Just because teens hear the word sex, or Jack Daniel's doesn't mean it's going to screw them up. If you have screwed up kids, blame the parents.
Umm... yes and no.
When you come upon a screwed up teenager, yeah the odds are the parents could have done better. In some cases it may be largely or entirely the parents who screwed the kid up or let them get that way... but not always.
BUT, having a society whose pop culture is literally overflowing with glorification of intoxication, promiscuity, irresponsibility, mooching on others, violence, disdain for law, courtesy and custom and parents,
it doesn't make parenting a child into a responsible adult an easy task... in truth it probably makes it a lot
harder. In the latter case, the parent not only has to struggle against normal teenage impulsive behaviors, but the reinforcement of the worst of those behaviors through peer group, and popular music/culture/games/movies/imagery glorification of same.
I've heard the arguments as to whether such things are a cause or a symptom of our decadence. I'd say they are both: the debasement of our culture causes worse and worse "entertainment" to be produced, and that "entertainment" helps reinforce the bad behaviors in a sort of vicious circle.
When you consume the
vast amounts of media that our young people do, you would have to be MUCH stronger-willed and self-possessed than almost any kid or teen can be, to resist being influenced to some degree.
Parents tend to find limiting this negative inluence to be an uphill battle. If they try to insulate their kid from pop culture, they get called Right Wing Extremists or Religious fanatics, or... GASP...
homeschoolers!! :mrgreen: