Blog 3- Draft 2

I was in agreement with all of my sources for the most part. The one thing I disagreed with was in the journal published by the American Association of Pediatrics. “Researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called ‘Facebook Depression,’ defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.” There is no such thing as “Facebook depression.” It’s called being addicted to Facebook or any other social media website. Well-qualified researchers and doctors came up with this, but it seems to me like a computer addiction problem. If the person was being cyber-bullied, I can see that as “Facebook Depression” or just depression.

                I can see how some people may become slightly depressed because of Facebook. Pictures of other girls may make another girl envious, think she isn’t pretty enough, not thin enough. To call the is “Facebook Depression” seem slightly ridiculous and unprofessional.

Blog 2- Draft 2

The media portrays teens as mischievous, mean, and sexual alcoholics. As a teen, I feel as though I can’t create my own identity because it has been created for me. I’m away at college, 400 miles away from any familiarity. My parents assume when I say “I went over my friend’s house last night,” that I was drinking or it was some party, when in reality it wasn’t. I’m in a sorority and the stereotype will never go away. I may be biased, but we do a great service to the community by working with our philanthropy and raising money constantly. When I wear letters, I get dirty looks, not only by students but by professors sometimes, “just another dumb sorority girl.” My identity as a teenager has been created for me as well as the billions of other teenagers in the United States and my identity as a sorority girl has been created for me, with no chance of changing it.

                “Teens who see and hear a lot about sex in the media may be more than twice as likely to have early sexual intercourse as those who are rarely exposed to sexual content” (Media may prompt teen sex). Most movies now-a-days have some type of sexual content in it; it’s unavoidable. Most teens see these acts in movies and shows and hear it in the lyrics of a song almost on a regular basis. A study published by the American Association of Pediatrics showed that teens exposed to sexual content from ages 12 to 14 were more at risk for early teen sex despite the disapproval of their parents.

                I hear parents say, “I remember when my daughter/son was a teenager. Never want to go back there!” Are teens really that bad? Does the media make adolescents act a certain way? Do parents see these things in the media and assume they’re child is doing it too? The media seems to be at fault, according to “Teen Health and the Media.” “Ads for alcohol run rampant during some of the television’s most popular programming.” Budweiser manufacturers spent over $20 million on elven commercials during the 2003 Super Bowl. A study found that 32% of 15 to 17 year olds sexual decisions were influenced by the media.

Blog 1- Draft 2

“How does the media portray teenagers and how does it affect them?” We have all seen movies where teenagers are drinking, engaging in promiscuous activities, using drugs, disobeying their parents and lots more. I became interested in this topic because of the article entitled “The Media made them do It” and “The Media made me do it.” I was shocked at the things I read that people did because they saw it on television or in a movie. I was astounded at the fact that anyone would set a baby’s crib on fire because it was in a movie or jump off the top of a waterfall, only to plummet to their death. It just seemed so crazy.

                I wanted to see different perspectives. I thought for sure not everyone believes all teens are portrayed as horrible, disrespectful human beings. I wanted personal opinions and thoughts, from interviews with teens and adults, as well as professional statements like that of the American Association of Pediatrics. I was expecting to find differing opinions- some people believing the media portrays teens as the world’s worst age group and actually considering that to be true and some thinking it’s a false accusation.

                I wondered where people got the idea to include teens drinking, abusing substances, and having sex, in the media. Do movie writers include teenage drinking, substance abuse, and sex, because they see and hear about teens doing it or do teens do it because they see on a screen or in a magazine? Not all teens drink on Friday and Saturday nights; not all teenagers engage in promiscuity; not all are aggressive; not every kid in middle school, high school, or college smoke weed or abuse any other substance. The media seems to generalize, creating an image in the minds of adults when they hear the word “teenager” or “adolescent.”

                I had an experience in high school with a group of girls, none of which were very heavy, who stopped eating because of the models they saw on a television show one night. One girl passed out at the gym and was rushed to the hospital where she was found to be under weight for her height. Personally, I have never had experiences with doing things I see on television or in movies or hear in a song, but other people have.

Blog 4- Draft 1

A.      What I’ve learned from the topic

·         Are there any new perspectives?

Ø  Not yet.

·         Opinions or assumptions that have been altered?

Ø  I had definitely thought about the impact of the media and teenagers, but I had never done research. I had no idea that there were so many people that believed that media is at fault for the way kids act today and the way they are viewed.

B.      My current opinion-

·         The media plays an important role in teen’s lives today. Although the media portrays teens to be, act, and look a certain way, teenagers are also at fault for feeding into this stereotype.

·         We all have brains, we can all think for ourselves. Just because the party in “Project X” looked fun, doesn’t mean I’m going to go drink and do drugs. Teens are at fault for thinking it’s cool but the media is at fault for portraying teens to be like this.

Blog 3- Draft 1

A.      Perspective I disagreed with? Facebook depression

·         In the article published by AAP, there is a section on Facebook depression.

·         Facebook depression is defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a lot of their time on any social media site, especially Facebook, and then start to have classic symptoms of depression.

·         There should be no such thing as “Facebook Depression.” I know well-qualified researchers and doctors came up with this, but I think it’s just a computer addiction problem. An addiction to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and more.

B.      How can you get the audience’s attention at the beginning of the blog and get them interested?

·         With a title like, “Can Someone Become Depressed from Facebook?” I would probably read it.

C.      Are there any situations in which this perspective might be valid or understandable?

·         If someone was being harassed or bullied on Facebook, it could be called “Facebook Depression,” Twitter- “Twitter Depression.”

·         A person really can become depressed because of Facebook, but there’s usually more to it. The person is being harassed, doesn’t feel pretty enough,  etc.

Blog 2- Draft 1

A.      My agreement?

·         The media portrays teens as mischievous, mean, and sexual alcoholics.

·         We aren’t given the opportunity to create an identity, it’s like someone created it for us.

B.      Why am I in agreement with this perspective?

·         A lot of parents will say, “I remember when my daughter/son was a teenager, never want to go back there!” or “Terrible teens.”

·         The media puts the idea into the heads of parents, adults in general, that all teenagers excessively party, have sex, fight, curse, etc.

·         Not all teens are like this. I go out with my friends, play lacrosse at school, in a sorority, and do all of my homework. I have a lot of friends who have never been to a party and they’re teenagers.

C.      What do you want an audience to think about regarding that issue would you want them to question?

·         …I don’t understand this question

D.      How can you get the audience’s attention at the beginning of the blog and get them interested?

·         Come up with an Interesting title using catching words.

·         Big, bold and colorful

E.       Which sources or examples from your research can you use in this blog to explain your perspective?

·         One of sources titled, “Bashing Youth,” uncovers media myths about teens. He says that not all STD’s are from teenagers, adults have them too.

Ø  He cites multiple articles from accredited publications that contribute these so-called “media myths.”

·         My last source gives statistics regarding commercials, advertisements, T.V. shows and more, that directly influence teen behavior

F.      How does it connect to, stand up against, your own observations and experiences?

·         I recently saw the new movie “Project X,” and after watching that it honestly made me want to rage! That’s an example of teens imitating what they see in a movie.

Blog 1- Draft 1

A.      Why did I choose this line of inquiry?

·         I was interested to see different perspectives.

·         I wanted personal as well as professional opinions

·         I was interested in the studies conducted and statistics  (for example: the AAP study, and the statistics given from Teen Health and the Media)

·         I had an experience in high school with a group of girls becoming anorexic from seeing the models on television

B.      What was my initial interest?

·         I wondered why the media portrays teens as being so promiscuous, violent, substance abusers and more.

·         I wanted to know where people got this information- from movies? T.V. shows? Maybe the movies and television shows made kids act a certain way therefore feeding into the media and their view of teenagers these days.

C.      Why did I see this as important?

·         Not all kids drink on Friday and Saturday nights; not all teenagers engage in sexual behavior with multiple people; not all are aggressive;  not every kid in middle school, high school or college smoke weed or abuse any other drug.

·         The media takes something that one kid or maybe a group of kids did and blows it way out of proportion and then proceeds to generalize, therefore adults begin to believe that all teens will act in these ways.