'Text Me!"

I got my first cell phone the day I got my driver's license.  It was a clunky, walkie-talkie type contraption and the digital screen was only 2 colors.  It was "only for emergencies," which granted didn't last long as I soon discovered the perks of being able to speak to my friends out of earshot of my family.  But I didn't send my first text message until I was a sophomore in college.  Yes, I remember the day when cell phones were just that.  Phones.  Used for voice-to-voice communication between people.  In 2011, it is rare to see people who only use their cell phones for making and receiving calls.  Texting is all the rage, and certainly has its perks: speed, secretiveness, and the ability to avoid making or taking those unwanted calls by simply replacing an answer with a text message.  We are all guilty of a little bit of reliance on text messaging regardless of our age, but according to a recent study by Princeton Survey Research International, one demographic in particular takes the virtual cake when it comes to text messaging.

Teenage girls aged 14-17, according to the study, by far and away lead the pack in terms of daily text messaging, averaging over 100 text messages per day!  Their male counterparts averaged lowest among the groups studied, coming in at only about 20 text messages a day.  Twenty text messages per day might sound like a drop in the ocean compared to the 100 teenage girls are sending, but when you take into consideration that just a few years ago text messaging didn't even exist, it seems daunting to think how quickly the way the world communicates can change.  As a sophomore in college just a few years ago, it was rare to send 20 text messages in a month!

The Pew Research Center, the leading source of research on social trends in America, published some astonishing statistics recently.  They found that 75% of teens aged 12-17 had cell phones in 2010, up from only 45% in 2004.  This fact in particular is indicative of the drastic change in the way teens are communicating just over the last handful of years.  Pew found that texting has surpassed face-to-face contact, email, instant messaging and phone calls as the most common way teens communicate with one another, but found that they still communicate with their parents primarily via voice calls.

Recalling the conversations I had with my friends on my cell phone because my parents couldn't hear me, I can only imagine the things teens today must be texting about.  They are able to sit in the same room as their parents and still conduct private, silent teenage conversations.  As a potential future parent, the prospect of keeping my teenagers under control with so little idea what they discuss with their friends promises to be a challenge.

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones.aspx

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126117811

'Just One More Show, Please!'

As adults, it is easy for most of us to spend eight hours a day online, whether it be for work, paying bills, social networking or getting our daily news.  This being part of our everyday, we are quick to forget a time in our lives when as teenagers, we spent half our waking hours in school, and probably another couple of those hours doing afterschool acitivities or working our first jobs.  And inevitablty, the last few hours watching television.  The daily life of the American teenager in 2011 looks a little bit different, according to a recent report released by media and web portal firm, Carat Interactive.

The report showed that American teens spend an average of 16.7 hours online per week, and 13.6 hours watching television.  These numbers may seem low at first glance, but let's stop and examine how these hours spent online and watching television add up.

An average school day lasts about seven hours.  That means 35 hours a week are spent in school.  Add the internet and television time spent per week together, and you get 30.3 hours.  That means teens are spending almost as much time on visual media as they are in school every week.  This begs the question, when do these kids have time to do the afterschool activities, work those first jobs, do their homework, and even sleep?  Has visual media become so important in the lives of modern-day teenagers that it trumps the need for a proper nights' sleep?

A recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation showed that American teens are "dangerously sleep deprived," missing an average of an hour to an hour and a half of sleep per night.  Psychologist Michael Breus says "Twenty-four-hour access to the internet and fast-paced video games are tempting products in the digital age," and he attributes some of this sleep loss to teenagers' excessive use of visual media outlets during the school week.  A growing concern among parents and the psychological communities is that this lack of sleep can lead to impaired driving, lack of attention in the classroom, and even bouts of depression.

One might say that there is a silver lining in the fact that teens seem to be watching less television these days.  However, replacing one kind of screen with another does not seem beneficial to teenagers when it comes to getting through the next school day.



http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/American-Teenagers-Dangerously-Sleep-Deprived-102523339.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078614/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/teens-tune-out-tv-log-instead/

One Strike, You're Out!

While attending a Yankee game last week, I had the joy of having seats in what must have been a sea of gangly, pimple covered, awkward teenage boys. Although being the only one who could get the attention of the “bud light man” was nice, what ended up being more useful was overhearing all of the chatter and gossip that game time afternoon. 

 
The first few innings were a blur, as the game was a high scoring close battle, I had a few drinks and the standard glutenous snacking all took there toll. However, by the 5th inning I had settled into a euphoric “stupor” and tuned in to all the young boys conversations going on around me. There were dozens of conversations swirling around, however there was really only 3 topics they all were comprised of, the game, women, and drinking. They all wanted to drink, and had either proclamations of such or ideas on how to achieve this unlawful goal. "You ask him!" "No, You ask him!" Debating between which of the boys would ask a legal to purchase beer for them. "You're such a [vagina]!" One exclaimed. After I hear these comments I began to think about why their relationship is based around criticism and competition, and why the need for alcohol was so strong.

After further research I came across and article, Leisure and Family: Perspectives of Male Adolescents Who Engage in Delinquent Activity as Leisure.

This article discusses the motivations that push young boys to the pursuit of delinquent behavior for purposes of enjoyment. It connects family life to delinquency by absences of a father figures or lack of support of interest in their son's lives. Why should the consumption of alcohol be considered delinquent behavior? I can agree with these theories, however, in the case of teens consuming alcohol at a baseball game I also feel that maybe these kids were just looking to relax, and have a few beers because it is what they see adults in our culture doing. Imitation is a large part of social development. By the time young men are seniors in high school they have reached their maturation. For our culture to deny responsibility and trust to these young adult males will only further their desire to lash out against societies laws. I look at our American culture and I see the mixed signals we are giving to our youth. We tell them to grow up and take responsibility by the end of high school, but we hardly give them a chance when it comes to the big stuff. It is perfectly acceptable for adults to loosen up with a few beers, why deny an 18 year old adult the same freedoms? At the age of 21 an adult male (or female of course) in America is seen as old enough to go to a baseball game, drink alcohol, and make sound judgements. Most countries legal drinking age is 18 as was America for many years. I feel like the lack of trust in our youth furthers the need for them to fight this law. Drunk driving among teens became a huge issue in America and is primarily why the drinking age increased, but what about urban environments where transportation is primarily public transit?

Listening to teenage boys under the influence of alcohol at a baseball game may be more annoying then sober teenage boys, but at least we won't have to worry about getting arrested for supplying them with the beer!

"Only recently have motivations such as the pursuit of fun, thrills, and excitement been recognized as acceptable explanations for involvement in delinquent behavior." (Agnew, 1990). 

http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001883192

How Much is Too Much?

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have changed the way that teenagers interact with each other. A huge issue that has surfaced through these interactions are privacy and the sharing of too much information. Inappropriate postings, constant updates without pre-meditation as well as risque photographs are some of the ways these kids are exploiting themselves in a negative way. The exposure through this information can harm one of the most important parts of a teenager's psyche, their reputation. Given their developmental phase adolescents are extremely critical about how they are perceived.
Joanne Finkelstein, Dean of School of Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Greenwich, and writer of Art of self-invention: image and identity in popular culture shares, "Thinking about how others see us is an engrossing preoccupation." Through personal experience as well as readings on adolescent development I feel like this consciousness is strongly felt throughout the teenage years. "We are in an era where impressions matter, and where reputation is both an asset and a liability. Part of our daily maintenance now is to secure personal details and prevent becoming 'anonymized' or invisible."
Social networking via the internet is a easy and accessible form of communication for teens and adults alike. You choose who you want viewing your information, you choose who your friends are, and you decide what you would like them knowing about you. The more information you share the more frequent your postings, and pictures will appear in your friends "news feeds". Perhaps this help boost reputation and popularity for teenage social circles.
Teen Vogue a fashion and trends monthly American magazine geared towards the adolescent population posted a blog about the sharing of too much information on Facebook in the January 2011 articles. It was designed to inform that what they share can effect more then just their reputation. It can cause them to be denied admission into college or lose job opportunities. "In a recent survey on TeenVogue.com, 94 percent of readers polled said teens should be more concerned with privacy on the Internet."
I feel like the issue of exploitation should not only be discussed in the media, but in the schools as well. As teachers we have a responsibility to make sure we are current on what teenagers are interested in and what influences them. Social networking can be a positive form of communication, but future generations need to be made aware of the harm it can cause.

Body Image and Self Esteem

Girls: feminine adolescence in popular culture & cultural theory:

 "The feminine adolescent desires her-self as she might become- a potential visualized in connection to other girls and constructed through observation of her own and other girls' bodies." (Driscoll, 2002).

I feel like Driscoll makes a relevant observation to woman in American Culture. As a teenage girl develops social she will "dissolve opposite-sex friendships and become actively involved with same-sex groups to help define changing roles," (Kerlavage, 1999). As Kerlavage suggests the same-sex groups in adolescences become more important. I wonder who as woman we are trying to impress? Ourselves? Other Woman? Or Men? Adolescences is an emotional, physical and socially developmental time for girls that are on the verge of womanhood. America's visual culture plays a large role in how we as woman characterize ourselves in this society. In my opinion, I feel like many woman would agree, a strong woman in New York City is seen as physically slender, tan or glowing skin (usually showing a good portion of it), also dressed in current fashion trends. Unfortunately these attributes are all based on physical appearance. Appearance is assumable the first impression determining how a woman is perceived or judged. The cultural norm of the present day teenage girl in New York City sees these physical attributes and looks towards them as a model for what would make them perfect. Since these girls are in a time of developmental change they are more conscious of this visual culture.

The high school girls that I am observing are ranging from 14 to 18 years old. Between these four years there are many mark-able difference in physical changes and emotional behaviors. However, the one thing that is constant throughout this age range is egocentrism. Egocentricity is as much apart of adolescence as the physical growth teenagers experience. Freud suggests that narcissism is a normal transitional phase for one's ego. The obsession over personal body image is something that our society pressures teenage girls into indirectly. Normal behavior that girl's begin to adopt are painting/plucking/dying/shaving/dieting and exercising. Through observation I have seen freshman high school girls paint their faces with globs of makeup attempting to create the visual illusion of perfection and also by imitating what they see in magazines, on billboards, the internet and on the streets of the city. I feel like they want society to see them as an adult and not a child. The search for identity and perfection in body image can cause serious self-esteem issues that can last through adulthood. I personally have felt these pressures myself, usually pertaining to my body weight.

Until we can truly understand why we care so much about physical beauty we will be stuck in the same repetitive cultural norm. I feel like as a teacher I want to exploit this issue with my students in a way where they can form their own ideals on what is beautiful. As artists we understand that visually beauty is arbitrary. As an art educator I feel compelled to set a scaffolding for my students to come to this discovery on their own. Maybe it will help relieve some of the similar insecurities I once felt as a teenager.