Paul Robertson is the Youth Culture Specialist and Director of Church and Family Resources for Youth Unlimited. His newsletter, “Understanding Today’s Youth”, provides articles that share his research and insights on this current generation of youth. We’ve posted the cover article of the recent issue here. To download full PDF’s of back issues or to be on the mailing list, go to paulrobertson.ca and click on “Culture Newsletters” on the side menu.
In a culture as obsessed as ours is with celebrity and appearance, it is hard to believe there actually was a time when famous actos and singers hid their flaws for fear of being ostracized by Hollywood.
Those were the days when everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Rock Hudson kept their dirty little secrets under wraps. Today your notoriety is enhanced and contracts sweetened when all your worst behaviours hit the news.
Starting with this significant shift in celebrity ethics, Dr. Drew Pinsky sets the framework for The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America. After drawing on an almost too long a list of celebrities gone wrong, Pinsky does a good job of developing the genesis of narcissism as we understand it today. It is interesting to see his contrast between egotism, the preoccupation with oneself and narcissism marked by a disconnection with self exhibited in chronic feelings of loneliness, emptiness and self-loathing. The true narcissist tries to cover up these traits by fueling their own sense of self-importance in a variety of public ways.
All of this has significant implications for our young people. As Dr. Drew points out, “Teens, tweens, and young adults are biologically, environmentally, and culturally predisposed to desire what celebrity promises: wealth, special privilege, and unlimited attention.” The danger comes when young people who are already prone to imitation engage in often dangerous and risky behaviors put on display by their media heroes.
What we need to realize is that celebrity isn’t necessarily associated with talent or performance. Today, being famous seems like a game anyone can play, especially the younger generation. Parents don’t understand that while youthful experimentation can be normal, it can quickly spill into more problematic behaviors such as Internet addictions which lead to meeting strangers (who adore you, of course) in person. Signs of problems can be expressed through obsession with body, sexual acting out, volatile anger, or excessive drinking or drug use. Pinsky points out, “Unfortunately, it is precisely those behaviors that were highly valued by parents in the sixties and seventies and now glamorized by TV and magazines today.”
The book also includes a great chapter on parenting to prevent narcissism. Today’s parents, themselves bombarded with messages encouraging attention seeking, must take constructive steps to arrest narcissistic tendencies in their kids. It’s nice to see a book which is full of unsettling facts and issues on this cultural extreme, end with some hope and direction.
In this issue of Understanding Today’s Youth, Youth Unlimited will take you into today’s youth culture to show how such narcissistic messages are affecting our young people even the youngest are not spared. From print media to radio to television to Twitter, the message is always the same, “It’s all about ME”.
* Other articles in this same issue:
- “A Generation Who Adore Themselves”: International speaker and apologist Ravi Zacharias recently told Youth Unlimited that young people and media can no longer be separated from each other. In essence, they and the media have become one. Screen time has become the new past time. Every young person in Canada will be touched in some way by media today. Some are addicted to Facebook, Twitter, and TV. Teenagers in Canada spend almost 49 hours per week using various forms of media.
- “Responding to Generation Me”: All of us were born with an innate self-interest that wants to take priority over the welfare of others. Parents, teachers, youth workers, pastors, and professional are all finding it challenging to deal with a generation preoccupied with its own existence. Previous generations have always felt important but this is the first to have its ego massaged and manipulated by the media. The sense of entitlement has reached an all-time high.
I’ve never forgotten a saying that I heard from a preacher once: “It is impossible to serve God unless it is through people.” This is one of my life goals – to develop and cultivate meaningful relationships with those around me to have the opportunity to serve them. John Maxwell, in his book Winning with People encourages us never to lose our focus of why we run our programs and ministries; it is to build strong, lasting, healthy relationships with those we work with. Relationships and our attitude towards them will dramatically impact how we lead and the success we will experience.
One of Maxwell’s most intriguing points for me was what he called “the Bob Principle” which states: “When Bob has a problem with everyone, Bob is usually the problem.” I found this very informative and also as a caution because it is so easy to focus on the problems and frustrations that occur in relationships instead of the solutions that can make them stronger.
How wonderful it is to look at our young Christian leaders (LAUNCHees) and be able to say “here come those dreamers” (Genesis 37:19). I was taken back when I read this in Scripture. What a powerful statement! I love to say this about our LAUNCHee and their ideas.
Well, except for some minor details. The violinist (Joshua Bell) was one of the greatest musicians in the world, playing six of the most intricate pieces every written on a 1713 Stradivarius worth 3.5 million dollars. Three days earlier, Bell had filled the Symphony Hall in Boston with an average ticket price of $100. A couple months later, he was awarded the Avery Fisher prize as the best classical musician in America. The email ended with the explanation that the above event was designed and implemented by the Washington Post as an experiment to see if people would see the extraordinary when it was packaged in a most ordinary way. You have no idea how much I wanted this email to be accurate, but I had my doubts. It seemed too perfect, too contrived. What did Snopes have to say about it? One word. “True.” An article entitled “
LAUNCH held its first LAUNCHee retreat day on Saturday September 26 at a small cottage in Bowanville, Ontario. We had five LAUNCHees attend. The day was all planned out to the tee with a gentle flow and with meals being provided that would have encouraged all. But as most of you know, things hardly happen the way we expect. As the rumors of rain mounted we decided to change our schedule and made our “bouldering” adventure the first part of our day. You might be asking: “What is bouldering?”
Okay, I admit it. I’m a camp girl. For those of you out there who have been a part of a camp environment for the majority of your life, can understand the allegiance that develops between yourself and “your” camp. For me, the ways in which God has used that camp environment to grow, challenge and change me are almost immeasurable. So you can’t help but grow an attachment to such a place in your life, and though you acknowledge there are other Christian camps out there, you’re heart can’t be swayed. You are loyal. Your camp is “the” camp.
As I remember each of the young leaders God has brought to LAUNCH, I know this to be true more and more. Truly no two LAUNCHees are alike or two dreams alike- God’s variety is reflected so clearly through them. And once again, I’m encouraged and humbled to know that God is working in and through each of them- affecting lives that could only be affected as each of them pursue their dream.
Anne is a current LAUNCHee and has been meeting with her LAUNCH coach Janet for the past year. This November, Anne’s vision to hold a benefit concert for 
My name is Mike and I am the President of a gospel apparel business called Wear Da Word.
