COMM 361 Spring 2009 Blog

Week 10 Post 2: Binge Drinking

2009-04-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Binge drinking can be treated, and in some cases rehab is needed if the alcohol addiction is serious.

For starters, talk with a parent, other trusted adult or friend for help in getting treatment for the binge drinking.

Avoid situations where drinking is going on and talk with others about the cause of the binge drinking.

Week 10 Post 1: Binge Drinking

2009-04-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

For as long as there have been an age limit on drinking, there has been underage drinking, and those who are underage and drink in large amounts. Binge drinking, which drinking alcohol frequently and to excess, is a trend among today's youth.

What binge drinking can lead to:

-alcohol poisoning

-missed schoolwork/missing out on extracurricular activities

-"blacking out"-drinking to the point that one becomes unconcious

Why do youths binge drink?

-the youth might want to feel "older"

-curiosity; what would drinking that amount feel like?

-alcohol may be perceived as a stress-reliever

Week 9 Post 2: Tanning

2009-04-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

More and more, youths (mainly girls) think being tan is "beautiful". This has created a nationwide tanning craze.

Indoor tanning can give a person darker skin, but there are risks involved. UVA rays of light penetrate to the skin's inner tissue and can raise the risk for basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma cancer.

Other risks of tanning include:

-skin might age prematurely due to overexposure to ultraviolet light

-overexposure to ultraviolet light can damage the eye's retina

There are alternatives to tanning beds. To get darker skin, try airbrush tanning or sunless tanning lotions or sprays.

Week 9 Post 1: Bullying

2009-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

If your child is being bullied, here are some tips to help the situation:

-get the facts on when and where and what type of bullying occurred

-do not contact the parents of the bully

-Do contact school officials: report the bullying without getting overly emotional

-emphasize that you want to work with administrators to make the bullying stop

According to tweentrends.suite101.com, the three R's work well in redeeming bullying acts:

-Restitution
-Resolution
-Reconciliation

Week 8 Post 2: Bullying

2009-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Why do youths bully others?

There are many reasons a youth might bully someone else:

-low self-esteem

-the need to gain popularity

-negative world view; might view violence in a positive light

-the child might have been bullied and now bullies someone else

-the youth might be jealous of the person he or she is bullying

Several signs that your child may be being bullied are:

-anxious to go to school

-unexplained bruises

-trouble sleeping

-loss of sleep

Week 8 Post 1: Bullying

2009-04-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

What is bullying?

Bullying is a form of verbal or physical harrassment a person inflicts on someone else. In youths, bullying can be seen in various forms:

-intentionally leaving a person out of a group

-physically hurting another person; intimidating the person

-sending rude or hurtful text messages or emails to someone

-spreading bad rumors about someone

-calling someone mean names

According to Groundspark.org, in America, nearly 1/3 of youth are teased at least once a month, 60% of American teens see bullying at least once a day and 3.2 million kids in grades 6-10 are bullied each year.

Week 7 Post 2: Bulimia

2009-03-29T11:35:00.001-07:00

Bulimia nervosa is a damaging, physically and emotionally stressful disease in which a person eats excessively (sometimes called "binging") and then tries to negate the effects of the eating through several practices (vomiting the food back up-called "purging", over-exercise, fasting or other ways).

There are several ways to treat bulimia:

-counseling (psychotherapy); talking about your condition and talking about what issues might be causing the bulimia

-seeing a dietician to learn healthy eating habits and developing a plan to meet nutritional and weight goals

-antidepressant medications might also help

Week 7 Post 1: Eating Disorders- Bulimia

2009-03-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bulimea nervosa is a type of eating disorder characterized by

-binge eating (excessive eating)

-trying to negate the effects of binge eating by overexercising

-vomiting up what was eaten; sometimes called "purging"

-diuretics

-fasting

-laxatives

People who suffer from bulimia are sometimes secretive about their binging and purging.

Some of the consequences of bulimia are:

-thinning hair

-dry skin

-fatigue

-stomach or intestinal problems

Stay tuned...

Week 6 Post 2: Eating Disorders

2009-03-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Anorexia nervosa: a bodily, emotionally and psychologically damaging disease partly characterized by obsessive weight loss, refusal to eat and the need to control food and calorie intake.

Youths may need to control their bodies because they feel other areas of their lives are out-of-control.

How to treat this damaging illness:

-get the youth back to a healthy weight

-discovering and treating the emotional or mental issues associated with or causing the anorexia

-making sure the youth gets rid of and stays away from habits that lead to control of calorie intake or thinking about weight restriction

-support from family and friends

Week 6 Post 1: Eating Disorders

2009-03-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

So, they're out there, they're harmful and they create a lot of problems for youths:

Eating disorders.

This week, my blog will focus on one such disorder: anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is a psychological disease in which victims starve, purge or diet themselves to extremely low body weights and are very fearful of gaining weight. The disease is a method for victims to control some part of their lives.

It can be caused by the pressure to be skinny and good-looking or by low self-esteem.

Symptoms of anorexia:

-refusing to eat

-extremely low body weight

-(for girls) lack of monthly menstrual cycle

-constant dieting or occupation with calories, food, and eating

Stay tuned...

Week 5 Post 2: Overscheduling continued

2009-03-10T09:01:00.001-07:00

If a teen feels over-booked and anxious because of his or her activity load, here are some suggestions that might help:

-make sure teens have "down time" to read, watch TV, go outside or hang out with friends

-family time: eat dinner together every night or spend time together doing activities

-exercise can help teens release stress in healthy ways

-make sure teens are getting enough sound, deep sleep

Rather than being anxious, stressed and overscheduled, it's important for youths to be happy, know about themselves (their likes/dislikes/hobbies/creativity) and have family bonds they can rely on.

Week 5 Post 1: Overscheduling

2009-03-10T08:38:00.001-07:00

Many teens today are overscheduled: from Prom Committee to extracurricular sports to church activities to volunteering and homework, teens are booked down to the minute.

Besides moderate to extreme stress, teens can miss out on important elements of life because their time is taken away by too many activities. Some of these elements are:

-self-awareness: time to discover and learn about oneself

-family relationships: time to relax and bond with the family

-academics: time to do quality academic work the teen is proud of

Another risk youths may encounter is their self-perception. They may worry about how they compare to others.

Stay tuned...

Week 4 Post 2: Body Image

2009-02-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

In January 2007, Seventeen Magazine hired a new Editor-in-Chief, Ann Shoket, who experienced "heartbreak" when she heard a young girl say certain jeans made her butt look big.

Shoket proposed a "Peace Treaty" that girls could sign to "make peace" with their bodies. Basically, the treaty states that girls should respect their bodies, feed them and care for them, and girls should not obsess over their bodies.

The problem with this treaty is that girls should not worry about their bodies in the first place. There is absolutely no reason to worry about your body (provided you do not have an eating disorder or are physically harming yourself). The very word "treaty" promotes the idea that one's body is negative--that you must "make peace" with the way skin, bone and sinew was allocated on your frame. This is wrong. Girls are made the way they are made-in all kinds of beautiful shapes and sizes. What kind of fun would we have if everyone looked the same?

Week 4 Post 1: Body Image

2009-02-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

There are many factors that influence kids' perception of their bodies:

-the media

-parents

-their peers

Growing up in today's society, preteens or teen may be pressured to eat less or workout more to gain social acceptance or favor. The media has distorted reality by showing only rail thin or extremely toned, styled and airbrushed models.

Youth today must understand these highly perfected bodies are not the norm and do not have to be emulated to for them to be loved or accepted. It's hard enough growing up--why complicate it with worrying if you look exactly "perfect"?

Week 3 Post 2: Media and Reality

2009-02-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Continuing the discussion on media's effects on young people's choices, let's talk about clothing choice.

Remember Britney? Well, she really never went away...However, we've had some good and some bad times with Brit over the years.

Good:

- "Hit Me Baby" era (what were kids supposed to make of that title?!?)
- "Crossroads" (even if it stunk-in my opinion it did-you probably saw it!)
-"Circus" era (everyone loves a Comeback!!)

Bad:

-K-Fed (do we have to talk about that?!?)
-Rehab (could be considered good, because she Cameback! but it probably wasn't the most fun for Britney)

Regardless, Brit has always held on to one trademark characteristic-how few garments can one Britney Spears wear in any given moment?

I remember my Mom preaching strongly against the mid-driff craze. Brit's tummy debuted at about the time I thought I was old enough to be like Britney, and it was hard not to want to roll up my shirt and show my tummy like her. However, my mom kept me from that phase.

It all goes to show that kids today will follow what they see on T.V. So parents, watch it!

Week 3 Post 1: Media and Reality

2009-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Kids today are bombarded with messages from the media subtley pushing them in certain directions.

More and more children and teens today want to be like the characters they see on television shows.

Take MTV's "Jackass" movies, for instance. In March 2008, 18 year old Cameron Bieberle died when copying a stunt he had seen on a "Jackass" movie. He was riding in a shopping cart pulled by an SUV when the stunt went awry, and Bieberle was killed.

As another example, take a minute to watch this clip from the popular television show "Gossip Girl". Notice the clip illustrates what the show is about (teens engaging in a lot of sex, drinking and frittering away money), but it also emphasizes the show's popularity, with various magazines, interviews and television shows all devoted to "Gossip Girl" and it's characters flashing intermittently throughout the promo.

Girls love "Gossip Girl". My sister does. She calls it her "guilty pleasure." When a young girl sees these beautiful, wealthy people out having sex and drinking in excess, she might perceive this as this life she wants to, or is supposed to live.

Stay tuned...

Week 2 Post 2: Sexualization of the Media continued

2009-02-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

...

Young people today are taught by the media that their personal sexualization (the right hair, tight jeans, good make-up, certain attitudes etc.) will in return earn them any number of good things: love, respect, fame or at the very least, attention.

What these tween and teen girls and guys don't realized is sexualization is just a tool of the media to sell products. Since advertisers discovered that a desirable face or bodily frame next to a product made sales shoot up, they have been using "sex" as a successful selling tool.

Because kids today are bombarded by ads on the internet, TV and radio it is important to clarify

why there are so many sexually driven ads/messages being tossed about in our society
what to look for in a sexually charged ad
why it's important to value yourself enough that you don't need to result to sexualizing yourself for attention or love

Strong relationships, good influences and watchful parents and authorities all factor into the healthy development of a child, and into today's world, vigilance is key.

Back to Miley--After the photos hit the newstands, and the subsequent backlash occured, she apologized to her fans and their families saying she thought the photos were supposed to be "artistic" and she was "embarrassed." For Miley's sake, let's hope her parents start educating themselves on where to draw the line, or in this case, the neckline.

Week 2 Post 1: Sexualization of the Media

2009-02-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

Who's obsessed with Hannah Montana?

I know I am. And I can think of a few 20-somethings that are equally as fascinated with this pop culture phenomenon. Who wouldn't like a girl that lives a double life first as a student and then, by putting on a racously long blond wig, as an international pop star? And the glitter--don't even get me started on the pounds of glitter seemingly floating weightlessly around Hannah's airspace. It's miraculous.

However, the person who play's Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel's show "Hannah Montana" is equally as fascinating--at least to me. Miley Cyrus, famed daughter of singer/crooner Billy Ray Cyrus, has been in the media for several reasons--her Disney channel stardom, her singing career, her startlingly large fan base and ah yes, her Vanity Fair cover and subsequent photo shoot.

Remember that one? Or has it faded from memory in the public eye so quickly?

Just for your 411, here's the scoop--Hannah Montana, aka Miley, posed for a "racy" and "controversial" set of photos that appeared in the June 2008 issue of Vanity Fair.

The photos suggested any number of things:

she was sexually available
she engaged in sexual activities
she was appealing to boys or men
she might not be afraid to show herself off.

At fifteen, with no direction from her parents not to do the shoot, she went ahead and posed.

Stay tuned...