■g3g3by ANTHONY B. BRADLEY
MTV’s WACK
MORALITY
O
N DECEMBER 3, 2009, audience to draw their own line between where children are nurtured to this end
MTV announced the digital use and digital abuse.” is the family.
launch of “A Thin Line,” While it helpfully encourages teens Parents themselves need to be encour-
a multiyear initiative to report abuse, MTV seems incapable aged to fulfill this responsibility. Many
focused on halting the of getting to the root of the problem; parents care more about their children’s
spread of abuse through cyber-bullying, namely, the cultivation of prudence that financial success than they do about their
digital dating, and “sexting” (sending sexu- orients a teen’s choices at the outset. character and integrity. Madeline Levine,
ally explicit messages or photos electroni- Empowering an audience of teenagers is author of The Price of Privilege, laments
cally, primarily between mobile phones). futile if teens are not encouraged to tap that while many teens are academically
MTV says, “The goal of the initia- the wisdom of their parents. successful and materially comfortable,
tive is to empower America’s youth Soliciting parental wisdom regarding they lack moral agency and the “ability
to identify, respond to, and stop the appropriate cell-phone usage, account-
spread of the various forms of digital ability, and navigating the social
harassment.” While MTV’s program morass of adolescence is a key to teens’
deserves an honor-
able mention, the
network misses the
“SEXTING, BULLYING, AND NEUROTIC
mark by ignoring
TEXT MESSAGING IN DATING
its complicity in RELATIONSHIPS WILL REMAIN A
glorifying mores
PROBLEM AS LONG AS TEENS ARE NOT
associated with sex-
ASPIRING TO LOVE WHAT IS GOOD IN
ting, bullying, dat-
COMMUNITY. THE PRIMARY PLACE
ing abuse, failing to
WHERE CHILDREN ARE NURTURED
promote the family,
and failing to enlist
TO THIS END IS THE FAMILY.”
religious leaders.
“A Thin Line” rolled out the same proper development. It is
week MTV and The Associated Press a parent’s joy and calling
released a report citing the “full scope of to do their best to instill
digital abuse” by teens and young adults. moral wisdom and protect
According to the study, 30 percent of their children from evil.
14- to 24-year-olds have “sent or received Sexting, bullying, and
nude photos of other young people neurotic text mes-
on their cell phones or online, and 12 saging in dating
percent of those who have sexted have relationships will
contemplated suicide, a rate four times remain a prob-
higher than those who haven’t.” lem as long as
During the campaign launch, Stephen teens are not
Friedman, general manager of MTV, said, aspiring to
“There is a very thin line between private love what is
and public, this moment and forever, good in com-
love and abuse, and words and wounds. munity. The
‘A Thin Line’ is built to empower our primary place
26 EVANGEL • MAR 2010
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