Monday, November 3, 2008

Can TV Make Your Teen Pregnant?


Article Source: The New York Times



By Lisa Belkin

Television can make your teenager pregnant.

Not directly, of course. But the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics is releasing a study today, linking sexual content on television with the teenage pregnancy rate.

The research was done by the nonpartisan nonprofit Rand Corporation and tracked 700 subjects, age 12 through 17, for three years. Those who saw the most necking, flirting, touching, sexual conversation and sex scenes on TV during that period of time were twice as likely to become pregnant or make their partner pregnant than those who saw the least. (Specifically, 25 percent of those who watched such scenes most often were involved in a pregnancy, compared with 12 percent who watched the fewest sexual scenes.).....

Friday, September 19, 2008

Teen Gamers Aren't Pimply Faced Male Recluses

By Anastasia Goodstein, YPulse

(YPulse) mentioned the new Pew study on teens and gaming a couple of times on Ypulse this week — it is a must-read and is choc full of interesting stats. To me the biggest trend is how gaming has become much more social for teens, defying the teen boy gamer stereotype. Games like Guitar Hero and Rockband, consoles like the Wii, social gaming on websites, virtual worlds and within social networks have all contributed to pushing the percentage of teens who game to nearly 100 percent. There has been lots of coverage of the study, but I wanted to share this video

from our friends up north (Canada!), which I think illustrates these key findings (for those of you who don't have time to download the report).


Click Here For The Full Story
Or Click Below to Watch Video
Posted by anastasia on 09-19-2008


Sunday, June 15, 2008

Teens & Tech ( An Outdated Yet Informative Blog) from cnet

Although the blog has not been updated since June 15, 2008, cnet News' Digital Kids blog is chock 'ful of interesting, albeit, slightly outdated tidbits pertaining to teens & tech.


Visit the Blog Here

Monday, June 9, 2008

Study: Tykes, Teens Outdo Adults on Youtube

Article Source: cnet News

by Stefanie Olsen

You'd think Disney or the Cartoon Network would lure the most 2- to 11-year-olds scouting for video on the Internet. But the honors actually go to YouTube, with clips of Bugs Bunny, trains, and puppies (mixed in with "Twitter whores" and frat parties).

According to a new study from Nielsen Online, the largest number of tykes and preteens go to YouTube for video (or 4.1 million viewers aged 2 to 11), followed by the Disneychannel.com at a distant second, with 1.3 million viewers in that age bracket for the month of April. MySpace.com, NickJr, and Google Video also showed up on that list.

Their habits could signal TV's future. On average, the kids watched 51 video streams from home during April, spending almost two hours on video clips. That usage outstrips the average of nearly 75 million adults who regularly view video clips at sites like ESPN.com and CNN.com. On average in April, adults of voting age watched 44 video streams, for about 1 hour and 40 minutes of their time.....

GET THE FULL STORY HERE


Tuesday, May 27, 2008

New Teen Health Worry: Energy in a Can



Article Source: New York Times

TARA PARKER POPE on Health

With names like Rock Star, Full Throttle and Monster, it’s no wonder new super-caffeinated energy drinks appeal to teens.

But energy drink consumption is something parents need to think about too. As I write in today’s Well column, heavy consumption of caffeinated energy drinks may be a predictor of risky behavior by teens. In addition, teens and young adults are mixing alcohol and energy drinks, which can increase the risks associated with alcohol consumption.

To learn more about the caffeine content of the beverages your teen is drinking, check out the Web site Energy Fiend, which lists caffeine content of dozens of different beverages. Although I haven’t checked every item for accuracy, I have checked several of the listings and found the data to be reliable.

To read more about energy drinks and the association with risky behavior, read today’s Well column here. Are you a fan of energy drinks? Do you allow your teen to consume them? Post your comments below.