|
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
CULTURE TRANSLATOR
Culture translator is a glimpse into what is influencing teens right now. It provides insightful perspective on relevant topics in your teen's world. You can use these as a nudge to start conversation with the teenagers in your home. Culture Translator is provided by Axis. The information we are providing from Axis does not equal an endorsement. There are many links within these Culture Translator blurbs. We can not guarantee the content of each site (especially the ads).
Guns Blazing
What it is: PC and Xbox game “Palworld” has rapidly found a huge following, peaking last week with 2+ million players online at once. Now they’re under investigation by Nintendo’s Pokémon Company for intellectual property infringement.
Why gamers are loving it: While it certainly leans heavily into classic “Pokémon” elements, “Palworld” also combines elements of “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” “Fortnite,” and “Minecraft” into the gameplay experience. The result is an open-world, survival-style game that involves, yes, collecting lots of monsters the game calls “pals,” but also mining for resources, and shooting down enemies. Another notable difference: “Pals” can be butchered for meat and exploited for their labor. (Not exactly the Ash/Pikachu dynamic.) Nintendo will investigate to see if there’s evidence to suggest the game’s developer based their pals directly on Pokémon models, but unless Nintendo actually brings a lawsuit, Palworld will continue unhindered. The internet-allegations have done little so far to slow the popularity of the game, which has sold 8 million copies in just six days.
Daylist Discourse
What it is: A new Spotify feature called “Daylist” curates playlists for users that are customized to the listening habits of their daily rhythms.
Why it's a meme: Spotify has shown yet again that they can turn their cold and technical algorithm into a product that feels warm and personable. “Daylists” are based on users’ listening histories, and they release in users’ feeds multiple times a day. Each time a new Daylist drops, it is tailored to the highly specific experience that Spotify predicts the user will be having when they see it. The result is playlists that often nail what the listener is looking for when they open the app. More than the songs themselves, each Daylist has an auto-generated title that reads as an uncanny description of the way we live out our days. (One Axis writer has “stripped down acoustic worship Tuesday nights” while another has “microcore meme Tuesday evenings.”) Music is transcendent to begin with, but seeing our listening habits described so succinctly makes users feel known and seen in a way they want to share—sometimes sincerely but, more often, for a laugh.
Mobbed Up
What it is: The latest “trend” to resurrect on TikTok is a style that’s being called the “mob wife.” One TikTok went so far as to declare, “Clean girl is out. Mob wife is in!”
What it looks like: Last year’s makeup trends, especially, were about pared back beauty, understated contouring, and letting impeccably-cared for skin take center stage. The “mob wife” aesthetic sees the pendulum swinging in the complete other direction, with a full face of foundation, heavy lids, and lined lips taking the stage. Fans of the trend are going thrift shopping for staples of the look like fur and faux fur coats, stiletto boots, and loud prints. Coincidentally (or not), the trend aligns with the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos,” with that series experiencing a renaissance of sorts as young people discover it for the first time. Young people who are excited about the mob wife trend may be attracted to its in-your-face energy, unapologetic glamor, and how it alludes to a proximity to the powerful.
Is Roblox Safe? With just under half of its players being under the age of 12, and around a quarter of them being under nine, it’s safe to say that Roblox is a popular gaming platform for younger players. Part of the draw of Roblox is that it’s a “free” game that lets players create and play user-created games, offering a level of novelty that most games lack. It’s also not perfect, especially when it comes to protecting tweens. In our 7 Minute Video on Roblox, we explore how the game’s design can be (but isn’t always) detrimental to its young playerbase.
DOWNLOADS:
Parents Guide to Violence
Parents Guide to smartphone addiction - when it's goes from using it a lot to addiction
Parent Guide to Teenage FOMO - understanding their desire to not be left out
Talking to white kids about Racism - podcast with other materials as well
Managing Fear & Anxiety for Parents
Downloadable Crisis Conversation Guides by Age
SYNC YOUR CALENDARS: Don't forget to sync your devices with our calendar HERE.
| 
