US 13-year-olds Are Fairly Conservative: Time poll

[Placebo]

It might surprise their parents, but in the age of graphic lyrics and violent video games, American children entering their teens remain very cautious about sex and dating and still trust their parents and church.

In a story on the lives and thinking of American 13-year-olds, Time magazine reports that sixty percent of the 500 surveyed by the magazine are against sex before marriage, and 63 percent believe they are too young to date at their age.

The 21-page cover feature characterizes kids at 13 as "backstage adults" in a particularly precarious formative period.

"It is the age of childhood leaning forward and adulthood holding back, when the world gets suddenly closer, the colors more vivid, the rules subject to never ending argument," writes Time editor Nancy Gibbs.

More...

:eyes: I don't know what 13-year-olds they're talking to.

How does all that get labeled as "conservative" anyway?

[proud patriot]

1. boy are they in for a rude awakening

:crazy:

[Placebo]

2. 13-year-olds are also liars.

It's the age of lying!

And hypocrites.

Usually.

And besides, at that age, what I would have admitted to a poll and what I actually did...were...well...2 different things.

[silverweb]

3. 500 kids.

Polled by an adult news magazine. Riiight.

Where and how did they obtain this miniscule sample that purports to be representative of "American 13-year-olds" ??

Forgive me for being skeptical.

:eyes:

[sakabatou]

4. Yeah, what's the breakdown?

[KurtNYC]

38. Time magazine

part of the TimeWarnerAOL empire of internet/video games/films/music does a poll and then says that inspite of all of their entertainment products '13YOs are fairly conservative'.

How was the poll done -if on the phone then those answering may well have been within earshot of their parents because the survey people would have to get parents' permission to do the survey with thier kids. That would explain their answers in a hurry.

But on the flip side, they framed this as the kids being conservative in spite of television and yet television is very conservative. TV coverage of all things political is decidely conservative, pro-war, pro-corporatism. Even on sex and other issues it is conservative.

Whatever the truth about their views may be, these kids knew what the "right" anwers were - where do we suppose they learned that if not from media?

[VegasWolf]

5. Yes, and at 14 years some 60% have lost their cherry. What idiot

would believe a poll like this? Must have been taken during
Sunday School.

[BamaLefty]

13. Exactly.

Not that I'm actually "for" having sex at age 13 (very against), but it depends who you poll. Did they think their parents would look at the results?

And btw, how the hell does this qualify as "conservative?"

[Mokito]

34. I think 'conservative' is implied to as in

socially reserved, more than a political ideology is implied.

[BamaLefty]

41. Yes

But the MSM tries to tie them together

As in, liberals live in sin and live wild, uncontrollable, radical lives. I'm 17 and liberal as hell and nothing could be further from the truth.

But I see what you mean... I just disagree with corporate CNN and FOX again...

[ovidsen]

6. The pitfalls of polling 13 year olds

One trap might be the possibility that 13 year olds give pollsters answers that the teens think the pollsters want to hear, rather than answers that actually reflect their true opinions.

I am happy to see that young teens say they're being cautious about sex. I'm not in favor of reckless promiscuity at any age. But I remember when I was 13, and I sure thought about it a lot!

[Joseph Christ]

7. So basically...

...this is stating that conservatives have the intellect and social patterns of a 13 year old.


Makes sense to me.

[Placebo]

8. Best. Reply. EVER.

Fantastic!

:D :yourock: :D

[trogdor]

37. My reaction exactly.

My son's ex was 13 (he's 16), so I guess it depends on your stage of development. 13 year old boys are still dorky little kids that most 13 year old girls wouldn't give the time of day given a choice.

[A Simple Game]

9. It's all so clear when you see it in black and white.

Excellent observation.

And welcome to DU JC.

[madeline_con]

18. There you go!

Nice perspective. Welcome, BTW.

[0007]

19. Hilarious!

[gulliver]

10. Most Democrats are "conservative" in that way.

Democrats are conservative, the good kind of conservative.

[Moochy]

11. We must close the Madrases, drain the swamps...

Oh wait this is American 13 year olds?

US Republican Royalty fund conservative education, and media to advance their conservative radical agenda.

Saudi Arabian royalty funds madrases to advance their conservative radical agenda.

BTW what is Nancy Gibbs smoking? :hippie:

"It is the age of childhood leaning forward and adulthood holding back, when the world gets suddenly closer, the colors more vivid, the rules subject to never ending argument," writes Time editor Nancy Gibbs.

[Deja Q]

12. Most 13 year old boys still worry about cooties; they don't get "with it"

until they're 15 or so!

[shanti]

39. don't be so sure of that

nowadays....the 13 yr old boys (and girls) of the 60's are NOT the 13 year olds of now. take that from the horse's mouth!

[sonicx]

14. the media loves to politicize everything don't they?

"normal and conservative" the article says. Because liberals are strange and wacky. :eyes: trusting your parents is "conservative" too, apparently.

It's perfectly normal for a 13 year old to say they want to wait to have sex. They are still developing and less likely (than an adult) to have to deal directly with the issue.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

35. That's what I was thinking, too.

eom

[flaminbats]

15. teenage rebellion doesn't really start until 15 or 16..IMHO

as a thirteen-year-old the most rebellious thing I did was telling my dad the Vietnam War was right. If we can't be idiots at that age..when can we have fun?

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Similar thread in GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4232023

[democrat in Tallahassee]

17. about the same mentality as other conservatives; sounds right

[PunkPop]

20. I was likely to change my mind once a day when I was 13

Polling 13 year olds is pointless.

[BlueEyedSon]

21. By the time they turn 15 though, they are totally wack

[Miss Chybil]

22. Conservative Ideology = Juvenile Ideology

This polly proves it. Some people grow up to find not everything is black and white. Others still behave like schoolyard bullies.

[UCLA Dem]

23. They don't even know enough to have an opinion at that age!! Silly poll.

[Renew Deal]

24. I thought I was too young to date at 13 too.

And I thought the church was wondeful. I still think 13 is too young to date. It doesn't mean anything.

[progressivebydesign]

25. Thank the hardcore recruitment by million dollar churches for that.

Anyone else out there have pre-teens? We have experienced a full court press by religious youth groups and church groups to recruit my stepdaughter since she was in 5th grade. LOTS of money out there to make church and church groups "hip". Parties, formal dances, video nights, ski trips, you name it... all free.. and all to recruit the kids. Our local scary church just built a multi- million dollar youth building... yes.. multi million. The kids are being recruited and parents, many of which don't attend church themselves, think it's some fun youth group. My sd says it's all fun and games until they force you to accept Jesus or do bible study at the end of the night, even tho the kids that recruit you say it won't be religious stuff.

My faves are the little prep girls at her school who are living and breathing this youth group stuff, all the while calling each other pimp and ho and listening to 50 Cent. The church groups and youth groups are great at recruitment.. it's rather cult-like actually.

[artfan]

26. my 13 yr old son

-wants to wait to have sex but is interested in looking
-is anti drug
-wants to wait to drink alcohol
also
-knows about the need for condoms
-Why drugs are a problem and just say no is a crock
-pro choice
-concerned about global warming
-is opposed to the war and thinks those who think it is a goodidea should fight it
-thinks bUsh is an idiot
-is for gay rights and is not afraid to say to his peers

in short conservative by some measures liberal by others

[AmandaRuth]

27. sound like normal kids to me

So if we took a poll, and most 13 year olds said they were for equality between all races, and sexes, including equal pay and opportunity for women, a clean environment, livable wages, science driven research, I guess you could say most youngsters are liberal.

[GOPBasher]

28. They're conservative in a good way.

I want my kids to be conservative that way, but not politically conservative.

[wli]

29. sorry, where I came from the 13-year-olds were having sex outright

And the girls sometimes even getting pregnant and having the children in the process (somewhat less often at that young of an age). It's unclear what (if any) role abortion played.

[free_spirit82]

32. Me too.

I knew girls that were having sex when we were in the fourth grade (10 & 11 years old). By sixth grade (12 & 13 y/os) a pretty large percentage of the girls in my grade were having sex and pregnancy scares. I knew two girls that got pregnant; mysteriously disappeared for a few days to a week; and then reappeared to say they 'lost' the baby. By eighth grade, pregnancies started to be a pretty regular thing.

[elperromagico]

30. 13 year olds, circa 1989: "New Kids On The Block 4 Ever!!!"

29 year olds, circa 2005: "New Kids On The Block? What the hell was I thinking?"

People change.

[davidinalameda]

31. My beliefs haven't changed all that much since I was 13

I was a pretty big liberal; my taste in music has hopefully improved; I still like the same kind of books, etc

but then again, I was a pretty thoughtful 13 yr old-stuck in BFE West Virginia--all I could wait to do was get the hell out

[fleabert]

33. when I was 13...I had already tried alcohol and had snuck out to go to a

party a few times.

at 14 I had done it all, pot, cigs, sex, and lots and lots of lying.

I knew plenty of kids at 13 that had already had sex and done coke (and yes, I was there, they weren't just bragging!) and this was almost 20 years ago. One of my female classmates was suspended for giving a boy a blow job on the bus on the morning trip to school (interesting that that boy wasn't suspended, huh?)

those kids are either naive or lying, imo.

[Barkley]

36. College students are also conservative except when it comes to

the draft and more financial aid.

[murielm99]

40. Thirteen year olds are just at the beginning stages of

adult cognition. They are only beginning to think abstractly.

Most thirteen year olds will change their minds fifty times a day. Their opinions are still based largely on emotion. And thirteen year olds are very emotional.

Question these kids again when they are fifteen. What a stupid survey!