Influence Media Has on Teens

Influence Today’s Media Has on Teens Every day teens watch TV and see movies that glamorize violent and inappropriate behavior. On the covers of magazines are spray-tanned, models or celebrities that teens idolize. Physical appearance is exaggerated by the media, and is seen by teens, as more important than intellectual abilities. Boys and girls between the ages of 13-18Teens feel that they need to be just as beautiful as the super models, or just as muscular as the professional athletes.
I believe that the Media has a negative influence on teens; it promotes foul language, teen fights, and popularity contests. Some people believe that the Media is not the cause of the way teens look or act. They believe that the appearance and actions of teens is their choice. Media content may give violent youth a way to express their rage, but people believe that it does not actually cause that rage. While it is true that rage comes from a variety of things, teens look to magazines and TV for inspiration.
Some teens even look at how to live their lives, instead of being unique individuals and living a life of their own. Magazines like People and OK are the main sources for celebrity information. The main reason teens read these magazines, is for the celebrity gossip. “Britney Spears shaves her head,” “Kourtney Kardashian, Pregnant Again! ” Sadly, this is what teens read, and for most of them; especially girls, they are reading about their celebrity role models.

If a teen is reading about someone they look up to and see that; for example, that person dyed their hair pink, chances are the teen might also dye their hair pink. Remember the phrase, “Monkey see, monkey do? ” Well, that statement sums up the influence that magazine’s can have on teens. Reality television, like MTV’s popular shows “Jersey Shore” and “The Real World,” display violent/inappropriate behavior and foul language. Both shows are about guys and girls that have never met before, who all come together and live in the same house.
These shows have a negative influence on teens because every episode that is aired features sexual content, the cast “partying hard” every night, and cast members being violent and disrespectful towards each other or other people. Shows that glamorize sexual promiscuity and reward selfish, scheming contestants, teach teens that these qualities and behaviors are desirable. The Media negatively influences teens and creates animosity amongst them. Teens are at a point in their lives where they are trying to discover who they are.
To copy what they read in magazines and watch on TV comes a lot easier to them, rather than finding themselves on their own. If magazines and TV were to talk about more positive things and promote “average-looking” people, teens would be able to relate it to their own lives. (Miller, 2010) The topics of MTV’s reality shows portray inappropriate behavior and lifestyles. Nevertheless, it would be a great idea if teens shut out reality TV and gossip magazines from their lives. They would have a lot more free time to find themselves. Plus, there’s enough drama in high school as it is, they don’t need to be watching and reading about more.