Yes, but we should be more than outraged at the people behind the front people of "popular culture" who stuff children of all ages with non-stop images and messages with these people and who always seem to be "having a good time" and lots of "fun" but without any of the necessary references to what is actually required to make a living in the various professions, if they can make it that is.

I know I for one don't want my kids to think that getting pregnant before you are married means a huge house in LA and a fairytale wedding in Italy! Or that you can get involved with a man that has a pregnant girlfriend, marry him, have two kids and expect him to treat you any better than the woman he left you for! I have nothing against single mothers or anything like that, I just think kids and teens are getting a far from realistic impression of what that's like. Celebrities make it seem so glamorous.

I'm not sure I would say "worried". I do think there's a shortage of good role models for boys especially. Rather than ranting on for 15 minutes about my opinions of popular culture, I think it's more helpful to try BE what I think is needed.

Those who choose to live off "junk food" are already engaging in a process of self correction. Why worry? I DO have compassion for the inevitable "belly ache".

Really? As opposed to role models from which time? If you're thinking about the "Ozzie and Harriet" days, were those any more beneficial for youth? They portrayed a highly unrealistic ideal that people thought they should strive for. This goal was, of course, never attainable, and lead to depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide, spousal abuse, etc. While I don't think that we're any better with today's pop culture, I certainly don't think we're any worse. Young people are immensely malleable (thanks Stableboy!). If they don't find the tools to form their emerging personalities and basic concepts and beliefs they will carry for life at home from their parents, they will certainly find them somewhere. Personally, I think that television, video games, rap music and bad-ass pop stars are just the fall guys for parents who haven't been parenting. Children naturally look to their parents for guidance first. If they don't get the proper input and feedback there, a little part of their innocence and hope dies. They then turn to their environment for clues about how to interpret the world around them. This becomes a substitute parent to them. They look to anything and anyone who will validate them and give them something useful to use in developing their personality and fit in with their peers. Of course, this situation isn't ideal, but it is necessary if the children cannot get this from their parents first. Here, in the US, we have made children into little adults way too early. Heaping so much responsibility on them with extracurricular activities, sports, play groups, etc. This was done for the presumed benefit of "networking" them. Getting them involved is as many things as scheduling would allow, so that they wouldn't have time to go astray. They have been denied the opportunity to develop anything of their own that is unique to them. There has been actual research done in this field and it concludes that children who are being multitasked and overtasked have never fully developed their own creative, imaginative side. This leads them to seek creativity from elsewhere. That elsewhere is the same video games, internet, pop music and celebreality tv that we provide for them when we, ourselves as parents, cannot afford the time to spend with them. So, while I agree that pop culture is not great for children to be so involved with, I think that is inevitable. Pop culture exists. It is, by definition, popular. The fault does not lie with it for having a negative influence on our children; the fault lies with parents not being able to and not knowing how to instill the basic germs in their children. The germs from which they will grow self awareness and inner truth, both of which will be able to discriminate good from bad in what they see around them. The germs from which they will grow into adults.

Absolutely not. I'd rather my children have a role model of a strong, independent, intelligent, self-sufficient woman with a career than something like Carol Brady. Today's female role models are more acceptable to me than any of the previous female role models in Western culture. There is no comparison to the black role models of today to those at any other time in history. I don't want my children learning to view children of other colors like Buckwheat of the Little Rascals!

There was something in the news a couple of weeks ago about a government proposal for finding good role models for British kids, it was scrapped because someone pointed out that kids would not look up to someone just because the government said so! I think there is a worry about popular culture, but also that children are able to be critical and are not completely 'passive' or 'vulnerable' as it is sometimes made out. Howeveer, these skills need to be nurtured by parents and education so that children can understand and get some good out of bad role models

No im not. I mean who were your role models growing but, think about it I do not wear 500 plastic bracletts any more and my hair is not 5 inches high and 10 inches wide either. I just try and be one of the main role models in my childrans life and remind them that the poeple they see on tv are not really and their lifes are just as messed up as anyone elses.

Yes,I am very concerned in the decline of manners and respect of the youth today. Just the other day my mum and I were going to a restaurant and these boys came out of the alley and they started to fight near her. One of them fellon the floor and nearly tripped her over, she then gavethem a pieceof her mind. The boy standing next to the fallen boyn told her in a torrent of verbal abuse to shut her mouth or he will &*^^* kick her stupid head in. As there were a group of about 8 of them and only my mum and I, well you can't exactly teach them manners and respect in that situation can you?