“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, abusing illegal substances, and disobeying
their parents. 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 seems so crazy to think people would actually do
things they saw on television or in a movie or read about in a magazine. I
would never do something I thought would endanger my life or someone else’s.
I wanted to see different
perspectives. I assumed there were going to be differing opinions in the topic
but as I began my research, I quickly realized that everyone believes teens are
portrayed as horrible, disrespectful human beings within the media. 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 opposing opinions- some people believing the media
portray 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 other substances. 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 of the girls passed out at the gym and was rushed to the
hospital where she was found to be extremely underweight for her height. My
cousin who is thirteen years old used to be very heavy. She is very tell for
her age and definitely overweight. Recently, I found out that she has been going
to counseling for having an eating disorder. I was completely shocked when I
heard and saw pictures of how much weight she had lost. Body image is something
every girl and a lot of boys struggle with and the media just makes it a lot
harder to deal with and be happy in their own skin. 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.
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