What does your cell phone company say about your parents?

posted by Erin Davis on 09/11/09 | Twitter: @ErinGraffiti
Category: Relationships; ; 16 comments

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Have you seen the latest AT&T Wireless commercial? A family is riding in the car and the teenage son asks his mom for more minutes for his cell phone. The mom loses her cool and screams that rollover minutes never go bad, causing the son and his brother to roll their eyes, clearly annoyed with their mom’s cluelessness. I’ve seen that same family duking it out over cell phone minutes at the dining room table and in their living room. Every time the mom is portrayed as a whacko, and the teenage sons make no attempt to hide their annoyance with her. Sure, these are commercials about cell phones, but there is an underlying message that I see communicated over and over on television and in movies—parents are stupid and, as a teenager, you have the right to be very annoyed if your parents or other authority

figures try to assert their rules in your life.

It may seem like silly advertising, but the results go beyond product recognition.

Have you ever felt like the girl in the video above? Does it seem like your parents are using rules to wreak havoc on your life? Do they have the right to enforce boundaries for you even as you grow into a teenager, then young woman, then adult? Are their rules meant to be broken?

About half of the Christian girls we spoke to while researching Lies Young Women Believe revealed that they believe the lie “I am my own authority.” This belief was closely tied to the way they felt about their parents. Some of them even noticed the connection between the way they felt about their parents and the messages they received through the media. Here’s what they told us:

“I think that a lot of times today’s media, especially movies, depict parents as dumb or like they don’t have a clue or that they are weird. The media wants us to perceive them as if they are not a person, like they are just a stupid authority that doesn’t have a clue.”

“Fighting with your parents is no big deal.”

“My mom is really judgmental. I know that if there was something out of line about what I said or there was a personal experience that I wanted to talk about, she would judge me for it and she would tell me ‘you should do this, this, and this’ or 'you shouldn’t be doing that’ instead of just listening to me.”

Can you relate?

What challenges do you face in your relationship with your parents? Do the messages about authority portrayed in the media match what happens at your house or seem foreign to your perception of your parents? What have you learned from God’s Word about specific ways you should treat your parents and their rules?

Comments

HEY, GIRLS! We love hearing from you, but feel limited in the ways we can help. For one thing, we’re not trained counselors. If you’re seeking counsel, we encourage you to talk to your pastor or a godly woman in your life as they’ll know more details and can provide you with ongoing accountability and help. Also, the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.

kreative-kat

Re:
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 10:01 am

i don't feel that way about my cell phone, but i feel that way about the internet. my parents gave us laptops like 4 years ago, but gave us no internet...it wasn't until recently that we got new laptops, with the privilege of internet access. i was really excited about that, but then recently my mom restricted me to half an hour of internet a day. at fist i was upset..but now that i think about it, i'm kinda thankful for that limit....even though i go over the half hour sometimes.

Lee Ann Bennett

Thanks
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 10:13 am

I'm a youth pastor's wife, so I work with teenagers a lot--specifically teenage girls. I just found your blog and want to say thank you! I've advertised it on our youth's blog because I think your notes are vey relevant and have great insight. Thank you for proclaiming truth in a society saturated with lies.

rebecca

absolutely!
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 10:18 am

wow, i'm so totally going through this with my parents right now as i just started college, and it's hard. i mean it's not just the cell phone (that's part of it) it's time schedules, car usage, just about everyting. Thanks for this post.

Jenny

Parents
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Eph. 6 talks about respecting parents. So if the bible says we should do it, then we should!

Erin Davis

Lee Ann
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 1:22 pm

Thank YOU for being a Truth speaker to young women. Keep it up! If there is anything we can do to help you, let us know.

Erin

Heather

I can relate
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 2:32 pm

I can relate to the teenagers on that commercial, in a way. I don't mind arguing with my mother when I know I'm right. I know that that's wrong, but it's so difficult to see her as an adult when she acts even more immature than I am! lol =P Like she will smoke in the house, even though I have breathing problems, and I act kinda like the mom on that commercial and I yell at her. And then she rolls her eyes like the teenagers and acts like what I say is not important. It's so backwards, but it's funny =P

God's Princess

Re:
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 3:14 pm

The media DEFINITELY goes overboard to be portray parents as silly, stupid, or old-fashioned.

Natalie

media
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 4:16 pm

do you think that media influenced American children to become more disobedient, or that American children became less respectful, and media followed suit, in showing disrespect?

Morgan

Re:
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 9:53 pm

I cannot relate because I do not have a cell phone but, the same is true for internet.

deanna

parents
on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 8:48 am

we should our never talk about our parents be hind there back the Bible says it is rong to do that.

KRaye

RE: Natalie
on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 6:03 pm

I think the media has always portrayed parents as stupid and ignorant, and then children as the ones who are smart and can do whatever they want, and that led to children inching their way into disobedience and disrepect. Like starting by eye-rolling, leading up to back-talking and fighting. You have well behaved kids being influenced to fight and be rude to their parents.

Daddy's girl

Respect
on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 12:27 am

I live with my dad and it is so hard to talk to him about boys in my life or a boy that I may like. I'm pretty he jumps to all these assumptions which tempts me to
lie to him. I love and respect him
completely; I sometimes just get SO sick of it.

Kasey

Random..
on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:01 pm

Lol.. i like that commercial tho D':

Sarah Paige

Relationships with Parents
on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 1:54 pm

I actually have a pretty good relationship with my mom which I have come to appreciate, especially over the past month while my sister has been gone at college (I'm the second of 8). I am extremely saddened by how the media depicts parents as stupid, annoying, and so out-of-it. It is NOT acceptable to disrespect our parents. The Bible (A.K.A. God) commands us to honor and obey our parents. In fact, it's repeated throughout the entire Book. Why would God say that so many times if He wasn't serious? God is not sarcastic.

Abby

Re: Sarah Paige
on Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 10:58 pm

i completely and 100% agree with u... my dad watches some of todays cartoons and notices that the dad is always the psycho crazy person... i think media of today Does disrespect our parents and makes them look like crazy stupid people who dont know anything

Abby

Re: Daddys girl
on Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 11:00 pm

my dad is super overprotective and jumps to conclusions too... ur not alone sister! :)

my little brothers allowed to date but im not... how overprotective is that?

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