• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Orlando Resort
  Orlando, Fla (May 31, 2007) – Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Universal Orlando Resort are partnering to create the world’s first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment . . .
  (tags: youth culture books media entertainment)

• All aboard for the Harry Potter rollercoaster [Reuters.com]
  (tags: youth culture books entertainment media)

• Teen Smoking Rates at a Standstill [NPR]
  Until just a few years ago, the news was pretty good: The numbers of teens who smoked was declining. But no longer.
  (tags: youth culture smoking drugs media)

J.K Rowling, who became the world’s first billion dollar author on the back of Harry Potter’s success, has given the go-ahead for the creation of a Florida theme park dedicated to the schoolboy wizard.

Are they kidding? Maybe some sort of Harry Potter ride, but a Harry Potter theme park???

Read the full story here.

Technorati Tags: youth culture, harry potter, theme park, roller coaster, movie, book, orlando

• ‘American Idol’ Vs. The Super Bowl [Advertising Age – MediaWorks]
  Tale of the Tape: A Showdown Between the Biggest Live Events on TV
  (tags: youth culture television entertainment media)

• Consumer Health Daily [UPI]
  More than one-third of the alcohol consumed by teens 11 to 14 years old came from their parents, friends’ parents or guardians, a U.S. study found.
  (tags: youth culture alcohol drinking parents)

• All the Mag Stats You Can Handle [Advertising Age]
  Don’t Feel Like Poring Over the Latest MRI Report? Here Are the Highlights
  (tags: youth culture media)

• Helping teenagers date responsibly [Pocono Record]
  While it’s natural for teenagers to be attracted to one another, and that dating is the socially accepted outcome of such attraction, most parents agonize over the dating experience and all the things that can go wrong.
  (tags: youth culture dating parents)

• Teens need parents’ help to resist alcohol pressures [Democrat & Chronicle]
  Many parents don’t understand the tough laws and liabilities that apply when anyone under age 21 drinks alcohol or uses drugs in their homes.
  (tags: youth culture alcohol drugs parents)

• Effectiveness of Anti-Smoking Ads Questioned [NPR]
  Big Tobacco’s public service ads aimed at steering kids away from smoking could be having the opposite effect, according to a recent study by The American Journal of Public Health.
  (tags: youth culture smoking drugs)

• Apple Starts Selling Unrestricted Songs on iTunes [FOXNews]
  Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iTunes Store started selling thousands of songs without copy protection Wednesday, marking the trendsetting company’s latest coup and a model for what analysts say will likely become a pattern for online music sales.
  (tags: youth culture media music internet)

• Apple hides account info in DRM-free music, too [ars technica]
  Apple embeds your account information in all songs sold on the store, not just DRM-free songs.
  (tags: youth culture music technology media)

Students today seem to be one step ahead of teachers and school administrators with regard to the “technology war.” Many schools have now banned cell phones at school, in part because some students were using them to cheat during tests.

But some cheaters have found a new hi-tech weapon – the iPod.

See the Video and read the rest of the Article here.

Technorati Tags: youth, culture, ipods, school, cheating

It’s a problem nearly every parent faces. . . teen drinking. Today there is increased concern about binge drinking and drunken driving. This is one family’s story. Bill and Pat Anderson knew their son Gregg was planning to drink on prom night. They wanted him to be safe, so they came up with a solution to have the party at their house. The rules: drinking, but no driving allowed. That’s when the cops got involved.

See the 60 Minutes Report here.

Technorati Tags: youth culture, video, 60 Minutes, drinking, parents

• Conclusions Are Reported on Teaching of Abstinence [New York Times]
  Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.
  (tags: youth culture sex school)

• Religious skywriter tags Epcot [boing boing]
  Religious writing dominated the Epcot sky this morning. The whole bit of skywriting wouldn’t fit in my camera’s frame.
  (tags: culture marketing media)

• U still up? Teens are text-messaging friends into the wee hours [KRT Wire]
  The teen under the sheets used to be reading a book with a flashlight. Now she’s text-messaging a boyfriend at 1 a.m.
  (tags: youth culture text_messaging cell_phone media)

• Could Facebook Become the New MySpace? [ClickZ]
  According to Hitwise, the top 20 social networking sites accounted for 6.5 percent of all Internet traffic in February, with U.S. market share of traffic increasing 11.5 percent over January.
  (tags: youth culture facebook myspace blogs internet meida)

• the original daily p2p and digital media news site [p2pnet.net]
  Most Canadian and US teenagers are still getting their music fixes from the free and independent sites and services rather than those run by corporate wannabes.
  (tags: youth culture music internet)

• No Fear! [Desiring God]
  Today is Friday the 13th. How should Christians respond to the fear of bad luck today?
  (tags: culture christians)

• Talladega Nights Jesus [Common Grounds Online]
  While part of me was slightly offended, and another part caught up in laughter, I realized that this scene illustrated an important point in both my life and in the world today, and that point is that we are consistently guilty of worshiping the God that
  (tags: culture movies media)

• Court: MySpace postings are free speech [USATODAY]
  A judge violated a juvenile’s free-speech rights when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
  (tags: youth culture myspace blogs internet media)

• Sex Offenders Test Churches’ Core Beliefs [New York Times]
  On a marquee outside and on a banner inside, Pilgrim United Church of Christ proclaims, “All are welcome.” Sustained by the belief that embracing all comers is a living example of Christ’s love, Pilgrim now faces a profound test of faith.
  (tags: youth culture sex abuse)

• ‘Millennials’ thrive on choice, instant results [SeattlePI]
  "Information on demand, in a very viral fashion, can occupy you for hours. I spend five-plus hours a day on a computer, read countless blogs, and can squander hours on YouTube, Wikipedia, or any number of engrossing sites. I’ve got a pretty busy and deman
  (tags: youth culture media technology)