STEVECOWARD.COM

• Children’s TV ‘is linked to cancer, autism, dementia’ [Scotsman.com]
  According to a range of reports, a life spent pressing the remote is responsible for a catalogue of illnesses.
  (tags: youth culture television media)
• Findings and Recommendations for Encouraging a Tradition of Voluntary Action Among America’s Youth [Independent Sector]
  A new report from Independent Sector and Youth Service America illustrates the strong impact of youth service on the giving and volunteering habits of adults.
  (tags: youth culture service)
• Study: College Students More Narcissistic [ABC News]
  “We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. “Kids are self-centered enough already.”
  (tags: youth culture college)

• Our Bodies Our Blog: Everyday Images: APA Report Details the Consequences of Our Sexualized Culture
  The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report this week detailing the omnipresence and damaging effects of sexualized images of girls and young women in American culture.
  (tags: youth culture marketing sex body_image)

• Youth Impact on Spending [Harris Interactive ]
  Young people, 8 to 21, are a major U.S. consumer group across virtually all industries. They have great purchasing power, to the tune of $139 billion annually, and the influence they exert on their families’ purchase decisions is enormous.
  (tags: youth culture marketing money)
• Media cited for showing girls as sex objects [ USATODAY.com]
  Advertising and media images that encourage girls to focus on looks and sexuality are harmful to their emotional and physical health, a new report by the American Psychological Association says.
  (tags: youth culture)
• Do they still want their MTV? A changing format [International Herald Tribune]
  MTV prospered for decades because it looked like what a network might look like if a 16- year-old were doing the programming.
  (tags: youth culture mtv music television media)

Technorati Tags: the simpsons, movie, trailer, video

• Jr. High student suspended for writing on backpack [KGET]
  A local junior high school student is suspended from school after writing “I Love Jesus” on his backpack.
  (tags: youth culture school)
• Statistics Show Parents Believe the Overuse of Media is Unhealthy for Kids [churchrelevance.com]
  A recent poll by Common Sense Media discovered that parents’ biggest health concern for their kids is the overuse of media. In fact, other studies show that kids spend as much as 45 hours per week with media such as iPods, social networks, TV, and video
  (tags: youth culture media television video_games internet social_networking music)
• Most women view ‘morning after pills’ favorably [CNN.com]
  More than 90 percent of women between 15 and 24 years old consider contraceptive “morning after pills” to be safe and effective, according to a new report. However, the findings also show that easy accessibility to emergency contraception influences wheth
  (tags: youth culture abortion)
• 10 Tips for Keeping Your Teen Crash-Free [AAA]
  Traffic crashes rank as the number-one killer of American teenagers. Teen drivers have the highest collision rate of any age group, and teens who have driven for a year or less have the worst crash rates by far.
  (tags: youth culture driving)

Can you believe this?

A local junior high school student is suspended from school after writing "I Love Jesus" on his backpack.

Actis Principal Bill Galloway said all writing is prohibited so covert messages don’t get through.

"They could be making a reference to drugs or gangs in a slang that we’re not aware of so that’s why we just keep it to the names," said Galloway.

The Bakersfield City School District said they do allow writing on clothing and supplies that is appropriate for school.

Technorati Tags: jr. high, youth culture, school