The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Sex Obsessed ABC “Family Channel”

Secret Life of the American Teenager
Secret Life of the American Teenager

Influence of Sexual TV Programming on Teenagers

“This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities. The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior.”

This article discusses two new programs on ABC called “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Greek”. ABC has traditionally known as a “family channel” have new programs that centers around sex themes for high schoolers and college students.

A high-school guidance counselor agrees to change a student’s schedule so that he is more likely to meet a girl who will have sex with him. A cheerleader breaks up with her boyfriend after discovering that he accepted oral sex from the school tramp. A good-girl French horn player discovers she is pregnant after a one-night stand at band camp and debates with a friend whether or not to terminate the pregnancy.

Sound like the kind of racy fare one might see on HBO or its slightly tamer cousin, the CW? Think again. The previous scenes come from The Secret Life of the American Teenager, a hit show on ABC Family that is changing the network’s image and may change parents’ minds on whether to allow their children to watch the channel.

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Teens Sharing Nude Photos Online – Impact in Real Life Behavior

Teen Sharing Explicit Photos Everywhere
Teen Sharing Explicit Photos Everywhere

“What teens and young adults are doing electronically seems to have an effect on what they do in real life: Nearly one-quarter of teens (22%) admit that technology makes them personally more forward and aggressive. More than one-third of teens (38%) say exchanging sexy content makes dating or hooking up with others more likely and nearly one-third of teens (29%) believe those exchanging sexy content are “expected” to date or hook up.”

This articles discusses how social media sites as well as advances in communicative technology via cell phones are sometimes used by teenagers to transmit private information to friends. Some realize the risk they are taking, others do not. Unfortunately the use of these mediums in these perverse ways are affecting the way they behave in real life.

Teens Sharing Nude Photos Online – Impact in Real Life

News Excerpt from MSNBC – Family & Parenting

When it comes to sex, tech and teens don’t make the best bedfellows. As tech-savvy teens become increasingly fluent with new technology, from social networking sites to tricked-out new cell phones, research finds the negative consequences stacking up.

According to the results of a survey released today by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 22 percent of all teen girls — and 11 percent of teen girls ages 13-16 years old — say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

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Contest: Free Divorce for Valentines Day

 

Broken Heart Divorce Radio Contest
Broken Heart Divorce Radio Contest

For Valentines day a popular Detroit radio station decided to hold a contest. Whoever is voted the most dysfunctional couple gets a free divorce!

Let me stop there so we can all take a deep breathe for a moment. If this is not a sign of our culture going in the wrong direction, I don’t know what is. But, is this really all that surprising?

Consider a few facts and articles just on Clean Cut Media alone..

Sexual promiscuity rampant in media and in our culture.
Laws to protect children from sexual imagery are shot down in court
Study linking pregnancy and sexual shows
Sex and Mature Content in Video Games

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Bad Economy? Not for Video Gaming!

The US video game industry continues to grow despite the bad economy. Though spending cuts are prevalent in all parts of life and in all kinds of industry, the video game industry grew 13% from January 2008. The industry now sits at $1.33 billion strong. This growth is well above the the overall consumer spending growth rates.

  • Is anyone concerned how gaming spend is going up in a time when spending is being cut elsewhere due to economic troubles?
  • What does this say about the culture we live in…
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Are Superbowl Ads Not Good for Kids?

“…I wasn’t too happy with ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs popping up every 15 minutes whenever I watched a football game with my daughters in the room.” ––Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope, 2006

NFL Commercial Superbowl LogoCommon Sense Media released a study on the content of TV ads & commercials shown during NFL game broadcasts. They studyed nearly 60 games covering 180 hours of game time coverage. Within that period there were nearly 6,000 commercials and the easy conclusion was that it is impossible to watch a single game without visually taking in messages of sex, violence or Viagra.

The CEO of Common Sense Media, James Steyer said “Nearly 5.3 million kids watch football each week, yet one in six of the ads shown during the broadcasts features content that’s wildly inappropriate for kids — that’s every other commercial break…”

“The game of football is great fun for families, but it can be really awkward for parents when they have to explain erectile dysfunction on a Sunday afternoon, or have to dive for the remote during violent promos for network shows. I know we speak for millions of football fans and parents everywhere when we say this situation is really getting ridiculous.“ — James Steyer CEO of Common Sense Media

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Teenager Kills Mother, Shoots Father Over Halo 3

Daniel Petric Kills Mother, Wounds Father
Daniel Petric Kills Mother, Wounds Father

Daniel Petric, a teenager from Ohio was charged and found guilty for aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder for killing his mother and wounding his father in Oct 20, 2007 because they wouldn’t let him play Halo 3.

Daniel was 16 when he snuck out of the house to buy Halo 3 after his parents told him he was not allowed to play it. His father, Mark Petric 45, forbade him to play it because it is very violent in nature and sexually explicit. Halo is a violent first person shooter. He was caught with the game on his way back and his father put away the game in a lockbox in their closet. Unfortunately this is the same box they kept their 9mm handgun.

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Creativity: Superbowl TV Commercials

It’s that time of the year again. Superbowl! Though most people don’t care too much about who wins the big game, everyone wants a reason to get together and enjoy some good food and good company.

Another tradition of the Superbowl is the million dollar TV commercials in between the coverage. Advertisers spend several million dollars and pour hundreds of man hours try to capitalize on the large Superbowl viewer base. Due to the expensive nature of these TV Commercials, these TV advertisements get critiqued and scrutinized on how creative and effective each spot is. Hundreds of articles and top ten lists discuss how good or bad each Superbowl TV Commercial was. Hundreds of sites will take polls and stream every Superbowl TV ad to be viewed again and again long after the game is done. But what about the cleanliness of the ad? How about ethics?

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Should Government Legislate Morality? Is Adultery a Crime?

Ok So-ri Jailed for Adultery
Ok So-ri Jailed for Adultery
  • What is the Government’s Role in upholding Morality?
  • It is a Criminal Offense to Murder, to Steal, how about Adultery?
  • Is it impeding on personal freedoms or should the Government have the right to govern it’s people’s moral conduct to maintain social order?

In 2008, South Korea’s highest court upheld an adultery law that sends adulterers to jail for having an extra-martial affair. Since 1989, four appeals have made it to the highest court but all four have been shot down. The most recent appeal was overturned this past October regarding a popular korean actress, Ok So-ri also known as Ok Bo-kyung, who was charged for an affair with a well-known opera singer. She blamed it on a loveless marriage. In January, she had entered into divorce proceedings with her husband Park Chul. Ok So-ri was sentence to eight months for adultery. Her lover was also sentenced to six months.

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Sex Trafficking Victims – The Facts

Sex Trafficking Victim
Sex Trafficking Victim

Sex Trafficking Part II

Another followup article I would like to give attention too as I feel these issues do not get enough coverage in the media.

There is a video posted online with her discussing her trials.

Article is from the NY Times Opinion Section found here, video can also be found there.

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Movie Review: Seven Pounds starring Will Smith

Seven Pounds Movie Review

Seven Pounds - Will Smith
Seven Pounds - Will Smith

Starring: Will Smith, Woody Harrison, Rosario Dawson
Director: Gabriele Muccino (Pursuit of Happiness)
Length: 2hr 3Min
Released: December 19, 2008
Rated: PG-13

“If you are like most you will have one of two reactions, either leaving with your face covered with tears, or shaking your head.”

Seven Pounds stars Will Smith as IRS agent Ben Thomas. It’s a movie that is mysterious throughout keeping the viewer slightly out of the loop wondering what is going on. It is an emotional journey intended to slowly reveal the plot through subtle hints. Seven Pounds is a very slow paced film, only bearable because of Will Smith’s acting prowess. It is pretty clear that Ben, played by Will Smith, is more than he seems as he actively seeks to carefully analyze then help each person he meets.

The story unfolds as Ben makes visits to various people with different needs. Flashing his IRS badge he asks them both financial related questions as well as personal ones. He seems to be searching for something. As he is helping one of these strangers, the guy asks Ben “Why Me?” and Ben says “Because you’re a good person, even when you think no one is looking.” So he seems to be searching for “good people” to help. Why? It is very clear that Ben has a lot of emotional baggage as Seven Pounds is glittered with flashbacks which at first seem to be in the present. He is held captive by some sort of guilt or sad memory.

Overall the movie was well made, but as the quote above says (taken by a comment by user reviewer), you are either going to leave the theater crying or shaking your head. I happen to be the latter, despite the fact I am known to be very “emotional” when it comes to emphasizing with characters. Mainly because very early on in the movie it became crystal clear what the ending was going to be. It came too fast and too early. But then again I am the analyzer type that figures out plots pretty quickly to begin with. But what made me shake my head was not the plot, but the controversy that is the ending… it is definitely worth discussing from many different levels, especially from a moral standpoint.

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Proposition 8: The Musical – Lies & Intolerance.. by Who?

The Bible and Proposition 8
Mockery and Bigotry

Below are some excerpts regarding Proposition 8: The Musical, written by “Hairspray” composer Marc Shaiman. Already viewed by over 2 million people online. Many people might think this piece is funny or a great “social issue” piece. But what often gets overlooked is how much these kind of videos distort the truth and are extremely intolerant.

Some will look at it and say “of course I know it’s bias” and just laugh it off, but media has such a powerful effect on the way we think and how we view things that enough exposure to such material can mold our perceptions. You can have parents who urge you to keep yourself pure, but as you watch more and more TV shows where sleeping around seems to exciting, fun and without consequences, when the time comes it is much easier to go with it. The old “everyone else is doing it” played out in real life. When you live in simple suburbia but watch movies of gangsters and mafia characters defend their egos and pride by oppressing others or physically getting in the face of others, what does that do to your perception of what is manly and right when your dignity is on the line.

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Viewpoint: Women & Modesty – Christian Dilemma

Viewpoint Series
Readers of this blog are familiar with the “Creativity” posts that show interesting (and clean) videos, advertisements, prints and the like. I will also be starting the “Viewpoint” set, which will post good articles that show a completely different perspective than what culture would tell us to be the norm or even to be right. Many of the articles in Clean Cut Media discuss how media shapes and impacts our culture and our worldview. In relation to that goal, I believe reading posts that discuss different viewpoints will help broaden our perspective and give us a way to step back and evaluate our culturally defined norms more objectively. Whether you agree or disagree with the viewpoints is up to you.

Viewpoint: Women & Modesty
Article below is a response to a question by a Christian man who wants to discuss with his girlfriend about how the way she dresses is actually making him have lustful thoughts. In our generally promiscuous, show all, sex driven type of culture, the perspective you see below in the response, will jump out immediately as something different, if not radical. Christianity is a very others driven, centered around loving God and loving people and you see that in the way they heavily consider the impact of dressing immodest and it’s impact on men. Article is below. Enjoy!

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