Parents Empowered - Utah

I noticed an ad on a garbage truck in West Valley, Utah a year ago and have since seen more and more advertisements on television and radio. Utah has begun Parents Empowered to stop the rising levels of underage drinking. The messages in the videos are awesome for parents but I think as a teenager, I would have listened up as well. The content is attention-grabbing and is really helping parents get involved and become aware of what their children are doing. The website ishttp://parentsempowered.org/ if you wanna check it out. When I was growing up and still today, underage drinking was huge in my middle school and high school. It would be cool to see ads such as these and to see if they are effective.

On President's Day, I went to the Sacred Gifts exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was my second time going through and it was still so powerful. The pictures of the Savior are incredible and can evoke so much emotion for the viewer. I enjoyed seeing that the artists, Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz, see Christ in a very similar way that I do.

I don't think we consider art as media often. I challenge all of you to go to the exhibit and be aware of the emotions you feel and also what the artist was trying to portray about the Savior. Every art form depicts a message to the viewer and in the case of Sacred Gifts, it can be uplifting and spiritual.

 Here is the link. Everyone should go see this while we have the blessing to have the paintings.

http://sacredgifts.byu.edu

Song Content

I work at a residential treatment center for teenage girls. They have dealt with tough stuff in their lives and have failed other programs to help them with trauma, mental illness, and other skills to make it through life. We had speakers installed in our grouphome this week so we have been playing music. I have never had to be so aware of the content in music before I worked here. I knew there was bad stuff but even the songs that seem really innocent on the radio, we can't play because of language, sex, drugs, or alcohol references. If music did not affect us, we wouldn't have to be so aware of what we listen to.

Am I the only one who can't make it through the Olympics without crying?

Media is powerful! Just put music and video together and you can make one dang good 2:00 minute commercial. 

In honor of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

I love my Mom and Dad.

I'll just be over here crying.

In class I had the hardest time picking a song that described me. While I still am not positive what fits me best, "Stop This Train" by John Mayer seems to work well for my current state. Here it is for your listening pleasure. What song would you pick to describe yourself?

First Anti-Smoking Campaign Targets Teens

"They’re not scared of lung cancer and they can’t imagine ever developing heart disease. So the Food and Drug Administration is trying to get at what might really scare teenagers in its first campaign against smoking: looking ugly and stupid." 

I found this news article (link below) online and it could not have been more perfect for what we discussed in class. These new ads to target teen smoking are awesome. The article says it is a year long campaign and will use social media, MTV, and other outlets to get the teen population's attention.

I think we need to switch up how we are advertising to different age groups because so far they have not been effective for healthy outcomes. I am excited to see this campaign and see if the numbers change. The article states that 90 percent of adult smokers picked up the habit by age 18.

"Our kids are the replacement customers for the addicted adult smokers who die or quit each day," said Mitch Zeller, the director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "And that's why we think it's so important to reach out to them — not to lecture them, not to throw statistics at them — but to reach them in a way that will get them to rethink their relationship with tobacco use."

This quote states perfectly why it is important to act against the negative advertisements and the tobacco and alcohol companies who want to create lifelong customers by attracting youth. Advertising has become more and more inappropriate; regardless of age group or even product. I believe it is really important to do something and limit what our youth see so they do not get in a trap for the rest of their lives. My brother and best friend both do advertising and I have been getting their viewpoints recently on these things. My best friend really focuses on not using sexual content to advertise. Unfortunately, it won't stop because it is effective. Now our generation needs to find a way to stop it.

 FDA targets teens in its first anti-smoking campaign