Media is influential to the teens

Essay Instructions:

Purpose: To critically analyze media themes and assumptions that teens are exposed to through the media and integrate this information to provide comprehensive health teaching for families. Task: 1. Choose one of the activities (A, B, C, or D) listed below and follow the instructions. This is not a paper! 2. Answer all of the questions within the activity based on your observations and thoughts. 3. At the end of the activity, answer the following questions of the overall themes and influences teens are exposed to: a. Are you surprised at any of your findings? b. How do you think parents should be educated? c. Find a research article about adolescent peer pressures or media influences and apply it to your findings. d. How will you integrate this knowledge into providing healthcare for teens? A. Find two teen magazines (“Seventeen”, “Teen Magazine”, “Teen People”, “Teen YM”, etc.) 1. Analyze the table of contents, what do you think the most important issues to teens are based on table of contents? 2. Look at ads, what is being marketed to teens? 3. What are the physical characteristics of the models in the ads? 4. What values are promoted in the articles? 5. What are the advertisements in the magazines? What do you notice about the products advertised? 6. What health advice is given, if any? B. Listen to FM 99.5, 101.1, 95.5, 98.7, or 94.7 radio stations. Listen to songs on two of these radio stations for at least 30 minutes. 1. Make a list of the songs you heard on each station. 2. What was the general connotation for the song? 3. How often and in what context do the lyrics mention sex, drugs, tobacco, friendship, or violence? 4. What values are promoted by the lyrics? 5. What terms are used to describe sexual behavior of both women and men? 6. What commercials were played in between songs? What did you notice about the products advertised? C. Watch at least two different shows directed to adolescents, such as, but not limited to: “16 and Pregnant” “Teen Moms” “Real World”, “One Tree Hill”, “Family Guy” “The Simpsons” “Glee” “Greek” “Vampire Diaries” “Pretty Little Liars” “Gossip Girl” “90210”. (Most of these shows can be found on www(dot)hulu(dot)com or www(dot)cwtv(dot)com) *Please let me know for prior approval if the shows you watch are not listed above. Remember this is tv directed at adolescents, so some shows may not be relevant. 1. What are the major themes of the episodes? 2. Count the number of times and in what context sex, alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or drugs are referenced in the program. What terminology was used for drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol? 3. What connotations are made? 4. What physical characteristics are highlighted? 5. Describe the main characters physical attributes. 6. What values are discussed or portrayed? 7. What commercials are played? What did you notice about the products advertised? D. Look online and find at least two teen websites. 1. Compare and contrast the content for these sites. 2. Are there any legal disclaimers on entry to these sites? 3. What values are promoted on these sites? 4. What are the major themes of these websites? 5. What pictures are used on these websites? What are the physical attributes of the people in any pictures? 6. How easy was it to find these websites? 7. What advertisements are on these web pages? 8. What are the topics on the discussion boards? 9. Is there a chat room? If so, join in on one and read the topics that are being presented. What topics are being discussed?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

MEDIA
Name:
Course:
Professor Name:
(July 02, 2012)
Media
The media is influential to the teens nowadays. It has influenced the way teens think, act, dress, speak the making of a teen is media. I was able to look at two magazine that are directed to the teens that is, Seventeen and Teen people. In fact, these magazines capture one`s attention immediately because of their table of contents. In the Seventeen for example, the table of contents was displaying fashion, beauty, celebrities, love life, health, college life and parties. In the teen people as well, there are issues of celebrities, television shows to watch by teens, style, pets, games and babies.
It was amazing to look at the ads in these magazines also. Ads to do with beauty, latest movies, and the next performing artiste and all about babies are displayed in these magazines. Surprising enough, these magazines paint a picture to the teens that every teen should be the super model to appear in magazines every day, no wonder the teens will do anything to get there. Why I say this is because when you look at the physical characteristics of the models presented in the magazines, they have no tummy, there are extraordinarily beautiful and generally they got it all. The teens will later be advised on how to flatten their tummies for them who have, how to make their faces look prettier and even how to make their hair become exactly like them.
Now, coming to think of the values these magazines are promoting, it is so unfortunate to the growing teen. Gossip, partying, beauty at whatever cost, divorce and premarital sex are what the eyes of the teen fall on. Even when you look at the products advertised, you find that the magazines concentrates with beauty products to make the teens appear more beautiful, latest movies, and the magazine itself with best offers. All these products are actually meant to change the view of life by the teen where they are made to think and act beauty, movies and even read that which is misleading every day. Amazing enough, the health advice given in these magazines are to do the sexual health, meaning that sex to a teen is important when it is practiced in a health way!
Looking at these magazines, I am really surprised at what I saw. I wondered where the teen is going in life and how the to-be adult made from this teen will be. Interesting enough, these teens are the parents of tomorrow; i wonder how we make a parent from the teen influenced by these magazines on how they think and act and a parent who has grown up knowing that life is all about fun.
For that matter, parents should actually be educated on how to bring up their children in a good way so that the children can live a better life than they themselves lived when they were teens. This is only possible by educating these parents through workshops and showing them the need to actually expose what is in the media to their children and let them know what is harmful to feed on and what is not harmful. The t...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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