When I was an intern with a youth group in college, all the girls talked about the show Pretty Little Liars. I didn't have cable at my parents house, and in my dorm room, I was always too busy with class work to think about watching anything on a scheduled basis.
Now that the first two seasons are on Netflix, I thought I would check it out and see why all the girls loved it so much. I have officially watched all 47 episodes, and I wish that I would have made a point to watch them back then. The show is definitely addictive, the plot makes you want to watch the next episode immediately after the previous one ended, but thats not why I wish I had watched it sooner.
I wish I had watched it so that I would have had conversations with the girls about it. These characters are "high school" girls dealing with the normal hardships of teenage life on top of some crazy personal issues, all while being blackmailed by someone they don't know (or know but aren't sure of).
If I still worked with youth, I would make a point to talk about each one of the issues that the characters face in the show. Bullying, someone being gay, parents splitting up after an affair, an absent father, a father in the military, self esteem, a girl dating her teacher, innocent people being accused of crazy things, people being framed, murder, and so much more.
Thinking about the shows that kids watch these days makes me want to write a Bible study about the issues they talk about and the crazy gap between TV shows and reality, especially as a Christian. It makes me wonder if its better to not watch these shows, or watch them and make sure to talk about them with your kids.
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