YOUTH CULTURE RESOURCES
YOUTH CULTURE RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS & WEBSITES
Center for Parent and Youth Understanding
One of the best sites in keeping parents, teenagers, and youth leaders up on current happenings, trends, personalities, and challenges in pop culture. They put out a quarterly e-newsletter, “Youth Culture @ today.” You’ll also find a review of current books, an educational DVD, and Internet links on youth culture and ministry.
- Youth Culture Defined by Youth
"Spank! Youth Culture Online is a worldwide, online community for 14 to 24 year olds. Spank! launchedin October 1995 and has changed a great deal since, moving from a traditional magazine format to a multifaceted online community. Focusing on youth issues, interests, and life, Spank! is an ever-evolving centre for youth. Spank is a music critic, a fashion reviewer, a political activist, an overall youth culture expert, and is never afraid to voice an opinion."
Daily news and commentary for generation Y. This aimed at media and marketing professionals but ought to be read by youthworkers to see how they are reaching youth. "Ypulse is a media platform for youth media and marketing professionals. Ypulse publishes a blog, Ypulse.com; a newsletter, the Ypulse Daily Update; and produces several conferences each year, the Ypulse Mashup events."
BOOKS
Barna, G. (1995). Generation Next: What you need to know about today’s youth
. Ventura, CA: Regal Books of Gospel Light. This book, addressing teens ages 13 to 18, is the result of a nationwide survey of young people born between 1977 and 1982. Barna’s survey confirms what many youth workers today already know: teens are serious about life, tend to be stressed out and self reliant, and are skeptical of adults and survivors in an often harsh and cruel world. Important information gleaned from the book includes the following findings: teens are concerned with their education; generally, they respect people that exhibit integrity; they lack relational skills; real life begins after school (translation—watching hours of MTV); family time is combined with another activity; and friends play a major role in their development. Regarding the church, teens want a deep spiritual relationship, but they don’t view the church as productive, insightful, comforting, or flexible. Many teens struggle to connect their faith with daily reality. Barna provides readers a lot of useful, interesting information.
Bibby, R. & Posterski, D.C. (1992). Teen trends: A nation in motion
. Toronto: Stoddard Publishing.
Borgman, D. (1997). When kumbaya is not enough: Practical theology for youth (and other) ministries
. Hendrickson.
Codrington, Graeme. (2005) Mind the Gap: Understanding why we don't understand
. Penguin Global, 327pp.
Ekstrom. (ed.). (1992). Media and culture. Don Bosco Multimedia. This book provides practical information and ideas for using media in youth work. It offers reflective essays on the effects of media on culture.
Elkind, D. (1984). All grown up and no place to go
. Addison Wesley. Elkind contends that there is no place for teenagers in today’s society, as society has imposed premature adulthood on teenagers today. Consequently, teenagers are exposed to more powerful stress than ever—at a younger age. This has resulted in the rise of substance abuse, promiscuous sex, premature pregnancies, juvenile suicide, and crime. While this book is becoming dated, it is still very current with society and teenagers as a whole. Many of the problems that Elkind speaks about, such as "vanishing markers," are even more prevalent today. The activities that children used to look forward to experiencing in their teenage years are now occurring in childhood; for example, organized soccer leagues (complete with full uniform) are found all over America, the earliest starting at age five. Clothes that were available to older kids are now found in high fashion stores, and the advancement of technology—especially in the computer field—has made children computer literate at age four! This book is helpful to those studying adolescent development and youth workers, and parents who need insight into children and who desire to keep children from growing up so soon.
French, T. (1993). South of Heaven: Welcome to high school at the end of the twentieth century
. Doubleday. French, a reporter for the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, spent a year inside Largo High School (located just outside Tampa). By spending time in the halls and classrooms, hanging out in the cafeteria, attending football games, and frequenting the dances, he found out what it was like to be a teenager today. He found out that teens are troubled by family problems, the pressure to succeed, drugs, violence (involving weapons), and relational struggles (he focused on several students and delved into their lives). He also suggests that high school is the place where students’ futures are decided (this used to occur after high school by attending trade school or pursuing a college major). This book launches readers deep into the hearts, hopes and fears of 1990s students. French shows readers the downtrodden in the "POD" and then takes readers to the "Fearsome Foursome" who are working through details in the yearbook room. He focuses on specific individuals—like "Mike Broome," one who most teachers consider a lost cause. Among many practical uses of the book includes doing case studies on the students depicted in the book, to generate ideas on how one would go about reaching them.
Gurian, M. (1996). The wonder of Boys: What parents, mentors, and educators can do to shape boys into exceptional men
. New York: Putnam. This book, though not personally as stirring as Reviving Ophelia, is a very good book for learning about what boys need in order to grow into healthy, productive, and mature men. Gurian is a good writer, and he discusses myriad needs that equip boys for manhood. Boys are "tribal creatures" who need to have the influences of three "families"—the nuclear family (mother, father, grandparents), extended families (friends, teachers, peers, mentors), and the culture and community (media, church groups, etc.). He also details the emotional, spiritual, and physical make-up boys and describes how each of the tribal families can support boys. Gurian’s concerns shed light on the unfortunately overlooked yet extremely important subject of the raising of and caring for boys. This book is a great resource; parents, teachers, and youth workers should read it.
Howe and Strauss. (1993). 13th Gen: Abort, retry, ignore, fail
? New York: Vintage Books.
Mueller, Walt. (2006). Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth
. InterVarsity Press, 252pp.
Mueller, Walt. (1994). Understanding today’s youth culture: A complete guide for parents, teachers, and youth leaders
. Wheaton IL: Tyndale House Publications. This book is similar to Dancing in the Dark, in that it attempts to shed light on the topics of adolescence, the effects of media and music, peer pressure, sexual temptations, advertising, and drugs. In fact, Mueller often quotes sections of Dancing in the Dark. Especially comprehensive and insightful is his chapter on music. This book is written to parents to help them minimize the generational culture gap in their home, lead them to understand the normal changes that children face as they go through adolescence, and to understand how the changing world of youth culture molds and shapes young lives. Mueller offers an impressive bibliography, which offers readers opportunities to study topics in detail.
Nielsen, L. (1996). Adolescence: A contemporary view
. (3rd ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. This is a great textbook for anyone who wants to study adolescent development within the culture. The data are most helpful for understanding today’s youth, as is the exhaustive list of references located at the end of each chapter. This is an excellent resource for presenting a topic or for compiling a list of resources for other interested youth workers. Particularly compelling is the information on cultural expectations and policies; the statistics and trends about adolescents and poverty are also fascinating. It is important to have background information on why a certain phenomenon has taken place in society and how it affects adolescents who grow up in different surroundings. Single parent and blended families are discussed, addressing important issues such as the financial impact of single parenting, fathers who fail to pay child support, the effects of divorce, and the remarrying of a mother or father.
Pipher, M. (1994). Reviving Ophelia
. New York: Ballentine Books. This book is so valuable because it’s filled with true stories. While Pipher provides excellent background statistics for issues affecting adolescent girls, most provocative are her interviews with adolescent girls; these interviews lead readers inside the topics and inside the minds and hearts of young girls. Pipher’s book describes many challenges: problems that girls face within their families, divorce, anorexia, bulimia, sex, violence, depression, drugs, and alcohol. Through a wide variety of interviewees, Pipher illustrates that everyday dangers for adolescent females know no geographic, economic, or racial boundaries. One of Pipher’s important points is that girls need to keep their true selves (which requires love from family and friends, meaningful work, respect, challenges, and physical and psychological safety). In her therapy sessions, she works to have the girls understand themselves; what needs to be done to solve their particular problem; and how parents, siblings, peers, and culture interact in redefining their true selves. Pipher encourages readers to nurture the development of adolescent females’ appreciation and affection, commitment, positive communication, and abilities to cope with stress.
Romanowski, W. (1996). Pop Culture Wars: Religion & the role of entertainment in American life
. Intervarsity Press. Romanowski gives readers a comprehensive, historical look at television, music, and movies. He also details the synergy between rock music and movies explaining how this marriage has affected culture, especially the teen market that first appeared after World War II. His detailed chapter on youth and the advent of blockbuster movies is helpful for understanding how the movie industry has changed throughout the years to target the under-30 age group, especially the 19-year-old males "who will bring their dates, their friends, and come back four and five times." The advent of the blockbuster movie has all but stifled small independent film companies like American International Pictures, which produced teen and horror flicks in the late 1950s and 1960s aimed at the "passion pit" crowd who frequented drive-in movies. The information on the movie ratings is enlightening, especially when learning that filmmakers will add sex or violence to push a "clean" movie up to PG-13 or R rating to insure bigger box office sales.
Schultze, et al. (1991). Dancing in the dark: Youth pop culture and the electronic media. Erdmans. Dancing in the Dark, aptly named after the Bruce Springsteen song, details the history of youth culture. It also suggests that popular culture and electronic media have altered youths’ roles in society: instead of influencing culture, young people are now solely consumers of it. The authors guide readers through the world of what is now known as youth culture. An important point is the authors’ assertion that the entertainment industry has gladly assumed the task of socializing young people with a unique set of values, beliefs, and attitudes. Another insightful point is that popular entertainment helps adolescents size up their world, organize and interpret experience, and develop strategies to deal with their challenges. The chapter on rock and roll is extremely important, as it describes how the genre began. Not only is this important in understanding today’s youth, but knowing the history of rock and roll gives youth workers a natural "in"—an important step in creating relationships with young people. Also investigated is MTV, the phenomenon that many blame for the downfall of youth. Readers learn about the history of MTV and the thoughts behind what drives the music channel and the record industry. The history, marketing, and meaning of teen films are also enlightening: the obvious point is that when rock and roll merged with movies, they attracted the teen culture in droves. While this book is "dry," it is vital for understanding youth culture.
Sebal, H. (1992). Adolescence: A social psychological analysis.
(4th ed.). Prentice Hall. This textbook explores adolescent development from social, physiological, cultural, and educational perspectives. It also examines various adolescent cultures and sub-cultures.
Zustiak, G. (1996).The Next Generation: Understanding and meeting the needs of Generation
X. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company.
Post new comment