Adolescence and Songs of LeBron

TikTokers are writing songs about LeBron, Snow White makes a sleepy box office debut, and Adolescence is a journey through the travails of modern boyhood. [To hear Toben sing songs about basketball, click here for our Culture Translator Roundtable podcast!] But first:

Resource of the Week: The Sex Talk Kickoff

Sex education researchers in the US say that 55% of Americans never ended up having any sort of conversation about sex with their parents. For many of us, despite living in a world where sexualized media is all around, direct conversations about sex can still feel awkward or intimidating. But the more comfortable we are discussing this topic, the more comfortable our kids will be discussing it with us—enabling us to become a source of wisdom about it, instead of them, for example, learning from pornography. Our newest resource, The Sex Talk Kickoff, is designed to help you feel poised and prepared to start these conversations. It’s full of biblical wisdom, insight from experts, and scripts you can use to start talking about sex with your middle schooler. We hope you’ll click here and check it out!

And now for our three conversations…

1. The Man on the Lakers 🎶

What it is: Over the last few weeks, song edits that glorify NBA player LeBron James have taken off on social media.

Why they’re so popular: With March Madness in full swing and the NBA playoffs rapidly approaching, we’ve hit peak basketball. Teens have never known a world without LeBron James, whose legendary twenty-two seasons and counting NBA career makes him the GOAT (greatest of all time) in many young people’s minds. While the debate has raged for the better part of a decade (is James really the GOAT, or is Jordan?), songs breathlessly extolling LeBron James are part of how modern teens argue for the player they grew up with.

Continue the conversation: Who do you think is the greatest athlete to compete in your lifetime?

2. Waking Beauty

What it is: Casting, plot changes, and comments by lead actress Rachel Zegler put Snow White at the center of controversy throughout its production. This weekend, the film landed with a thud at the box office.

Why there’s more to the story: Political statements from Zegler, along with Disney’s promises to modernize the classic fairy tale, fueled a backlash that may have doomed the whole movie. Then again, the only live-action remake with a poorer box office opening than Snow White was 2024’s Mufasa; maybe today’s kids just aren’t feeling remakes. For families who choose to put the controversy aside, the film itself can still open up a conversation about beauty, power, and empathy. As producer Marc Platt stated, “Snow White’s superpower is her goodness, her kindness… themes and ideas that are very important in the world we live in today.” Regardless of whether they choose to engage with the film, Christian parents have a unique opportunity to talk with their kids about what makes someone truly “fairest of all”—not on the outside, but in the heart.

Continue the conversation: Do you ever feel pressure to agree with what everyone online is saying about something?

3. Adolescence

What it is: Netflix’s Adolescence is a four-part fictional crime drama about the secret lives of teen boys. Viewers across generations are buzzing about how true the show feels to their own experiences.

Why it’s so unsettling: One of the main conceits of Adolescence is that parents truly struggle to decode the ways teens talk to each other online—no matter how hard they might try to get it right. In the series, these crossed wires mean that even a seasoned detective can’t grasp obvious clues about a teen suspect’s motive without his own teenage son’s help. The detective, with painful clarity, then realizes how little he knows about his own son. This moment of recognition leads him to reach out for connection with his child. For other teen boys in the show, alienation from a parent goes unrecognized, with tragic consequences.

Let’s translate this one further…

Adolescence may be fictional, but the trends it surfaces—bullying, widespread pornography use, social media escapism, and forums that platform online misogyny—are painfully real. Teen boys navigate digital spaces that treat them like men and encourage a warped, transactional view of women.

These boys might not talk about their fear of rejection or their longing for intimacy and understanding. They probably won’t ask you directly about what it takes to really be a man. But those questions, even if they aren’t verbalized, demand an answer. And without guidance from caring adults, strangers on the internet are more than happy to fill in the blanks.

In Adolescence, the main character thought he was doing everything right by his son. He was involved. He was present. He was loving. But he still missed signs that his son felt unseen. He thought he understood, until he could no longer escape the truth that his teen lived in a world he would never fully understand. It’s a powerful reminder that while we can’t inhabit teen culture the way that teens can, we are still called to exist alongside them every step of the way.

And when, during that time alongside them, we find something that unsettles us, we don’t shut the door in fear. We open it wider, with love, truth and attention. As Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, writes in his Substack, “Teenagers, no matter how grown up they appear, still require a high level of parenting. That includes our sons.” Staying curious, asking questions, and paying attention to small details can help bridge the gap between our world and the world of our teenagers.

For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to spark conversation with your teens:

PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!