Note: This week, we’re continuing to test a new feature: a brief roundup of several additional cultural events that we don’t have space to elaborate on in the main part of the newsletter. We hope it’s useful in giving you a wider view of the trends impacting your teen’s world. Let us know what you think!
TikTok’s “AI Sway Dance” makes images dance with AI (to horrifying effect), Fortnite players tricked the game’s new AI Darth Vader into swearing (language), Apple agreed to pay out $95 million over accusations that Siri recorded and shared users’ private conversations with ad companies, President Trump made posting “revenge porn” and deepfake porn into federal crimes, and “Italian Brainrot” featuring AI-generated animal-object hybrids, continued to trend.
But here’s what we’re really paying attention to this week:
Song of the Week: “What I Want (feat. Tate McRae)” – Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen is back with a 37-song album. (Yes, you read that number correctly.) The album gives listeners Wallen’s signature blend of pop-country mixed with hip-hop beats and melancholy lyrics. “What I Want,” featuring Gen Z star Tate McRae, recycles this familiar Wallen trope (or maybe it’s a cliché at this point). It’s got acoustic guitar, an 808 drum-machine driving the beat, and lyrics about a rebound relationship where two people use each other more for comfort than any meaningful connection. While the song doesn’t say this is a good thing, it’s not exactly condemning it either. You can read those lyrics here.
And now for our three conversations…
1. Mob Morality
What it is: Oxford Academic published an analysis of the subreddit r/AmITheA**hole to understand America’s moral landscape.
What it revealed: r/AmITheA**hole (or AITA), is a popular internet forum where people describe moral dilemmas and ask strangers to weigh in. Example: “My brother-in-law moved into our house with his twin daughters, but they keep stealing makeup from my daughter’s room, so I installed a lock on her bedroom door. AITA?” After analyzing 369,161 posts, Oxford Academic reported that “the most frequently occurring type of moral dilemma concerns relational obligations.” In other words, questions about what we owe our family and other close relations came up most often. As an article from Mockingbird put it, “A DIY morality might be in vogue, but it’s through our interactions with other people that our beliefs and value systems are most tested and fine-tuned.”
Continue the conversation: Have you ever faced a moral dilemma with someone close? How did you handle it?
2. Inhale (Tik), Exhale (Tok)
What it is: TikTok is rolling out a feature for teens using the app after 10pm that walks them through a guided meditation (a breathing exercise with calm music) encouraging them to switch off the app for the night.
Why it’s (maybe) a step forward: It’s no secret that TikTok’s particular brand of algorithm-driven short-form video content is maybe too effective at keeping users engaged. While a system to encourage teens to slow their scroll isn’t a bad thing, the question always arises: how effective is it? While TikTok excitedly reported that 98% of teens don’t turn off the feature after seeing it, it’s unclear how many just blow past the meditation in pursuit of more content. If you’re curious about why teens are so loyal to TikTok, Axis just premiered a brand new show with a video about the social media platform.
Continue the conversation: How would you encourage people to use their phone less?
3. Not Quite Forever
What it is: An adaptation of Judy Bloom’s coming-of-age romance novel Forever… is now streaming on Netflix in an eight-part series with an all-Black cast.
What makes it feel real: The show takes a decidedly modern approach to Bloom’s original plotline. Instead of Michael and Katherine falling in love in suburban New Jersey, we have Justin and Keisha, a very online pair of high schoolers in Los Angeles who feel the stakes of the future growing higher every day. Justin, who is neurodivergent, is struggling to focus in school as his dreams of playing college basketball begin to wane. Keisha, a promising track athlete, is dealing with the aftermath of intimate footage of her being leaked online. Just like the novel, the show focuses heavily on sex—there are ongoing discussions about consent and sexual preferences, as well as partial nudity. But if there’s one thing this show gets right, it is the complicated, tender tug-of-war that goes on between teens and their parents.
Let’s translate this one further…
Forever focuses on how teens come to terms with sexual desire and identity. But it doesn’t shy away from the fact that its protagonists are just kids. Justin and Keisha fully believe they are ready for adult intimacy. But they aren’t quite done physically, and emotionally, depending on their parents.
Justin deceives his mother in order to cut school and visit Keisha. He gets caught, there’s conflict, and Justin is punished. But in the very next moment, Justin explains to his mom that he likes a girl, and she shares her son’s excitement. At seventeen, he still needs discipline, and he still craves support.
Keisha lies to her mom about why she wants to transfer schools, and her mother picks up another job to pay for pricey tuition. When her mom comes home after midnight, Keisha craves her mom’s closeness, and they fall asleep in the same bed. Keisha thinks she’s old enough to have multiple sexual partners, but she still wants to cuddle with her mom.
Forever admits that our sexual choices matter for a lifetime. As Christians, we believe those choices are even bigger—that they are actually soul-shaping and eternal (dare we say that they last “forever”?). 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 makes it clear that our sexual conduct counts before God—which means that it has greater significance than just being a way to find ourselves or seek out our perfectly compatible sexual partner. No one in the series shares this perspective.
But as their kids flounder, fight, and figure out their fledgling relationship, these parents are very much still a part of the picture. They remain a dynamic influence in how their teens see the world. And they remind the (hopefully mature) viewer that even as our teens grow braver and bigger, with adult desires to match, there will always still be a little kid that needs us left in there, somewhere.
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:
- Who is your favorite TV couple?
- Do you think most of your friends have a close relationship with their parents?
- What is something you do or would like to do that feels very “adult”?
PS: Did you hear about our new YouTube show? Check out the first episode of The Conversation Starter to get the real deal on why teens love TikTok so much!