Is the Media really that Oblivious

to it's own power and role. On Good Morning America this morning there was a segment on this disturbing new trend amongst high achieving students who don't do drugs--asphyxiation. They choke each other to experience the high. This is a dangerous activity and kids get addicted to the high just as they might any other controlled substance. Approximately 40 kids died last year from this activity. In some circles this activity is called "The Choking Game." Game--people really use the word game when talking about this. I can understand teens and pre-teens using the word game--as so much of life is a game to them. But adults and the media calling it a game give the activity a different undertone. It isn't a game. It is a dangerous activity. Let's call it what it is. Just because kids who don't really understand the finality of death and the consequences that can really occur--we were all teens many of them think they are invincible.
I was so angry at Diane Sawyer and the rest of the people on the show who kept calling it a game. Just because that is what it is known as in teen circles doesn't mean that the media is absolved of responsibility to really put the activity in its place. It is a lethal activity that kills kids who want to get high but don't want to do drugs. Please Media outlets know your power. Accept your power. Weild it with thoughtfullness.

Minnow--I promise to listen to you and hope that I do not fail you as a parent. I promise to snoop in your room, and to know who you are hanging out with. I promise you will have little privacy at home--enough to feel safe but not enough to get into serious trouble. I promise that I will work hard to make sure you understand the natural consequences of your actions and will do my best to help you naviagte the increasinlgy dangerous world of being a teen. I will love you and support you and teach you how to make the right decisions.