #FlashbackFriday
5. #FakeLoveFriday
6. Prince Charles
7. #MomsSummit
8. Doral
9. Kingdom Hearts 3
10. Year of the Woman Candidate
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 5/18/18
1. Royal Wedding Time
2. Windsor Castle
3. pansexual
4. Restaurants
5. Deadpool 2
6. Kilauea Volcano Update
7. Solo Showdown Fortnite
8. Black Ops 4
9. Washington Capitals
10. 13 Reasons Why Season 2
Source: Google

iTunes Top 10 Singles - 5/18/18
1. Like That - Kris Wu
2. FAKE LOVE - BTS
3. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Backstreet Boys
4. This is America - Childish Gambino
5. Intro: Singularity - BTS
6. Downtown's Dead - Sam Hunt
7. The Truth Untold (feat. Steve Aoki) - BTS
8. Fall in Line (feat. Demi Lovato) - Christina Aguilera
9. Heaven - Kane Brown
10. Airplane, Pt. 2 - BTS
Source: iTunes

Top 10 TV (Broadcast) Shows - Week Ending 5/13/18
1. The Big Bang Theory
2. NCIS
3. Young Sheldon
4. Bull
5. Roseanne
6. Mom
7. Blue Bloods
8. 60 Minutes
9. American Idol
10. The Voice - Mon.
Source: Nielsen Co.

Trending Today on YouTube - Today - 5/18/18
1. Do You Hear "Yanny" or "Laurel"?
2. Summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts
3. Backstreet Boys - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
4. Spectacular and sobering view of Hawaii volcano from above
5. Destination Wedding Trailer #1
Source: YouTube

Top 5 Movies - Last Weekend
1. Avengers: Infinity War
2. Life of the Party
3. Breaking In
4. Overboard
5. A Quiet Place
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Big Rise Seen in U.S. Kids, Teens Attempting Suicide

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

In a troubling sign that anxiety and depression are taking hold of America's youth, new research shows a doubling since 2008 in the number of kids and teens who've been hospitalized for attempted suicide or suicidal thoughts.

Study author Dr. Gregory Plemmons said the findings "are not surprising," and that "colleges have also reported a dramatic increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression among students and in use of counseling services."

But is the risk for teen suicide actually growing, or are more vulnerable teens going to hospitals than in the past? Plemmons said it's hard to tell.

"We still know from other studies out there that less than half of young people with mental disorders seek treatment, and only a minority of teens with depression actually seek care," he said. "In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines this past February to encourage primary care doctors to begin depression screening."

Plemmons is an associate professor of pediatrics with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville.

Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among American adolescents, the study authors noted.

To get a handle on the issue, the researchers used federal pediatric hospital data.

The findings showed that in 2008 through 2015, nearly 116,000 children aged 5 to 17 were seen at 31 hospitals, either for having suicidal thoughts or for attempted suicide. Two-thirds were girls.

More than half were hospitalized, and more than 13 percent needed intensive care. The rest were treated in an emergency setting or held for observation.

Overall, suicide-related teen hospitalizations accounted for 0.66 percent of all hospitalizations at the children's hospitals in 2008. But by 2015, that figure had more than doubled, to almost 2 percent, according to the report.

Increases were seen across all ages, but differed across certain groups.

For example, the rise in suicide-related hospitalizations was particularly high among teens aged 15 to 17, who accounted for more than half of all the cases. The second highest rise was seen among teens aged 12 to 14, who accounted for 37 percent of all cases.

The report was published online May 16 in Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/suicide-health-news-646/big-rise-seen-in-u-s-kids-teens-attempting-suicide-733931.html