Media Influences on Adolescent: Social Norms and Identity Essay

Media influences play a critical role in how adolescents develop their personality, peer pressure and how they define their identity as they are making their transition to being young adults.

I am writing you in order to discuss the negative portrayal of teenagers in today’s media. Overall, I fell disheartened about how we as young people are demonized by the media. As you may know, bad press quickly escalates to sweeping statements and stereotypes.

Report provides evident that social media have an influence on underage drinking. Social media have more effect on boys than it does on girls. Report shows (a) that (20%) boys and 10% girls under the age of 21 experimented with alcohol drinking after viewing alcohol contents on social media, (b) that (40%) boys and (25%) girls under the age of 21 are willing to experiment with drinking alcohol, and (c) that (80%) boys and (90%) girls did not drink any alcohol after the experiment.

The Representation of Teenagers in the Media Throughout the media we see representation of teenagers. This can show teenagers in positive and negative lights. Teenagers are found in magazines, advertising, television and films, and they are targeted by newspapers and magazines etc. There are two different newspapers reports from the ‘Daily Mail’ and the ‘Dorset Echo’ that are part of this representation.

In the United States, binge drinking among college students continues to be a prevalent health issue due to the potential negative consequences that can impact their safety and wellbeing. While there are a number of factors that may potentially influence a college students’ decision to use alcohol, research suggests that social norms conveyed on social networking sites such as Facebook can have a strong influence drinking behavior. This paper will give an overview of the current literature surrounding this issue and propose a qualitative research project that will help expand our knowledge of perceived drinking norms and the use of online social networking sites. The purpose of this study is to explore college students’ perceptions of displayed references to alcohol use on Facebook and what presentations would cause them to worry for a friend’s health and safety. This information may potentially be valuable in the development of effective evidence-based intervention programs aimed at decreasing binge drinking among college students.

Adolescents are an interesting population to work with. A lot of social workers avoid working with them because they can be intimidating as the filter on them is limited depending on the young person you are working with. I have been working with teens since 2007 and I have never experienced one being like another. For the young people, there is a lot that influences who they are as a person. The biggest influence will be their parents followed by their friends. Aside from that, there is religion, school, T.V/media, ETC. When doing an assessment it is important to gather as much information as possible yet be aware that this age range has issues that are more pertinent to this age than other age ranges. The biggest ones are body image and sexuality.

The main case is early sex. As indicated by Stockwell, an examination demonstrates that youngsters who are presented to a great deal of sexual substance on TV are more to liable to have intercourse by 16 years old than those with restricted presentation. This demonstrates that the adolescents may be impact to have a sex while they are under age (2006). Early sex may prompt adolescent pregnancy. As per Coffey, the RAND Corp. study demonstrates that there is a connection between a high presentation to sexual substance on TV and teenager pregnancies. Specialists talked with 2,003 youngsters amid a three year study period and found that 744 teenagers said they had occupied with sex and 718 of them imparted data about their pregnancy histories. An aggregate of 91 talked with high schoolers said they had encountered a pregnancy or had gotten a young lady pregnant. This study demonstrates that adolescents with high presentation to sexual substance on TV were twice liable to have been included in a pregnancy as youngster (2008). Ultimately, sexually transmitted illness might likewise be an aftereffect of viewing a considerable measure sexual substance on TV. As per Parent Television Council site, young people who watch numerous genders on TV tend take part in sexual practices all the more regularly and have a tendency to have more sex accomplices. This is a vital issue on the grounds that these high

Eyal and his colleagues examine the presence of sexual messages among teenagers in the United States. Comparing findings from two seasons, 2001—2002 & 2004-2005, the finding show that these programs contained a large number of sexual messages, though their frequency decreased as time progressed, and most of the messages were in dialogue form. Utilizing Social Cognitive Theory, Eyal emphasize socialization as the key process to forming sexual identities, placing value on the role that media plays in shaping adolescents’ sexual knowledge, expectations, and behaviors. The sexual suggestions in media glamorize and glorify sexuality, which can prompt dangerous sexual conduct. Instead of instructing youths about the hurtful impacts, this kind of media promotes promiscuity without regard to consequences. Strasburger (2010) states, "75 % of prime-time programs have sexual content and only 14% of those mention risks or responsibilities of sexual activity. 40% of these lyrics have sexual material and only 6% contain healthy sexual

Technology used for communication has created social awkwardness that is believed to make the younger generation ineptitude when it comes to social skills. Today however stereotypical ideals, perceived mostly from adults, are inaccurate with today's youth because it actually enhances social skills through a constant way for one another to keep in "touch."

There are three basic schools of thought concerning the media’s impact (or lack thereof) on adolescent development. One argues that adolescents’ knowledge about the world, attitudes and values, and behavior are influenced by the content to which they are exposed. According to this view, the media shape adolescents’ interests, motives, and beliefs about the world—a view known as cultivation theory.

My hypothesis was that if adolescents are largely exposed to media; they will be affected it to a point where they learn and accept certain things about sex through it. Independent variables would be the extent to which adolescents are exposed to the media. The dependent variables were the ways in which adolescents were affected by the media. I used resources such as Gale and SIRS to look up articles related to my topic. Eventually, I went out and used the information from my articles to help create questions for my questionnaire and interview. To research my population I used these two methods of research: a questionnaire and interview. I conducted my research in Cocalico High School. I asked my SAT prep class, civics and government class,

As children grow up, every situation they are exposed to has the power to have a lasting impact on their development. Even overhearing a simple conversation can aid or hinder a child in their growth as they learn to navigate the world. Due to the impressionable nature of youth, it should come as no surprise that something as far reaching as the media can have powerful effects on children and teens. In the modern world, media is everywhere and it is unavoidable. People are exposed to numerous types of media from a very early age. Phones, television, video games, and the internet, all have huge impacts on what people think and how they live their lives. Those impacts can especially be seen on children and teens because they are still developing their personality and worldview.

As Berger (2012) estimates, a typical 8- to 18-year-old American spends approximately 8 hours with media daily. The time devoted to media involves such activities as watching television, listening to the radio, watching computer, reading a printed medium, and chatting on the telephone among other activities. However, along with retrieving a great amount of data from media, teenagers unconsciously adopt attitudes and views, that, to some extent,

The media is a huge part in everyone's lives and they have a great influence on the actions we partake in on a daily basis. Though adults don't usualy fall into the pressure of the media, young children and teenagers ae highly sussestable to what the media is telling them to do and what's 'cool'. A major action glorified by the media is smoking and it pressures minors to take up the horrible habit as an attempt to be happy or some how be like their favorite celebrity. Media and holly wood especially have both contributed to an era of people smoking and are a direct cause for the increase of youth smoking today.

Unlike previous generations who were “introduced” to the internet, television and social media, the present generation is “born” in it. By this statement, it is implied that children today are much closer to technology and media than adults are, and so, are more likely to be affected by it. Perhaps, the highest impact on the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents is by media due to its ready availability through Smart phones, tablet PCs and other portable devices. This paper attempts to evaluate some of the influences of media on various aspects of child and adolescent development.