Web Resources: General
Blog entries about Character
Blog entries about Meeting Kids Where They Are
ADOL
http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.html
The Adolescence Directory On-line is an electronic guide to information on adolescent issues maintained by the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University.
Al Menconi Ministries: Helping Parents Communicate Values to their Children
http://www.almenconi.com
Al Menconi's mission is to educate and equip parents, leaders and youth to consider the values communicated in their entertainment. The site contains reviews of music and video games as well as articles on the entertainment industry.
American
Demographics Magazine
http://www.demographics.com
A searchable archive of the definitive magazine on consumer and marketing trends with a wealth of information on the values, attitudes, and behaviors of children and teens.
Barna Research Online
http://www.barna.org
The Barna Organization has been providing cutting edge research on cultural trends, generations, and issues effecting the church for years. Now you can tap into a wealth of helpful Barna information and analysis through this website. You'll find ministry resources, information on seminars, in-depth analysis, and a section on data and trends.
An on-line community for teens and young adults billed as "everything you need to speak your mind, hang out, hook up...whatever". Loaded with polls, quizzes, downloads, advice horoscopes, media info and more. A wonderful gateway into teen culture.
Children's Defense
Fund
http://www.childrensdefensefund.org
Site from the non-profit organization whose mission is to "leave no child behind and to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities".
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov
If you're looking for statistics and information on adolescent health issues (sexually transmitted diseases, teen violence, suicide, etc) this CDC site is thorough and up-to-date. The site features a search engine and an extensive list of links to other related sites
Childstats.gov
http://www.childstats.gov
The official site of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Provides access to federal and state statistics, and reports on children and their families. A good source for current demographic statistics on today's youth culture.
Culture Watch
http://dickstaub.com/culturewatch.php?record_id=1119
The online home for Dick Staub's Center for Faith and Culture. Contains reviews, links to thoughtful articles and quotes--all designed to help you understand and communicate faith in the context of popular culture.
Electric Library
http://www.elibrary.com
A "personal online research center", the Electric Library provides multiple search features for quick and effective research. The site currently includes almost 8 million newspaper articles, 775,000 magazine articles, 400,000 book chapters, 1,110 maps, 85,000 tv and radio transcripts, and 58,000 photos and images. Only available through libraries: check with your local or school library.
Freevibe
http://www.freevibe.com
Freevibe.com is a site constructed for teens but is worthy of some study by those working with young people. The site's major theme is anti-drug information, stories and discussion. Information on common drugs and effects is listed, as are stories about bad drug experiences, pop culture and media literacy.
Great Transitions
http://www.carnegie.org/sub/pubs/reports/great_transitions/gr_intro.html
This online report represents the culmination of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's ten years of research on the adolescent experience in contemporary culture. The site contains a synthesis of "the best available knowledge and wisdom about adolescence in America."
Infoplease.com
http://www.infoplease.com
The Information Please Almanac goes online with stats and information on virtually anything you're looking for. Youth culture watchers will find helpful charts and stats in the sections on society, entertainment, and music.
Josephson Institute of Ethics
http://www.josephsoninstitute.org
The online home of an organization dedicated to "improve the ethical quality of society by advocating principled reasoning and ethical decision making." The site includes loads of resources and information on character education including their i"Character Counts" initiative.
Kids Count
http://www.aecf.org
A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this site offers statistics, reports and a variety of other information on the economic, educational, social and physical status of children in the United States.
National Fatherhood Initiative
http://www.fatherhood.org/
The mission of the non-profit NFI is "to improve the well-being of children by increasing the number of children growing up with loving, committed and responsible fathers." The organization's site includes advice for Dads, a catalog of fathering resources, tips from other fathers, and a list of links to other related organizations.
The Institute For Youth Development
http://www.youthdevelopment.org
IYD is a non-partisan, non-profit organization promoting a comprehensive risk avoidance message to youth for harmful risk behaviors that are linked: alchohol, drugs, sex tobacco and violence. The site is designed for professionals, parents and teens.
The Obscure Store and Reading Room
http://www.obscurestore.com
Looking for a good primary source of information on today's emerging generations. Here's a place to read the news and check out what young people are writing themselves. A difficult site to describe, but a valuable place to visit if you are searching to understand the heartbeat of this generation.
The Online Slang Dictionary
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/
Wondering what your kids are talking about when they throw around words like "agro", "chim", or "dap", or any of several hundred other slang terms? This online dictionary of slang will help you sort it all out - over 750 terms and growing!
The Rap Dictionary
http://www.rapdict.org
If you’ve finally figured out the lyrics to those hip-hop songs but you’re not sure what they all mean, this sites for you. Includes an extensive dictionary of rap lingo along with information on rap artists, articles, and album reviews.
Salon.Com
http://www.salon.com
A trendy online news magazine providing information and commentary from the perspective of the culture-at-large. The site includes a search engine and categorical pages including arts and entertainment, books, media, etc.
Search Institute
http://www.search-institute.org
Practical research, tools and resources from an organization that's been studying teen values, attitudes, behaviors and needs since the 1950's.
Search-It-All
http://www.search-it-all.com
Billed as "the ultimate reference tool", this easy to use site boasts a categorized collection of the best searches on the Web. It's a great place to start your next search for up to date information on today's youth culture.
Teenage Diaries
http://www.radiodiaries.org/teenagediaries.html
Hear firsthand about life as a teen from the group of teens National Public Radio sent around the country for a year to interview family and friends, keep an audio journal, and record the sounds of daily life.
Youth University
http://www.youthuniversity.com
A monthly e-mail newsletter with "news, views and inside scoops about today's kids, tweens and teens" from the Wonder Group-a marketing organization that bills itself as "experts" in marketing to kids.
Last updated: 08-Aug-2007