AI renderings of Bible characters as influencers went viral, TikTok’s most-followed influencer Khaby Lame was detained (and released) by ICE, an apparent trend of using no-contact orders to avoid conflict on college campuses started catching on, Apple’s WWDC 25 conference mostly focused on upcoming design changes and AI tweaks for their devices, and pop star Sabrina Carpenter announced a new album called “Man’s Best Friend.”
But here’s what we’re focused on this week:
Resource of the Week – Parent’s Guide to TikTok
Whether or not you allow your teen to use TikTok, the app is a big deal. And the influence of TikTok extends far beyond personal devices into shaping culture and trends for today’s teens more broadly. That’s why we completely updated our Parent’s Guide to TikTok with new research, insights, and statistics that you can use to help guide your family’s decisions about the app. We hope you’ll check it out! And if you find the guide, the Culture Translator, or any of our other resources helpful, we hope you’ll give us three minutes of your time and fill out this year’s Axis user survey. Your feedback helps us continue to make free resources that are accessible, practical, and easy to use.
And now for our three conversations…
1. Fake Plastic Trees
What it is: A new game on Roblox called “Grow a Garden” is attracting millions of players—and was reportedly created by a 16-year-old.
Why it’s popular: You might have guessed that the game would be about tending to a virtual garden. What you might not have guessed, unless you’re familiar with Roblox’s game mechanics, is how the game incentivizes spending (your parents’) real-life money to get ahead. Players start with a small amount of in-game currency, called “Sheckles.” They get enough to buy a few seeds, which grow into carrots, strawberries, and other crops—and they can then sell their harvest to make more Sheckles. It’s satisfying, but it also takes time—and seeing other players’ elaborate, gorgeous gardens might make the average player want to ask mom for her credit card to purchase more Sheckles and keep up. For more on how Roblox works, check out our 7 Minute Video.
Continue the conversation: What’s one thing you do in games that you’d like to try in real life?
2. Rock Lobster
What it is: Nautical-themed knitwear, such as lightweight beach sweaters emblazoned with lobsters, are selling out for Gen Z this summer.
Why it makes sense: “Coastal grandma” and “tomato girl summer” were both trending aesthetics in the warmer months last year, and this summer’s must-haves combine both. Searches for “lobster sweater” are surging, but the trend is bigger than Maine’s favorite fresh catch. Teen girls are aiming for a look that feels breezy, luxe, and kitsch—informed by proximity to wealth, but ultimately too cool to care. (See also: jewelry that celebrates sardines). This trend also reflects a change in how Gen Z wants to spend their summer. Jet-setting to a splashy (read: spendy) destination is still seen as desirable, but young people are also looking to elevate more humble experiences, like road tripping to quaint beach towns in Massachusetts or Rhode Island (“townsizing”)—locations where an embroidered crustacean is right on vibe.
Continue the conversation: When you picture an ideal “summer vacation spot,” what place jumps out to you?
3. We Can Be Heroes
What it is: For Christianity Today, Timothy Larsen wrote about the need for heroes for boys and young men to aspire and look up to.
Why it’s worth paying attention to: The desire to be a hero is in the hearts and dreams of boys everywhere. They run around and hit each other with sticks because they want to be Aragorn or Luke Skywalker. They want to face danger and injustice with bravery and protect their sisters from dragons, imagined or proverbial. These instincts are healthy and worthy of nourishing, but whether because of modern storytelling trends, the emphasis on deconstructing historical heroes, or something harder to define, our culture seems to distrust heroes in a way that is damaging to young men. As Larsen puts it, “Discarding heroes finally leads to giving up on heroism.” As we celebrate fathers this weekend, it’s important to celebrate their visible and invisible heroism, and to encourage our young men to imagine they can be heroes too.
Let’s translate this one further…
Most people would call my dad a hero. He retired after a 26-year career in the United States Air Force as a full-bird Colonel. He was respected by his superiors, his peers, and the men and women under his command. He won awards for leadership and continues to serve in as many ways as he can.
But when I think about my father, those aren’t the things that stand out to me. I remember how he prayed over my siblings and me every morning before heading to work, and led us in prayer again before bed. I remember him coaching my baseball teams and volunteering in our AWANA clubs. I remember his humility; when someone would get excited about “Colonel Fant,” he’d tell them to call him Bob.
I am so incredibly grateful for my father, and I’m proud to call him a hero of mine. But he is not perfect. He needs the grace of our heavenly Father as much as me or you or anyone. And he also needs grace from me.
I fear we are often too quick to expect perfection from our earthly fathers. We’re quick to judge and slow to forgive. I realize that many people have a very real “father-wound,” but I also wonder if our overemphasis of the brokenness of fathers and our underemphasis of the, let’s say, less-broken fathers, is similar to Timothy Larsen’s lament about the deconstruction of heroes. It’s not that we can’t hold fathers to a high standard, it’s just that we don’t celebrate the good ones enough.
We’ve left young men unsure of what it even means to be a good father, and perhaps short-circuited their desire to be fathers at all.
Perhaps what we need is a reminder that the word “father” is a powerful word. It’s so powerful that God uses it to describe Himself.
I’m privileged to be able to speak positively about my dad. I’ve seen and am blessed to share how powerful having a father who models humility and devotion and love for Jesus can be. And the fathers who show up no matter what, who fight hard for their wives and their families, who love Jesus and demonstrate it privately and publicly, who serve and give and protect and honor and sacrifice, can help remind us that there still are heroes in the world.
Fathers, despite their flaws, can offer us a dim but earnest reflection of the love of God. They may not be perfect, but heroes don’t have to be. Happy Father’s Day, Dad.
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’s a fictional hero you look up to?
- Who’s a real-life man in your life who you look up to?
- Is there any part of his personality that you wish you had?
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!