"Why is our culture so violent?"
"What can we do to protect our children?"
This question will undoubtedly be asked a lot this weekend. And a lot of the parents expressing their sincere concern are oblivious to the steady diet of violence and anger their children consume through media.
If you're a concerned parent this weekend is going to give you three huge conversational starting points with your teenager.
- Deadpool 2
- 13 Reasons Why season 2
- Santa Fe, Texas
It's a safe bet that the number one movie at the box office this weekend will be Deadpool 2, an ultraviolent R rated superhero movie. This movie was made with teens in mind, and has been aggressively marketed to them (not that parents who aren't engaged on the social media platforms their teenagers are addicted to would know) for weeks now. Many teens will go see it, buying tickets with their parents money and with their permission. Just as many will be watching without their parents permission. Or without bothering to tell their distracted parents that this movie is rated R.
Lots of teens will round out their weekend screen time by binge watching the second season of 13 Reasons Why which premiered on Netflix at 11:59pm Thursday night. Too many parents are unfamiliar with the graphic content of this 'must watch' show that glorifies suicide! I know the producers of the program and Netflix deny that the show glorifies anything negative and instead claim that it's healthy because it opens a dialougue between the fans of the show (teens!) and their parents. I'd find this a bit more believable if the show were marketed to parents as a discussion starter even 10% as heavily as it's been marketed on social media to teens.
So why is our culture violent and angry? Because you are what you eat. And in this case our teens consume garbage fed to them through screens that makes them unhealthy and then they end up unhealthy.
I'm not saying that it's the fault of the entertainment. Hollywood is just selling what people are buying. If teens were binge watching The Andy Griffith Show and Leave it to Beaver then Hollywood would be putting Mayberry and Ward and June Cleaver in front of our teens 24/7.
It's the fault of the parents. Some assume that since their teens know the difference between reality and fiction that a movie or tv show can't harm them. Heck lots of us grew up with a steady diet of The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team. But in my house those tv shows came with a weekly commentary from my dad.
Lots of teens will round out their weekend screen time by binge watching the second season of 13 Reasons Why which premiered on Netflix at 11:59pm Thursday night. Too many parents are unfamiliar with the graphic content of this 'must watch' show that glorifies suicide! I know the producers of the program and Netflix deny that the show glorifies anything negative and instead claim that it's healthy because it opens a dialougue between the fans of the show (teens!) and their parents. I'd find this a bit more believable if the show were marketed to parents as a discussion starter even 10% as heavily as it's been marketed on social media to teens.
So why is our culture violent and angry? Because you are what you eat. And in this case our teens consume garbage fed to them through screens that makes them unhealthy and then they end up unhealthy.
I'm not saying that it's the fault of the entertainment. Hollywood is just selling what people are buying. If teens were binge watching The Andy Griffith Show and Leave it to Beaver then Hollywood would be putting Mayberry and Ward and June Cleaver in front of our teens 24/7.
It's the fault of the parents. Some assume that since their teens know the difference between reality and fiction that a movie or tv show can't harm them. Heck lots of us grew up with a steady diet of The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team. But in my house those tv shows came with a weekly commentary from my dad.
"You can't drive a car like that. It's dangerous."
"If you hit somebody like that you'll break your hand and he'll have to go to the hospital."
"If a car rolled over like that someone would die."
"You can't shoot a machine gun at people like that without killing and crippling them, and the innocent people behind them."
"Don't those idiots have jobs? How can afford all the gas they use each week driving in circles?"
I know for a fact that many of my friends suffered through similar parental observations while trying to enjoy their weekly dose of Mr. T or the General Lee.
But not only are the entertainment stakes higher in 2018, many teens watch movies and tv in their bedrooms, out of range of parental commentary. In many cases parents have no idea what their teens are watching, let alone what the content of it is.
Are there parents who restrict what their teens watch? Absolutely. (Although I know a teen girl who told me that she wasn't allowed to watch 13 Reasons Why. Her dad even changed the password on their Netflix account so she couldn't access it. She just borrowed a friends password (whose parents were none the wiser) and sat in her room and watched it on her phone.)
Are there parents who use these things as conversation starters? Yes. (I know two teens who watched every episode with their mom, and discussed each episode with their mom. I'm extra impressed because I know from conversation with their mom that she HATED every minute of it. But her daughters are better off for her plunging into their world and sharing it with them.)
So why is our culture angry and violent? Because parents aren't paying enough attention.
How can we fix it? Pay attention parents because this is key:
GET ON SNAPCHAT AND INSTAGRAM AND SEE WHAT YOUR TEENS ARE LOOKING AT AND SHARING. THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AT YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL!
CONSUME THE MEDIA THEY CONSUME SO YOU CAN TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT.
TAKE THEM TO CHURCH. EVERY SUNDAY. LET THEM SEE THAT THE GOSPEL IS AS IMPORTANT AS SOCCER/BALLET/FOOTBALL/SOFTBALL/CHEERLEADING.
READ YOUR BIBLE IN FRONT OF THEM. LET THEM SEE THAT GOD'S WORD IS AS IMPORTANT TO YOU AS FACEBOOK.
AND STOP LETTING NITWITS ON YOUTUBE AND NETFLIX AND ON MOVIE SCREENS SHAPE YOUR CHILDREN INTO ADULTS. THAT'S YOUR JOB AND YOU ARE FAR BETTER AT IT!
