Downward Trend

I was left waiting in the exam room at my doctor's office for an inordinately long time today. I always find myself trapped in this position with no good magazines in the room. That's how I know more than anyone over 15 should about the Jonas Brothers. 

Today's reading material? Seventeen.

I haven't seen an issue of Seventeen since I was about 15 or 16. I do, however, remember that it was not quite as fluffy as the other teen girl magazines. It had longer articles on topics like health and relationships and things like that. It wasn't just fashion and boy advice, there was actual substance there.

Not any more.

There wasn't a single article over half a page in length. Ninety percent of what I saw was about clothes or hair or makeup or "getting guys." 

There was one article about marrying young and getting into an abusive relationship. It was three paragraphs long and took up less than a quarter of a page.

And we wonder why teenagers today seem to lack substance and depth. Maybe we should have more faith in their ability to deal with depth and important issues.