A while ago, I posted a blog about how the ESRB can help you make better decisions about games your kids. However, I failed to look into how they actually rate their games. It turns out, the ESRB does not actually play the games. Instead they watch a trailer of the game produced by the video game maker. Per the ESRB’s official page, it must be “a video showing typical gameplay, missions, and cutscenes, including the most ‘extreme’ content. Unplayable content (i.e., ‘locked out’), if it is pertinent to a rating, must also be disclosed.”
Why is this important?
Because I think, based on the ESRB’s own review procedures, developers might slide features like gambling and pay-to-win loot boxes past the reviewers’ eyes. I’m not saying every game developer does this, but that doesn’t mean they won’t.
I think it’s a problem when raters don’t actually play the game. Recently, some games have been called out for having predatory practices towards a younger audience. NBA 2K20 revealed gambling style mini-game complete with roulette and slot machines to win certain items in-game through a trailer prior to release.
This game was rated E for
Everyone.
If children play this game and have access to a credit card, they can spend real-world money to gamble for items with in-game currency. While this may come down to a parent’s decision, I wanted to bring this to your attention. You may want to be even more careful about what games your kid plays than just relying on the ESRB rating.
Personally,I don’t think gambling should be allowed at all. It has no place in a game that allows real-world money to be used. And I think any game that is rated “E for Everyone” should not require parental oversight.
The problem of bullying in schools stretches across generations, and though there are new media through which kids can now bully their peers, bullying itself is nothing new.
A study from Florida Atlantic University suggests that how parents interact with their child at home might have a lot to do with the way their child then treats their classmates. You probably know that mean parents lead to mean kids, but just how mean do they have to be to make an impact?
This study says it can be as small as just belittling or not praising your kid.
We know parenting isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve built this blog about how your kid’s world is different from the one you grew up in. But this study says to take a hard look at how you’re interacting with your child. Are you telling them you’re proud of them even for small accomplishments? Do you zone out when they’re talking about their interests, or are you actively listening?
If they feel frustrated by some of their interactions at home, they might go to school and take it out on other students since they can’t say anything to you. How bad is bullying in today’s schools?
National Statistics on Bullying
About 20% percent of kids aged 12-18 report that they have experienced bullying, according to the 2017 School Crime Supplement from the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp).
70.6% of kids say they’ve seen bullying in their schools, and 70.4% of school staff say they’ve witnessed bullying. Note, 62% of school staff say they witnessed bullying two or more times in the month prior to the survey, and 41% say they witnessed bullying every week.
Middle school students report they’ve been bullied a variety of ways, including name-calling (44.2 %), teasing (43.3 %), spreading rumors or lies (36.3%), pushing or shoving (32.4%), hitting, slapping, or kicking (29.2%), being left out (28.5%), threatened (27.4%), stolen belongings (27.3%), sexual comments or gestures (23.7%), targeted in e-mail or blog (9.9%).
Name-calling and teasing are the most common. Maybe not surprising, these are also two of the types of bullying that can occur at home.
Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to
tease your own kid. Maybe it feels like you’re teasing yourself. You probably
share characteristics. Do you feel like you’re too short, have big ears, or
can’t do math? Maybe you’re just repeating what you’ve heard before.
Or maybe you think your comments
are harmless, but your kid sees them as serious: “You missed a couple goals
today in the game. Maybe we should be paying more attention at practice instead
of talking with our friends the whole time.” Or “You spend a lot of time in
your room. Try socializing with the rest of the family every once in a while.”
Each kid is different, and just because they came from you doesn’t mean they think exactly like you. Heck, they’re not even your age. If you’re going to poke fun at them (every great once in a while), make sure it’s lighthearted and not hurtful. Watch their reaction. Make it obvious you don’t mind if they tease you back. There is a fine line between mutual teasing and one-sided, being-picked-on.
Regrettably, the study suggests if
kids are teased daily, they transfer that behavior into other areas of their
lives. If it’s acceptable at home, then it’s acceptable at school or practice,
right?
And I have to point out: kids can’t lash out at their parents every time they feel they’ve been insulted or belittled. It’s obviously easier to take it out on kids their own age.
I don’t know a clear path to stopping bullying but understanding some of the risk factors that go into it must help. If parents are name-calling and teasing their kids, and these are the number one and number two most frequent ways kids are getting bullied at school…? There has to be a connection.
I suggest talking to your kids the
same way you want them talking to their peers. Ask yourself: Is what I’m about
to say going to make the other person feel bad? If my parent said this to me
when I was a kid, would I be hurt?
And ask them for feedback. Let them know that they can tell you if you’ve gone too far. Did they take that as the joke you intended, or did you offend them. Meanwhile, tell them if they’ve gone too far. You’re training them in conversation and human relations. Make sure they know how to communicate effectively – and nicely.
My father said those words to me about 5 minutes before I had to
leave for my first high school dance.
Despite my anger, I retreated to my bedroom where I changed into a
less revealing dress for the dance.
Hearing your own father chastise your fashion choices as a teenage
girl with a fragile self-esteem was a devastating experience for me.
Parents tend to restrict what their young daughters wear in order
to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves and their children. While
parents almost always have their children’s well-being in mind, at times they
can step over the line.
How parents can cross the line
For the last year, I’ve worked at a popular girls clothing store
and have watched parents tell their children what they can and cannot try on.
While it is understandable that a parent doesn’t want their
children wearing items they don’t deem to be appropriate, some parents don’t
understand why their daughters are dressing the way they do.
Most middle school and even high school girls aren’t dressing scantily
because they are seeking male attention. They dress in the clothing marketed to
them by every clothing store with a teenage demographic.
When parents don’t have an open and honest discussion with their
children about why they do not want them dressing a certain way, the children
usually end up feeling angry or insecure about themselves or their
bodies.
When I was told I could not wear the dress I had picked out for the
school dance, I felt as if my father did it just to spite me. He never
explained to me why he believed I shouldn’t wear it to the dance. If he had
told me he was worried about what other people might think of me and my family,
we could’ve had a discussion that ended with me going to the dance feeling
better because I would have known he had my best interests in mind.
By limiting what their children wear, parents are restricting their
children’s self-expression and potentially leading their child to instead sneak
around their parents when they don’t approve of their clothing.
How social media affects children and parents
Today, everyone’s lives are exposed like tabloids on social media.
What a lot of young teenagers don’t understand is what they are seen wearing in
pictures on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook can affect how people think about
them as well as their family.
When a teenager posts an OOTD (outfit of the day) picture of
herself in a bikini, more people see the picture than she probably knows. One
of her friends may see the photograph and then show it to her own mother, who
will then make assumptions about how the mother of the girl in the bikini
chooses to parent her daughter.
Parents try their best to avoid being perceived as having a
careless or relaxed parenting style. Which is why social media has become every
parent’s worst nightmare. Now that children can share as many photos of their
clothing choices as they want, more parents are being criticized for letting
their children wear what many stores are selling today.
By talking to your children about how social media can impact how
people view them and their family today as well as in the future, hopefully
they will choose to be more cautious about what they post online.
How to talk to your daughter about her clothing choices
Approaching the subject on what you believe your daughter should
or should not wear can be tricky, especially since most teenage girls are
stubborn and have a very sensitive self-esteem. You don’t want to accidentally
offend them by saying that they shouldn’t be wearing a certain article of
clothing to school.
Parents.com author Kara Corridan discusses different ways to speak
to your tween daughter on what she wears. She suggests speaking to your child
about her clothing choices when she is “feeling relaxed and not in the
spotlight.” This means the best time to talk isn’t when she is trying to pick
out an outfit before school or when you are shopping. Instead, Corridan says to
speak to your daughter when you are both spending some down-time at home.
Corridan also suggests having an open discussion with your child
where you ask them questions about their style in a non-judgmental tone.
Instead of shutting the conversation down with a few words like “go change,”
ask them “why did you choose that outfit?” By understanding why your daughter
chooses to dress in clothing you may object to, it will be easier to explain
your concerns to her.
Author/educator Michelle Icard says that honesty is the best
policy when it comes to talking about this subject with your daughter. She
proposes telling your daughter that she is old enough to make her own choices
and that she should know when her clothes may draw unwanted attention.
While this approach may not be best for every parent, some need to know when to let their daughter make her own choices and when to intervene. Sometimes it’s best to let your children make their own mistakes and learn from them. Teenage girls express themselves through fashion and they need to be able to experiment with new styles. How you choose to handle what they wear is up to you.
Parents, I’ll be honest with you. There have been quite a few times I’ve had to lock myself away in my room or run to the bathroom at school to cry out a problem.
Most of the time, the problem itself wasn’t a big deal. But small issues pile up until sometimes you feel an overwhelming wave of emotions crashing down on you.
Often I’ll have a week in which this seems to happen every other day.
And that worries me.
I’m aware of the current statistics of mental health-related issues in people my age. It’s not uncommon to come across a friend who’s in therapy (or should be) for depression or anxiety.
Every time I get to a place where I
feel I might be getting into the “I need more help than just myself” territory,
I take a step back and evaluate where I am, the severity of my problems, and
how I can stop the panic mode.
I know I’m not the only one with
that self-awareness. So that leads me to the latest news regarding your teen
and their mental health.
Examine negative emotions
A new study from the University of Rochester (June 2019) shows that kids who are able to describe their negative emotions have a better chance of warding off depression than those who struggle with verbalizing their feelings. (Depression in this case can mean depression-like symptoms after a stressful event or actual clinical depression later in life.)
Science Daily interviewed the lead author of the study, who said that thinking through your emotions can help you develop a plan to then overcome those emotions.
What this means is that communicating with your teen is key to their mental health. Not only will you have a better understanding of what’s going on in your child’s head, but you can actually help them be more mindful of their own thoughts and feelings.
Find the source of stress
Midterm exams. A big game. A rocky relationship. Friend drama. The list can go on and on.
The trick is finding the source of the negative emotions and dissecting how and why it made your kid feel bad.
Is she upset that her friend ignored her one text, or does she think that she and her friend are drifting apart? Is your son angry that he missed a goal that could’ve won the game, or is he feeling a lot of pressure to perform well on the field because his grades are slipping?
Is it overthinking? Are the negative
emotions valid? Do they have too much on their plate?
Make “talking it out” a normal part of the process
Think of how much time you could save yourself if you analyzed every situation that stressed you out. You’d be golden.
It’s not an easily attainable goal, but it’s one we should all strive to have.
I’ve designated my mom as my go-to person for emotional issues. Sometimes she gets a very detailed text listing all the bad things that happened in my day that led to the bad mood I was in while writing the text. Sometimes I just share with her that I decided to skip coffee that morning because I knew I would have a busy morning and caffeine would only heighten my anxiety.
She sits on the phone with me when
I need to talk out my problems out loud. She gives me advice to lessen my
stress factors. And sometimes all I need is validation that the emotions I’m
feeling about a situation aren’t completely moronic and childish.
What if you and your teen don’t have the kind of relationship in which you have heart-to-hearts every other day?
Offer anyway. It will always be in the back of their mind that mom or dad is there if they really need help.
Also, share your own experiences. It makes you relatable. Your kid can think of you more as a peer instead of an authority figure and in turn might be more open to opening up.
Encourage them to find their go-to person. If you know in your heart that there’s no way your teen is going to come to you with something like this, suggest that they consult with a good friend whenever they get stressed or overwhelmed.
It was the summer of 2011. The
final episode of Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life on Deck,” starring Dylan and
Cole Sprouse, was on. It marked the end of my childhood, as I knew it.
I was 13-years-old and three years removed from my other favorite tween cable shows, “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” “Drake & Josh” and “Zoey 101”. All ended, I might add, prematurely.
Growing up, my parents weren’t
always around when I got home from school. So, with my Spaghetti-O’s or Easy
Mac in hand, I watched them every afternoon. I felt like I grew up with these
actors and actresses.
When they were over, I felt lost. Like a chapter of my life was suddenly over. All the laughs, all the stories and all the countless life lessons – gone!
I knew it was time to find new show, even though the constant reruns on “Teen Nick” were some comfort. Of course, I could just wait around until ESPN decided to start speculating again if Brett Favre was going to come out of retirement. But in July, football season seemed so far way. (Yes, even at 13 I was hooked on football.)
I began exploring new channels. What
I stumbled upon was a collection of great ‘90s, coming-of-age series, like
“Saved by the Bell” and “Boy Meets World”. Thanks to Mr. Belding and Mr. Feeney
I continued to learn valuable life lessons, like, tell a close friend the truth
even if it will make them made, and, be very careful of caffeine pills.
I also came across shows more grown up shows, like “That’s 70’s Show,” “Freaks and Geeks” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Masterpieces, but I was too naive at the time to get all of the drug and sexual references went over my head. However, kids these days are exposed to more on social media. They might not be so clueless.
Today’s Tween/Teen Shows
Let’s face it. Today’s kids stream.
This means they don’t have to choose from just the 5-6 cable channels I had to
choose from. They can log into Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc… and find any
show they want.
It’s hard to single out what teens are watching from all of the data, so let’s look at the top streamed shows on Netflix, the hottest service amongst preteens/teens. In January, Netflix released data on some of its most viewed shows. It’s measured as a percentage of all Netflix shows, with the data pulled from web browsers from January 2018- November 2018.
Netflix top streaming TV shows in 2018
I’ve pulled out a few of them that
I think many teens are watching. Maybe your kid is watching one of these. If
so, do you know what’s in it?
“Shameless”
Showtime’s “Shameless” began airing
in 2011. It wasn’t until 2017 that the show exploded on Netflix. Suddenly
everyone was talking about the ups and downs of the alcoholic Frank Gallagher
and his six children.
This show can come across as extremely entertaining and seemingly realistic. However, it is very inappropriate for preteens or teens. There’s swearing, nudity, sex and drug references throughout, make it tough watch for even some adults. While some may say it teaches important lessons, overall, we agree with this review, that parents will find it is best suited for age 17+.
“13 Reasons Why”
Originally released as a Netflix
Original in March in March 2017, “13 Reasons Why” builds a story around a topic
often left out of popular media – suicide.
The show follows Clay Jensen as he
listens to a series of audio tapes left behind by Hannah, his deceased classmate
and former love interest.
Since the show’s release, there has
been both praise and disapproval of the show’s premise. Some say it commercializes
suicide and mental health related diseases.
Recently, Netflix actually removed two scenes after the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published a study showing that suicide by people aged 10-17 “dramatically increased” in the months following the release of the show. You can check out what some parents are saying about the show and decide for yourself if your preteen/teen is ready to watch it.
“Stranger Things”
Another Netflix original, “Stranger
Things,” is a science fiction horror series that has three seasons available
for streaming on Netflix.
On the surface, the show is a sci-fi that follows events in a fictitious town called Hawkins, Indiana. It’s set in 1983 and it follows the disappearance of a young boy. Many other supernatural events also take place but there’s also a lot of I’m not diving into the show myself, but I suggest you take five minutes and watch YouTube parent Nick Shell. He has a very interesting take on the show.
“Riverdale”
This show starts one of my early favorite childhood actors, Cole Sprouse (remember, the “Suite” life shows?) “Riverdale” was released in 2017 but it’s already very popular. It’s based on the Archie Comics, but it’s much darker than the comic book you might remember. I think you may want to leave this one “on the shelf” for your preteen/teen. Some of the mysteries revolve around the murder of a local boy and an affair between a student and teacher. One reviewer called it “adult content packaged as a kid show.”
Finally
Hey, there’s always going to be new TV shows. And your kid may
know about them faster than you. What can you do? For starters, you can at least look up the
title and see what others are saying about the show.
Here are two links we thought were very useful. Keep them
bookmarked. Don’t be shy about asking your kid what they’re watching.
And don’t be afraid to have them watch an old favorite. The
“Suite Life” series never gets old. Will they ever get out of that hotel or off
the boat? I hope not.
Parents,
have you ever thought “Well, at least they’re not gaming here in the (car,
restaurant, doctor’s office, bathroom, …)!”
Kiss that thought good bye. Maybe you’ve heard of or have a Nintendo Switch. It’s built to be portable, but mostly people still hook it to their TVs. However, Nintendo is about to release its Nintendo Lite. It cost $100 less, and it’s really meant to be portable. It doesn’t hook to your TV and it maintain’s its high graphic quality on the go.
But now you’re thinking, “Well, what’s wrong with that? Mario Bros.? Zelda? Donkey King?”
Nintendo has that game?
But
did hear? Nintendo is growing up. Yes, that’s right. Nintendo now has games on the
Switch like Batman, L. A. Noire, Doom and Skyrim. All dark cop or monster type
games. And they even have South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Want your kid walking around Wendy’s
repeating lines from that TV show?
Of
course, you don’t have to buy those games for them. But see our other gaming
blogs to learn how easy it is for kids to get games.
The New Switch Lite
So how does the Switch Lite differ from the regular Switch? As well as being smaller, it is lighter, has a more traditional directional pad, has a slightly longer battery life, and does not have the HD rumble or IR features. It will come in new shades of yellow, grey, and turquoise. The Switch does use cartridges but it can also download games straight onto the system from the Nintendo E-shop. The Lite will be available worldwide September 20th this year.
The New Nintendo Switch coming out Sept. 20th, 2019
It’s important to recognize that these systems have far higher fidelity graphics than even a decade ago. You’ll want to set up the parental controls on your child’s Switch in order to limit what your child is able to play or see.
And remember, the trend of high-quality 3D games being played on the go is not going to stop – it is only going to grow.
Picture-perfect food, beaches, boats, vacation photos, selfies… All of these flood social media. They portray
a perfect life – that no one possesses!
The pressure to look and feel perfect is higher than ever
before. Everyone can fake their lives. And shove it in everybody else’s faces. You
know all of this isn’t the real truth. But does your adolescent?
Most Influential: Social Media
There’s your child, scrolling through Instagram, Twitter,
Facebook or any other social media platform. They find numerous accounts and
pictures of people with perfect bodies at perfect places posing perfectly. Celebrities
and influencers getting paid to post picture-perfect content.
But do you compare yourself to these images? Doesn’t it make it easier to see the flaws you have? Young girls and boys are extremely susceptible to this. Phys.org reports “teens who reported posting more pictures on social media, had a heightened awareness of their appearance, which was related to feeling more negative about their body.” The more time a teen spends online, the more likely they are to have a negative body image.
But you and I know the pictures that flood social media are unnatural
in pose and quality. No one has perfect skin or a perfect figure. “Fitspiration”
accounts, designed to promote one fitness expert over another, can influence
adolescences to create unhealthy eating habits and extreme exercise regimes.
Fashion models post about their “everyday” life and young minds tend to wonder
why their life is not like that. The standard that is being held up to your
child is unrealistic. One natural outcome is bad feelings about their body, and
shame.
How to Help
There is help out there. Psychologytoday.com offers an acronym to help teach your child about this aspect of the media.
F.A.C.E.
F – Filter out content that makes them feel negative in
anyway.
A – Avoid letting them spend all their time on social media.
C – Careful of comparing others lives to how their life is
going.
E – Evaluate what the differences are between real and fake
photos.
It is important to teach your children that real life is not supposed to look perfect. Real life is beautiful in its own, unique way. It is different for everyone. Being comfortable with the way you look with today’s Internet is hard. However, for your child’s sake, teach them that everyone is perfect in their own way, on both the inside and outside.
Have you checked out your local Parent Teacher Association (PTA), or maybe the national PTA website? I recently had the chance to observe an excellent “Digital Families Community Event” held locally by the local PTA president, Kammi Cooper.
Kammi’s PTA Program for Horace Mann Elementary School
The program was provided by the National PTA, but tailored to the local community. It was interactive and fun for the kids and very informative for the parents. The families got to talk about screen time, creating and sharing passwords, favorite apps and social media sites, and what to share and not to share on the Internet.
Kammi was able to put on such an excellent program because she attended a PTA conference and was awarded a small grant to make this program happen. However, you don’t have to wait to benefit from the wonderful resources the National PTA has put together. I went to their website and clicked on the “Family Resources” and then “Digital Safety” buttons.
There I learned that the PTA has multiple programs sponsored by such Internet powerhouses as Google, Facebook, and AT&T. I particularly liked one called “Smart Talk” put together by LifeLock.
The Smart Talk Program
It is an online learning module you can do with your kid. It helps
you answer questions such as:
How much screen time is appropriate?
How to determine who should “friend” or “follow” your account?
When to share photos or videos online?
How to respond to negative comments or posts on social media?
Whether to use location-based services on apps?
At the end, you can print out the decisions you’ve come to and have it as a record (or kind of contract between you and your kid.) I thought it was excellent!
Go Get More Information
Raising a kid in a digital world is tough. You want them (and you)
to be aware of how they spend online. You want them to be mindful of their
online presence and footpring.
Check out your local PTA and see if they are hosting any of these
programs. If they aren’t, why not initiate one yourself?
And keep learning. This isn’t the exact same world you grew up in!
Maybe what you don’t know are all the harmful products and practices that are popping up on your teen’s social media timeline as a result.
The big player in this game is Instagram. It works well for the influencers (and companies) because of its flashy pictures and cleverly worded captions. It screams “if you use this product, you too can have an Instagram profile as flashy or a body as perfect” as this person.
Well, Instagram recently released some news. And this going to 100 percent affect your kids.
Soon you and your kids will see more influencers that you aren’t even following. That’s because soon brands will be allowed to promote their influencers’ posts and project them onto the screens of the young and impressionable.
In a way, this is nothing new. Instagram already has sponsored posts that show up on your feed in between pictures of your friend’s cat and your coworker’s beach vacation. But now these will be labeled “paid partnership.”
Hey, we know you’re already worried about the kind of material your kid/pre-teen is taking in when they spend hours upon hours in front of their cell phones. So here’s a quick list of some products and ideas that have shown up on your kid’s timeline because of influencers.
Flat Tummy Tea
As the name suggests, this company wants you to believe that by drinking this tea, you will lose weight quickly and easily. A few of the Kardashians have come under fire lately for promoting this product. The company sells lollipops, shakes, and supplements as well as tea.
At this point, many experienced social media users know that Flat Tummy Tea is not only not effective, but it’s dangerous and unhealthy, but these are high school and college students. Younger kids may not be up on this kind of promotion. I think the products either “curb hunger” or “help with digestion,” which means to me maybe they make you sick.
Many influencers don’t actually try the product. They just post a picture with a caption that the company told them to include. Read more about Flat Tummy Tea’s Instagram empire here.
See also: any product that claims
to be healthy while making you cut weight crazy fast.
YouTuber Logan Paul visiting a
Japanese suicide forest
Yes, you read that correctly. Logan Paul posted a YouTube video of himself in the Aokigahara. This is a forest in Japan where many people go to take their lives. Regretably, he showed a body he had come across while filming.
When wildfires broke out in
California, many influencers took to social media to send “thoughts and prayers”
to those affected.
While the captions might have matched the situation, some of the photographs definitely didn’t, such as selfies or perfectly posed, professional photographer pictures. It was a way for the influencers to stay on top of a trending topic while also gaining likes from being “sympathetic.”
So what can you do?
Research. If your teen wants to buy something that they saw promoted on social media, do your own investigation before purchasing. Look up reviews. If it’s something that will be ingested, like a supplement or diet tea, check the ingredients and find out what’s really in it. Also, look for any possible side effects.
Talk. Ask your kid what kinds of things they’re seeing on social media. How do they feel about them? Do they think the influencer actually uses the product or just gets paid to post about it? Open up the conversation so they know that those influencer reviews aren’t always truthful or thorough.
Be present on social media. Not in a snooping way. But it won’t hurt to make your own account just so you know what’s going on in that social media universe. Follow news stations. Follow celebrities. Get a glimpse of what your teen is seeing on their screen.
I first came across Barstool Sports during my freshman year of college. Thankfully it was then, and not sooner.
Parents, while you may not know very much about Barstool Sports, you may have come across their logo (seen above). Maybe you’ve seen their memes, like “Saturdays are For the Boys.” (By the way, that slogan is so popular, Barstool’s founder, Dave Portnoy, trademarked the slogan in 2016. At one point he even threatened to sue the NFL because “they jacked our slogan” when they used a similar phrase on a t-shirt design. Story is here.)
What is “Barstool Sports”?
Barstool started as a print publication in 2003. Then it focused on gambling advise and fantasy football projections. However, it was relaunched in 2007 as an internet blog that Portnoy filled with entertaining content that some found to be “rude, crude, sexist and often mean-spirited,” said Entrepreneur contributor Jason Ankeny in this article.
After selling a majority stake to the Chermin Group in 2016, the company continued to make headlines. Despite a controversy around a 2010 blog written by Portnoy that purportedly encouraged a “rape culture”, and hosting “Blackout Tour” parties in Boston where they were accused of promoting and allowing excessive and underage drinking, Barstool didn’t stop exploding.
So, ESPN jumped on the bandwagon. In October of 2017 they debuted “Barstool Van Talk”. However, the show was cancelled after its first episode because several employees, including NFL Live host Samantha Ponder, pushed for the show to be cancelled.
Are they important?
To be fair, the company does promote some charitable causes. It helped raise $250,000 after the Boston Marathon bombings. It teamed up with a Cleveland Browns quarterback last year to benefit Special Olympics Ohio.
Currently Barstool ranks number 4,700 in global internet engagement websites according to Alexa. This means it sure is popular.
The real issue is not whether the content is in poor taste or even rude, but rather what does this content mean for your kids, especially boys? Many argue this site finds it acceptable and even encourages vulgar behavior. It personally reminds me of a 6th year fraternity brother who lacks respect for women and any authority. Is this what you want your kid exposed to?
Here’s my problem…
And though Barstool, I argue, certainly fosters just plain old traditional problems, like sexism and binge drinking, it’s also big on the new problems, like vaping. In fact, Barstool Sports blogger and personality Tommy Smokes appeared on Fox News last year supporting the overwhelming favorite vaping device for teens, JUUL. (See our recent blog post here about vaping and your kid.)
Hey, the world is full of digital
influencers. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t evaluate some of them and help
your kid make intelligent choices. Sure, Barstool might be fun for some grown
up men – though I’m not endorsing it.
But you may want to keep your kid off of the “barstool” until they get
some real life experiences under their belt. I mean, you don’t HAVE to act like
a jerk just because you watch something on TV, the movies or the Internet. But
if you watch it nearly every day? And your buddies are all watching it? And no
one tells you not to?
