“Mass Media (Television, the Internet, Advertising) Influence Youth Too Much Nowadays.” to What Extent Is This True?

It is no secret that the current generation is obsessed with media. You cannot walk anywhere without seeing teenagers, adults, and even kids using technology and social media. Everywhere you look there are ads to purchase the latest and greatest clothing, technology, or beauty products. Television standards have been lowered by the FCC and shows with explicit content have now taken over television leaving teenagers to idolize a lifestyle that is not to their best interest. But how does this media really affect us? What age is most drawn in and how does it change the outlook of their future? This would fall under evaluation research, I am seeking to find out the impact that media has on the current generation.

The mass media consists of any means of communication that has the ability to reach a large amount of people. The term ‘media’ can refer to movies, television, the newspaper, etc. It is because of it’s ability to out reach to a mass quantity of people that it is able to “reinforce and teach societal values.” At a young age, socialization occurs in that it involves the “learning of the values and the norms of society” and adopting them into their own personal values (Perse, 2001.) Children often have little life experience so they learn and imitate their environment whether that be the characters on television or societal institutions like their families or teachers at school. Adolescents are more susceptible to socialization in that they are at a period in which they are trying to find

The media plays a huge part in the lives of teenage girls, from cheesy teen fashion magazines to model runway fashion shows, teens are constantly put under stress to look, dress, act, and even feel a certain way about themselves, but how can this actually affect them in the short term and the long term? Studies by Dr Nadia Micali, of the Institute of Child Health, University College, London show that up to one in ten girls from age 12-19 had an eating disorder, the pressures of modern day vain have almost consumed the mental health of a whole generation. "I know this is going to sound weird," Cassie confesses, "but when I eat too much junk food, I'm so guilty I actually hate myself. I'm the kind of person who has plenty

In fact, media is contributing to many false advertisements and unrealistic images that cause eating disorders. Media gives us these false beauty standards by making teens think they have to be thin and tall. Meanwhile, many teens want to be like the models and they try to be thin but instead of doing it the healthy way. The way they do it is to skip meals and that develops eating disorders. For instance, Arnett says, “Marketing and advertisement agencies focus on models such as tall, thin women or a muscular man with a chiseled jawbone when casting for photo shoots and television commercial” (265.) Therefore, we experience and seen is that the media do give us a false beauty standard which makes teens want to do everything that is possible to become like models. This has contributed

Teenagers are constantly bombarded with media on how to dress, how to act, and who to hang with to be considered “cool.” As stated by the Common Sense Census, the amount of time teenagers spend on some form of media is on average nine hours. More than half of the hours they are awake is spent consuming media, making them vulnerable to the ideas of the media. In recent years, the number of teenage girls that suffer from eating disorders has increased drastically due to this increase of media exposure, but it isn’t so much the amount of exposure as the kind of exposure. The question of how much influence media has on eating disorders

It's imperative to understand the impact of mass media on youth and adolescence, as these groups are often the most impressionable - making them easy targets for large corporations.Right now, not many companies are using their platforms

In today’s society, is the media mirroring our behavior, or are we mirroring the media’s portrayal of us? That question was posed in the documentary “The Merchants of Cool”, narrated by Douglas Rushkoff. This program examined the teenage culture and how the media is used to manipulate and portray our generation. With examples from Sprite, MTV, WB, and other massive media outlets, evidence is shown that our media-teenager relationship is tainted with sex, music, rebellion and a broad image of what it is to be “cool”. Most of the images portrayed of teenagers aren’t the best. With TV shows such as “MTV Spring Cruise”, teenagers are shown as sex-driven, reckless kids. TV corruption is just one of many examples of the blurred line between reality and perception in media and advertising.

The culture of media has now taken a large affect on young girls and their body images. Young girls are feeling dissatisfied with their bodies because of the way society views women. The media tells us what to look like, what clothes to wear, make-up, what cars to drive, and sometimes what to eat. Media is changing people constantly through advertising and by showing us the looks and fashions of celebrities. Advertising has negative effects on the formation of oneself as seen through the nature of the promotion of its’ products. This effect is particularly prevalent among young adolescent girls. Young girls feel the need to join dietary plans or result to eating disorders Advertising in society results in negative effects on girls through self-image that leads to harmful consequences. The media is the biggest factor contributing to girls’ dissatisfaction with their bodies, causing eating disorders.

Once the attention is caught, young people then make the mistake of falling under society’s chokehold. They attempt to reinvent themselves to fit society’s new standard. Societal pressure becomes a severe issue because individuals desire to meet the media’s unattainable image. It is important that today's youth begins to open their eyes to the harmful effects media’s influence can contribute to; along with what steps can be taken to resolve this detrimental issue that has infected America.

The affects from these glorified standards effect many in the form of Body Image and Eating Disorders; such as Anorexia, Bulimia, and Muscle Dysmorphia. The health concerns stemmed from these diseases are very grave, and can lead to severe problems – even resulting in death. Companies that realize the effects of the media on young adults have taken initiative and started a new trend, promoting positive self-image. In time, let’s hope this becomes a turning point, where individuals can feel comfortable in their own

Adolescence is a time where an individual’s sense of identity starts to emerge and a majority of their social norms are perceived. In this day and age, adolescents live in a world heavily submerged around media, which plays an important and habitual part of an adolescents' life. In a national survey conducted in 2009, adolescents on average spend more than 7.5 hours using some sort of media a day (Rideout, Foehr, Roberts, 2010). With this unprecedented access to the world, individuals are learning and connecting with many different people and ideas through the media (Brown & Bobkowsi, 2011). With different forms of media playing an influential part in an adolescents’ life, their perceived social norms may be seriously influenced.

The Personal Interest Project I conducted took me on a journey of discovery gaining various opinions and increased knowledge in regards to role models, their influences and societies selections. The data I collected proved to be interesting although it supported my initial hypothesis that persons within the media have direct impact upon viewers especially upon adolescence. As technology develops the media has increased ability to showcase particular individuals and influence viewers in different ways. The media’s capability of remaining constantly present or simply accessible further pressures the influence it has upon social opinion and decisions.

“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it

In today’s society, there are a number of factors that affect a child’s ability to learn. The media, for good and for bad, is the primary teacher of American youth. This environment reflects life itself, sometimes in a corrupt way, including the positive and heinous parts, along with the beautiful and hideous parts, as well as the charitable and violent parts. It is almost impossible to protect American youth from experiences reflecting the adult world when the media invades homes and becomes so much a part of everyday living. “American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching television, 10 hours a week online, 4 hours a week reading magazines, and 17 hours a week listening to music” (Miss). Even though mass media is a huge part of a

Media such as the internet, broadcasting, and publishing is a way to express opinions and keep up to date with the latest fashion trends. While these trends continue to go on, new trends are thought of, the trends may be a little tricky to keep up with even for celebrities. While the thought of being perfect for society, cause many adolescents to breakdown for following the false beliefs of society. Some people may use the media to be updated on important news. On the other hand, others believe the media is a horrible setting, resulting in adolescent to do whatever it takes to become just like them, poisoning their minds to become something they are not. The media produces bad influences for body image and messes with adolescents’ minds.