• Teens spend 8.5 hours a day exposed to media/video screen. Seven out of ten have their own TV and 1 in 5 have a computer in their bedroom (CPYU)

• There is one reference to sex education, S.T.D.’s and contraception on network TV for every 84 instances of sexual content (Psychology Today)

• By the age of 18, teens will have seen well over 100,000 beer commercial. (Associated Press)

• Experts say the young kids start drinking, the more likely they are to suffer damage to their brain, heart and liver and be less likely to ever put the bottle down. (American Medical Assoc.)

• Underage drinking has reached epidemic proportions in the US & 1/3 of high school students say they binge-drink at least once a month. (Center on Addition & Substance Abuse)

• “Huffing” – (getting high by inhaling toxic substances) has increased among teen girls, surpassing the rate for boys that same age. (Connect with Kids)

• One out of every 10 teen online messages with each other is about sex and drugs. (CWK)

• More & more kids are victims of family violence by the age of 16. 1 out of 4 girls & 1 out of 6 boys in the US is sexually abused. (Prevent Child Abuse America)

• 10 million kids each year in the US are exposed to domestic violence. (PCAA)

• There’s an increase & acceptance of divorce.  Each year one million kids will go through the emotional tug of war of seeing their parents divorce. (State of Our Nations Youth)

• Over 4 million kids live with a parent who is cohabiting & 34% of kids in the US go to bed where their biological father doesn’t live. (Child Health USA)

• The amount of time a parent spends with their kids is decreasing. For dads it’s less than 6 minutes a day & for mothers it’s less than 12 minutes a day.

• By the time a teen reaches 19, 75% will have engaged in oral sex. (CPYU)

• Teen depression has reached epidemic proportions in the US.  Loneliness ranks at the top of issues that trouble teens.  A University of Chicago study found that teens spend an average of 3.5 hours a day alone. (University of Chicago)

• The National Center for Missing & Exploited children has found that up to 10% of kids identified in pornography are teens who have produced the images themselves.  (NCMEC)

• Most teens understand how HIV/AIDS is spread.  They still make up half of all new HIV infections every year.  (CWK)

• At least 50% of high school students polled admit to cheating.  It is so prevalent that many aren’t even aware of when they do it. (CWK)

• Researchers say almost 1/3 of today’s teens are either bullies or victims of bullying.  Those who witness it are afraid the will become victims if they try to stop it.  88% of teens say or do nothing. (silent witness)

• There’s little difference between churched & unchurched kids.  There’s an increasing number of students living disintegrated lives with their faith saying little or nothing to how they relate, learn, date, play, work, etc…  (CPYU)

• 55% of teens surveyed say religion & spiritually play little to no role in their lives.  (Associated Press)

• Most teens believe they will be earning well into the six figure range when they become adults.  The most recent US Census Bureau statistics revealed that the average wage in the US for men and women was 36,662.00 (US Census Bureau)

• Everything’s happening at a younger and younger age.  “Age compression” results in an environment where what used to be for 18 year olds is now for 6 year olds.  (CPYU)

• Adolescence has increased.  It’s no longer ages 13 to 18, but now is ages 11 to 26.  University of Chicago’s Nation’s Opinion Research Center)

• Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds.  Girls attempt 3 times more than guys, but guys complete 3 times more often than Girls (American Association of Suicidology)

• 4 million Americans engage in some form of self-injury and 90% of those begin their behavior as teens (Bright Red Screen-M. Strong)