The world is changing.
Teenage culture is always changing.
And what todayās teens are struggling with will always be changing.
Itās tough being a teen these days.
Hereās a list of a few new realities todayās teens are facing:
Cyberbullying is drastically on the rise.Ā Somewhere between 4 percentĀ and 25 percentĀ of teens have been cyberbullied. Now ifĀ you work with teens, you know that more teens are beingĀ cyberbullied than 25 percent.Ā What teen wants to publiclyĀ admit they are bullied?Ā Not many. I would say that well over 60 percentĀ have either been cyberbullied or are participating in the cyberbullying. Being cyberbullied means you are bullied on social networking sites, text message, email, picture/video chat and instant message.
Decrease in adult support. One of the biggest development needs for todayās teens is that they need more healthy, trusted and caring loving adults in their life. The ongoing adult support and guidance offered for todayās teens is on a bigĀ downward slope. Dr. Comer, Professor of Child Psychiatry at Yale University, commented that this decline in adult support is a huge crisis in our country.
Exposure to porn earlier.Ā With 12 percentĀ of all websites on the Internet being pornographic andĀ 2.5 billion emails per day pornographic in natureāthat is 8 percentĀ of all emailsāI think it is safe to say all kids have seen or looked at porn. Studies have found that the average kid first saw porn at age 11.Ā Itās imperative that youth ministries talk about porn to students and parents.Ā Most Christian parents are in denial thatĀ their son or daughter has seen porn.