Hello and welcome back to our sixth instalment of Youth Updates!
POP CULTURE: Kanye’s Donda
Kanye West’s latest album ‘Donda’ has stirred up a lot of attention and conversation. The record, named after his mother, hit number 1 in 152 countries on Apple music (at the time of writing) and broke the record for 2021’s most-streamed album and artist in a day.
The new music comes alongside multiple launch parties that displayed a replica of his childhood home, setting himself on fire and Kim arriving in a wedding dress. Playing more like performance art then a regular album, Kanye once again references the Christian faith in songs such as God breathed, Jonah and Jesus Lord.
He isn’t the only music artist to reference faith in their work of late, but it’s important to note that we should help young people not to confuse an artist’s faith and inspiration as a replacement for the teachings of Jesus. However, his topical lyrics on forgiveness and God can help initiate and unpack important conversations.
FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY: The Influence Of Family
Young people have spent a lot of time with their families during the past year, but did you know that young people state that their family is often their biggest influence on their faith?
Youth for Christ research has found many links between young people and familial influence. For example, 82% of young people stated the motivation to make their families proud, coming above becoming successful. Likewise, when asked the top three things that make you feel good about yourself 92% stated family. However, when directly asked who influences how you think about God and spirituality, a whopping 55% said family (which was the top answer!).
Family plays an incredibly important role in the lives of young people, which for youth-workers and churches asks us to think about how we connect with the wider family of a young person and the connections we make and providing ways to explore faith through family.
Find the research here: https://yfc.co.uk/rethinkingculture/ and https://yfc.co.uk/faithandspirituality/
ISSUES: An increasing risk of county lines in rural areas?
A recent BBC article discussed the links between declining youth-work provision in rural areas and an increased risk of involvement in country lines. As per the description of the Children’s Society ‘County lines is a form of criminal exploitation in which criminals groom and manipulate children into drug dealing. The ‘lines’ refer to mobile phones that are used to control a young person who is delivering drugs, often to towns outside their home county.’
The National Youth Agency has seen an ‘increasing trend’ in rural and country young people being targeted when it comes to county lines. The amount per head spent on provision for 11 to 19 year olds in rural England is half the level of a decade ago and 25% less than in Urban Areas, at £47 a head. The link between the two comes in when you consider that trusted adults are a key part in protecting those at risk.
BBC Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58312284
Children’s Society: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/what-is-county-lines
Word of the Month:
‘dead’ – This can be used in a couple of ways.
- used to express how funny something is.‘I’m dead’, ‘Dead’ or the skull emoji
- used to describe something that is flat/bad/rubbish.‘That party was dead.’ Sometimes called a ‘dead ting’.
Subscribe
If you have enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe using the buttons below.