youth

I guess Disney's decision to stop making princess movies was a half-truth. The fairytale film company is introducing a new Disney princess, Sofia the First, who for the first time will be a little girl. The younger princess is meant to attract preschoolers and be a positive and educational role model in her TV movie and series. According to a Disney GM, Sofia will have “plenty of pretty dresses and sparkly shoes," but "what makes a real princess is what’s inside, not what’s outside."

Hopefully the new pint-sized princess's younger age will mean she's doing more than waiting for her Prince Charming to come, but it seems like just another way to market the princess culture to an even younger generation. What we're really excited to see is the courageous Princess Merida in Pixar's Brave, who challenges her family and country's customs while wielding a bow and arrow on horseback — now that's a real Disney princess "first."

What do you think about the new preschool princess?

A new study out of UCLA has found that kids ages 9-11 value being famous more than anything else, ranking it No. 1 compared to 15th in 1997. The researchers involved are wringing their hands at the results, predicting that this obsession with being famous is going to negatively affect this youth generation's future success. One of the study's coauthors said, "They may give up on actually preparing for careers and realistic goals," and another added, "When being famous and rich is much more important than being kind to others, what will happen to kids as they form their values and their identities?"

While tweens and teens have always looked up to celebrities and dreamed about fame, what's new is the idea that it's much more attainable. Thanks to reality shows, viral videos (ahem, Rebecca Black), and the mini celebrity that can be obtained on social networking sites, tweens may believe it's easy to make it big.

I agree with the researchers that kids need to be taught that working hard, treating people with kindness and respect, setting realistic goals, and honing your skills are the types of things we should value, but they need to realize these are still kids we're talking about. How many 9-year-olds are thinking about their college degrees and future careers at this point, or even understand what it takes to succeed in their ideal jobs? Kids will always have big dreams when they're young, and does it really matter if it's fame, making a lot of money, or becoming an astronaut? What do you think?

Ah, young love — making all of us grown-ups a little uncomfortable. While most of us didn't have the chance to take a romantic getaway to Hawaii at the age of 17 or 18 like perfectly packaged couple Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, some of us can relate to the eagerness of teen love. The pop-star pair couldn't keep their hands off each other and had a hard time doing much more than making out.

But not all young stars put their love on display. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, for example, have always been a little coy about their relationship. Thinking back on your teen days, were you the type to make out by your locker and hold hands in the halls, or did PDA make you bashful?

I asked what your biggest prom regrets are here and on Facebook, and I saw some recurring themes in your responses. Most of you either regretted going or not going, fashion faux pas, and lame dates. So for future generations of prom-goers, I'd say go with a guy friend or group of friends, wear something timeless not trendy, and bring a pair of flats in your purse for dancing! Here is a sampling of the things you'd do differently if were you able to go back to your good ol' high school days:

• "My regret is the shoes I wore. I rarely wore heels and I decided to wear 4 inch heels to prom. My feet were killing me before the prom even started!" — Gdeeaz
• "Junior prom regrets . . . my hair was boy short and yet I still paid $60 for an 'updo' that consisted of one big 'bang curl' and a fake diamond bobby pin. Letting a makeup kiosk at the mall do my makeup for the evening: orange face/white neck . . . pretty!! Being too nervous around my date to actually have fun and not be completely awkward. I made up for those the next year at my senior prom and had a great time. Live and learn, right?!" — Anonymous
• "Waaay boring date, and not even a kiss goodnight. Lame." — Elizabeth
• "I regret that I let not having a date keep me from going. I easily could have found a group of girls to go with." — roseate

Read the rest below.

From extravagant proposals to $1,400 dresses, are proms the new weddings? Reading the New York Post piece on pricey proms, I'm baffled that girls are not just getting $1,000-plus prom dresses, they are buying wedding-esque white, celebrity-inspired dresses and renting $9,000-a-night double-decker Hummers. I remember prom being important and fun, but "splurging" on a dress back then was closer to $300, and I'm glad I held on to my savings for college instead of wasting it on one high school night. My prom night was a blast and super tame (no crazy lost virginity stories), ending with a group of us staying up all night before going to my best friend's date's swim meet at the crack of dawn.

Whether you got a little too crazy or not crazy enough, your date was a disaster, or you spent your college fund on a hideous dress, what is your biggest prom regret? Or do you not regret anything?

Source: Flickr User gregor_y

Last Spring, American expat living in London Jerramy Fine had an idea. She would create Princess Prep, a weeklong Summer camp alternative in London ($3,005 per princess, flight not included) "for girls who want something a bit more elegant and a bit more intellectual." Little did she know, Prince William and Kate Middleton would announce their engagement six months later. "Needless to say," Jerramy told me, "my plans for a soft opening haven't worked out that well!"

An itinerary that includes learning all about privileged aristocrats could send some troubling messages, and practicing royal protocol like how to curtsy reminds me of finishing school. When I mentioned the camp could come off as retro, Jerramy retorted: "Personally, I think sitting around a campfire all Summer is a bit retro!" Here are five other things I learned from Jerramy:

1. Princess Prep doesn't prepare girls to find prince charming. "Categorically, Princess Prep is not about preparing girls for royal marriage or encouraging them to seek out a prince. Princess Prep is about nourishing princess qualities that all little girls are born with. Being a true princess is about treating everyone with kindness and generosity, as well as believing passionately in yourself and your dreams. Princess qualities discussed include: philanthropy, selflessness, kindness, compassion, hard work, self-belief, dedication, duty, manners, grace, poise, inner beauty, and strength."
2. There's a lot of sightseeing. "Manners is only a small portion of what we teach at Princess Prep. Most of the itinerary involves sightseeing in London! We visit Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Hampton Court Palace, and the Crown Jewels; we go horse riding in Hyde Park, volunteer for a royal charity, and have a night out at the theatre."

Find out more, when you keep reading.

When a Good Morning America reporter showed up on Yale's campus recently to look into the campus's alleged hostile sexual environment, a male student provided a demonstration by interrupting the interview to shout a sexually explicit remark. The school is currently under investigation for violating Title IX of the Civil Rights Act and has been home to many scandals, including a fraternity rape chant.

Yale isn't the only campus with a problem. According to the Department of Education, one in five college women has been the victim of attempted sexual assault. Today, Vice President Joe Biden is on a New Hampshire college campus with Education Secretary Arne Duncan to unveil new guidelines to prevent campus sex crimes under Title IX. It's part of a greater effort by the Obama administration to address sexual harassment and violence in schools. Here are three ways the new guidelines promise to curb sexual violence.

• Encourage more reporting: Biden says crimes often go unreported because victims worry the schools won't take action. The new guidelines make a school's obligation to respond to sexual assault clear. They read: "Once a school knows or reasonably should know of possible sexual violence, it must take immediate and appropriate action to investigate or otherwise determine what occurred." Schools must also take steps to protect the complainant.
• Start young: One in 10 high school girls will have been physically forced to have sexual intercourse before she graduates. By the time they get to college, almost 20 percent of women will be victims of attempted or actual sexual assault. For that reason, Biden and Duncan announced a new national sexual assault awareness campaign for colleges, as well as K-12 schools. The new guidelines also recommend all schools take "proactive measures to prevent sexual harassment and violence" and "implement preventive education programs."
• Expand the school's role: The new guidelines say schools "have an obligation to respond to student-on-student sexual harassment that initially occurred off school grounds, outside a school's education program or activity. If a student files a complaint with the school, regardless of where the conduct occurred, the school must process the complaint." Also, schools "should take steps to protect a student who was assaulted off campus from further sexual harassment or retaliation."

Based on your college experience, do you think it's necessary for the federal government to step in to prevent sexual hostility and violence on campus?

Source: Flickr User avinashgodbole

Deb Levine, the founder of Internet Sexuality Information Services (ISIS), kicked off the annual Sex::Tech conference today in San Francisco, an event dedicated to advancing sexual health of American youth. Deb unveiled the findings from ISIS's just-released white paper on how youth and young adults use technology for their sexual and reproductive health. While the teen pregnancy rate is dropping overall, rates among African American and Hispanic youth are much higher. And African American teens, for example, are nine times more likely than Caucasian kids to contract STDs like chlamydia. Deb said that "while we're reaching some youth with messages that work, we're not reaching our most vulnerable youth." Luckily, she proposed some solutions.

For today's youth, sex info is everywhere — on games, Google, Hulu, and in health class. Deb pointed out when it comes to hormone-infused young people, the sexier the information, the more they pay attention. What will they pay more attention to, she asked rhetorically, Our Bodies, Ourselves or Hot Bodies hosted by Mel B?

Obviously some of the information from sexier sources may not be correct, leading to bad decision-making and consequences. But adults and society need to respect youth as consumers; they will seek out the product they want. If sex can be used to sell cars and movies, why not sex health? Deb said adults need to talk to kids, not at kids. After all, they say themselves that not using a condom is "stupid." Deb explained: "Get more sophisticated about the realities of their sex lives. Saying 'use a condom' isn't good enough. If you infuse some humor, everyone ends up on the joke."

ISIS decided to do just that. It partnered with Funny or Die and made a pretty hilarious video of adults giving bad sex advice. "If you run out of condoms, it's OK to use a plastic bag." Or, "Pregnancy only happens if you secretly want it to." It definitely caught my attention.

Based on the research, ISIS also suggests getting smart about Internet search. Teens don't search sexual health, but "I have a rash down there." Sex educators will reach them if they optimize Google search. The goal is to be ubiquitous, reaching youth on Google, games, via text, or on Facebook, to guarantee they get good information.

If you want to see the Funny or Die video just read more.

What is going on in high school these days? Specifically, this high school where a guy wrote a song, got his friends to be back-up clappers, and popped the prom question in front of third period with next to no embarrassment.

The video even circles the classroom, showing clapping kids who are totally supportive of this public display of vulnerability. High schoolers aren't supposed to act like this! But since this video went over so well, expect other lyrical boys to follow. Meanwhile, I fully expect this crooner to grow up and publicly propose marriage via a full-scale Broadway production.

For now, I want to know how you were asked (or did the asking). Did a friend act as a broker, either procuring the date or ensuring both parties would say yes to minimize risk? Was it on a note or by email, IM, or text? My date whispered the question in the school library, and I felt pressured to say yes by the publicness. In hindsight, it was everything it's supposed to be — passive and awkward. What about you?