| Free writing |
[Oct. 10th, 2006|11:30 am] |
I plan on writing my expository essay on the influence of media on teen girls. Today, there are many TV shows that place emphasis on standards for young teens. Even though many teens have strong feelings and are able to stand up for themselves yet, they still follow these underlying rules of how they should be. How are teens influenced by the media?
For example, many young women watch the reality tv show called, My Super Sweet 16. This show is about young teens who come from rich families and have lavish birthday parties that cost in the ranges of 100,000 to upwards of 200,000 dollars. The teens expect a huge party which includes hundreds of guests and the most expensive bands and food. With all these expensive items, the also expect to receive a very expensive gift. One young girl was given a brand new Range Rover from her parents. Keep in mind, this girl is only 16 years old.
The majority of American citizens cannot afford to give their children a party as such, but it does boost up the want for lavish and expensive gifts even if they know their parents cannot afford a party as the teens have in My Super Sweet 16. An exepflication of this would be a friend of my family, their daughter watched the show and she told her parents that she wanted a thousand dollars worth of gifts for her upcoming 16th birthday. Of course her parents would never agree to this, but they wondered why she would think that expecting gifts worth over a thousand dollars was okay. It seems as though the media isn't selling the actually party itself, but the importance of being rich and "having it all". Is having it all really that important? What are we feeding our children?
Another example, the TV show known as Laguna Beach. This show is based in California and is made up of a bunch of high school teens along with all of their drama. A typical episode is based on who is the most pretty among the girls, who is dating which guy, who stole a boyfriend or a girlfriend. All the teens on the show seem to give off a "I'm better then you attitude." We all know that having an attitude as such is not right, but for some reason many love the show.
I know a few girls who love watching the show and they seem to mimick the show through their actions. I wonder if they do this intentionaly or it is done subconciously. Does the media reflect teens, or do teens reflect the media? |
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| Comments: |
I think that the last question in your entry is a fascinating one and one that will probably be studied for years to come. It seems like you have a really good start here and a good idea of what shows you want to use as examples. | |
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