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Among moms juggling multiple responsibilities, such as working and parenting, a startling 42% say faith communities do not offer them any emotional or social support “at all.”
All ten of the highest domestic grossing films of 2013 received at least a 2 ½ out of 5 on Plugged In’s ratings.
Out of every four U.S. adults, three of them say they are, “looking for ways to live a more meaningful life.”
Singles have an increasingly lenient view of what constitutes cheating in a relationship, with only 90% of women (down from 100% a year ago) and 75% of men (down from 86%) agreeing that passionately kissing someone else is cheating.
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APRIL 2014
VOLUME 3ISSUE 3
From The Experts✤ Seven out of ten women say they have too much stress in their
lives.
✤ Discussing relationship-based movies can reduce the divorce/separation rate for married couples.
✤ Current estimates say 65-70% of couples will live together before they marry.
✤ Almost one out of every three teens report feeling overwhelmed and depressed or sad as a result of stress.
✤ Christians are more than twice as likely as the general population to have adopted a child.
In The Marketplace✤ Almost half of emails were opened on smartphones, where emails
usually only get a few seconds of readers’ attention.
✤ “The old model of physical consumption – purchase, use, discard – is being overturned by a new model: one founded on constant improvement, upgrade and iteration.”
✤ Boomers, not Millennials, drive the entrepreneurial boom of start-up businesses.
✤ The average American reported seeing about 3.3 movies in the theater in 2013.
✤ Boomers “evaluate their age based on where they are in life, as opposed to the date on their birth certificate or the number of wrinkles on their forehead, and are on a quest to look and live younger.”
✤ The lines between “online” and “physical” continue to blur with products that bring technical capabilities to traditionally physical objects.
2
The Benefits of Couples Intentionally Watching and Discussing Movies and Cutting the Divorce Rate
A recent study finds that an inexpensive, fun, and relatively simple movie-and-talk approach could cut the divorce rate for newlyweds in half.
Watching five movies about relationships and discussing them with structured questions over a month can be just as effective as other more intensive therapist-led methods -- reducing the divorce or separation rate from 24 to 11 percent after three years.
“Taking time to sit down and take an objective look at your relationship with your partner is going to be helpful for any couple at any stage,” said Dr. Ronald Rogge, associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “They can make it a yearly thing they do around their anniversary --- watch a movie together and talk about it. That would be a fantastic thing to do and a great present to give themselves each year.”
“Perhaps most exciting,” adds Rogge, “is that this self-help exercise could open new possibilities for nurturing nuptial ties on a broad scale. It’s incredibly portable. There are really great intervention programs available now but most require trained therapists to administer them. If couples can do this on their own, it makes it so much easier to help them.”
Source: futurity.org
Teens and Stress: Not Managing It WellA new national survey, “Stress in America” conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Psychological Association finds that U.S. teens are feeling stress in all areas of their lives, and they aren’t always using healthy methods to cope.
“Our study this year gives a window in looking at how early these patterns might begin,” says clinical psychologist Norman Anderson, APA CEO. “The patterns of stress we see in adults seem to be occurring as early as the adolescent years ---- stress-related behaviors such as lack of sleep, lack of exercise, poor eating habits in response to stress.”
“It is alarming that the teen stress experience is so similar to that of adults. It is even more concerning that they seem to underestimate the potential impact that stress has on their physical and mental health,” Anderson said. “We need to provide teens with better support and health at school and home, at the community level, and in their interactions with healthcare professionals.”
Source: 2014 Stress in America
Commitment and CohabitationCohabitation is no longer viewed as a stepping stone to marriage, reports Scott Stanley with the University of Denver. As “serial cohabitation” increases, fewer individuals see living together as a path toward marriage. Stanley reports findings from a recent study by Jonathan Vespa:
• Cohabitation without intent to marry is becoming more common, as is serial cohabitation, and this trend affects younger women profoundly.
• Younger women are more likely to become sexually active earlier and to already have a child when they start to cohabit.
• Further, he states, “Over 1/4th of women aged 16 through 28 have already cohabited with more than one partner.”
Stanley states, “Cohabiting is becoming disconnected from marriage much as child-bearing has become disconnected from marriage.” He predicts that as cohabitation is less tied to commitment, couples will see the arrangement as less of “a step into the future” and more of “a temporary state of being.”
Source: Sliding vs. Deciding
From The Expertsa quick look at the latest research
March 2014
Trends on Work and Calling“Nearly six out of ten women (59%) say they are dissatisfied with their work and home balance. Women also describe themselves as stressed out (72%), tired (58%) and overcommitted (48%) and each of these self-descriptions only increase among moms with children under 18 at home.”
Who is ADOPTING?While adopting and fostering remain rare, practicing Christians are more than twice as likely than the general population to adopt and significantly more likely to consider adoption or fostering.
Seven in 10 women say, “I have too much stress in my life”
PRACTICING CHRISTIANS
ALL ADULTS
5% 38% 3% 31%
2% 26% 2% 11%
Adopteda child
Been afosterparent
Seriouslyconsideredfostering
Seriouslyconsideredadoption
Source: Barna Group - Three Trends on Faith, Work and Calling
In The Marketplace...what consumers are consuming
March 2014
3
Top 10 Domestic Films of 2013
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire2. Iron Man 33. Frozen4. Despicable Me 25. Man of Steel6. Monsters University7. Gravity8. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug9. Fast & Furious 6 10. Oz the Great and Powerful
This list closely resembles last year’s, which had superhero movies and Hunger Games at the top. The biggest difference is that this year’s list leans more family friendly.
Gravity was the only Best Picture nominee to break the top 10 in box-office sales, with $270 million, and less than 1 in 10 Americans reported seeing Gravity.
“How do movies fare among the genders? Do men and women attend the same movies? In general: yes. The exceptions seem to be among movies targeted more toward children, in which case women are more likely to have seen them. In Barna's movie tracking, Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, and Catching Fire all boasted a significantly higher viewership among women than men.”
Source: boxofficemojo.com
SS Returning to College - Boomers
“Boomers believe it isn’t about the years in your life, it’s about the life in your years,’ and they are constantly looking for ways to keep their minds and bodies active.”
Boomers are staying young by returning to college. The number of Boomers returning has grown nearly 20% in the past decade (a record-breaking two million) according to Fox Business. “Some are returning to pave the path for a new career, some to launch a business of their own, and others are returning for the fun of learning and to keep their mind sharp.”
A growing number of community colleges are tapping into this phenomena by introducing a “50 plus initiative,” an accelerated college curriculum to match older workers’ experience and interests with training opportunities in areas like tax preparation, volunteerism, and service activities.
Source: Engage:Boomers
SSSnapshots
UPGRADIA: The New Consumer Trend?Our increasing desire for the best, fastest, most modern technology is creating a new generation of upgrade-obsessed consumers. The difference is that rather than discarding old devices people look for ways to upgrade them through innovations and “hacks.” This fuels the expectations on upgrades to avoid the common response, “six months and all they’ve added is a slightly better camera?”
Trendwatching.com has coined a name for this obsession: Upgradia. This trend reaches beyond technology to the physical world.
The Lock8 (a bike lock) is an example of taking something that is considered “dumb” and making it “smart” through another object. Because of its integrated GPS, the Lock8 can lock your bike straight from your phone or automatically when your phone walks away from your bike. You can track your bike’s whereabouts, and it’s equipped with an alarm. Look for more everyday items to become “smart” and to therefore have a longer shelf life.
Source: trendwatching.com
65% of emails were openedon a smartphone or tablet
Email Opens by Device
48.23%
16.52%
35.25%Desktop
Smartphone
Tablet
Source: Tuesday Trends
Source: Barna Group - Sequels, Selfies and Space: 2013 at the Movies
Source: 2014 State of Dating in America
Singles’ Perception of Marriage ThreatsWhich do you believe is the greatest societal threat to marriage
today? (Only first choice is displayed)
46%42%
51%
Infidelity
17% 19%16%
Financialproblems
15% 14%17%
Lack offamily values
Same-sexmarriage
9% 11%6%
Acceptance of divorce
8% 9% 8%
Total
Men
Women
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