EFFECT OF MASS MEDIA ON TEENAGERS.   Term Paper ID:30151 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses ways in which movies, television, radio, print and the Internet influence teenage attitudes , self-image and behaviors.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses ways in which movies, television, radio, print and the Internet influence teenage attitudes, self-image and behaviors. Negative effects of media emphasis on thinness. Relationship between media & self-esteem. How film, TV & music affirm the validity of sexual activity for teens; alcohol use. Aggression & violence. Paper Introduction: The Effect of Media on Teenagers The media exerts an enormous, almost a normative influence, over the lives of men, women, adolescents and children. It influences, particularly among teenagers, the ways in which individuals and groups dress, talk, behave, and think (Teen People, p. 28). The media, in the forms of movies, television, radio, and print as well as the new electronic communications medium of the Internet, helps to connect individuals to one another and to the world; invariably, this powerful influence shapes the ways in which viewers or participants perceive the world and their own place within that world. Given that teenagers are often highly impressionable and subject to such influences, this report will consider the effects of media on this particular age group. Specifically, the report will consider the ways Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Video games, television shows, music and even Websites that celebrate violence have proliferated. 799) believes that the media also tends toestablish a level of approval for adolescent sexuality and sexual acting-out that has been associated with an increase in teen pregnancy, sexuallytransmitted diseases, and even sexual violence or aggression directedagainst females. 15) argues that parents must become more aware of what kindsof media their children are using and must take a more active role inoverseeing children's exposure to media. 14-17.Polce-Lynch, Mary, Myers, Barbara J., Kliewer, Wendy, and Kilmartin, Christopher. By the time they leave high school, mostadolescents will have spent 15, hours watching television. 54) further states that children and adolescents areexposed to numerous acts of violence and aggression as a matter of coursein the mass media - on television, in films, and in music videos and music. 227), give cause for very real concern. A final area in which the mass media impacts upon youth is withrespect to teenager spending and consumer purchase behavior. Thus, the influence of these images may be of enormoussignificance in shaping the attitudes and behaviors and attitudes of youngpeople. In fact, says Malcolm (p. Thevery fact that such behaviors are routinely represented in the mass medialends them credence and accords them tacit approval. Mass media have become increasingly focused on thedepiction of pre- and extramarital sex, including sexual interactionbetween adolescents; Chapin (p. 8 ) states, for example, that adolescentswho regularly watch sexually explicit TV and films, or listen to music withsexual themes (and attend concerts in which young males and females behavein a sexually explicit and enticing manner) are more likely than their non-viewing or listening peers to engage in early sexual activity. Many teenagers respond to these messages based onwishful thinking, such as wishing they could be like the characters in themedia or expecting that alcohol use or drug use could make them so. These researchers also suggestthat such images influence adolescent males by creating unrealisticexpectations of their female peers and dissatisfaction with their owninability to attract or date comparable females. Chapin(p. Austin, Pinkleton, and Fujioka (p. John R. These relationships, according to Polce-Lynch, et al (p. Certain mediasuch as gangsta rap regularly depict females as nothing more than sexualobjects and glamorize male aggression toward women. 28). "Are Ads Making You Sick?" Current Health 2, April 1999, 25(8), pp. Other media, including concerts by popular teen singers such asBritney Spears, suggest to young girls that popularity can be acquired bywearing scanty clothing and becoming sexually available. The vast majority of research suggests that this impact is moreoften negative than positive. "The Role of Interpretation Processes and Parental Discussion in the Media's Effects on Adolescents' Use of Alcohol." Pediatrics, February 2 , 1 5(2), pp. "AAP Statement on Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media." American Family Physician, May 1, 2 1, 63(9), p. To blame entertainment figures for certaincrimes committed by teens is ludicrous." Another area in which teenagers appear to be influenced by the mediacenters upon the use of violence and excessively aggressive behavior. Young people learn from and imitatethe behavior of people on film or videotape, including commercials. 1862. Austin, et al (p. This suggests that the influence of the mass media on youngpeople can be either mediated or controlled by active parenting. 7) draws upon psychological research to assert thatteenagers are developing an identity based on the images they see inadvertising and that these same young people are helping to shape consumerpurchase decisions for adults as well. Unfortunately, in a world in which both parentsoften work and young people are constantly bombarded by traditional as wellas new media, exercising such oversight is an increasingly difficult task. 28-29.Austin, Erica W., Pinkleton, Bruce E., and Fujioka, Yuki. Of course, as Teresa Malcolm (p. However, as Teen People (p.28) notes, "the media provide information, but what we as viewers do withthat knowledge is up to us.... 14) as more likely to exert a negative influenceover pre-teens than teenagers themselves. Gilbert (p. Chapin (p. No direct causal relationship between mediadrinking, drug use, violence, or sexuality has been found. While it is doubtful that research will reveal that any specific act ofadolescent violence - such as the shootings at Columbine High School inLittleton, Colorado - are directly "caused" by exposure to such acts, it islikely that such exposure has the effect of rendering violence commonplace,if not acceptable. As Chapin (p.8 2) has commented, sexually promiscuous behavior is associated inadolescence with an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, includingAIDS. 28). "Adolescent Sex and Mass Media: A Developmental Approach." Adolescence, Winter 2 , 35(14 ), pp.799-8 8.Farrington, Jan. Cross-sectional studies have observed a positiveassociation between exposure to beauty and fashion magazines and higherlevels of weight concerns or eating disorder symptoms in girls. Girlsappear to be particularly vulnerable to media influences with respect tobody image and attributes of feminine attractiveness. 54-63.Gilbert, James. 54-55.Malcolm, Teresa. Given that teenagers are often highly impressionable and subject tosuch influences, this report will consider the effects of media on thisparticular age group. 1862), is the fact that "in all typesof media, sexual messages are becoming more explicit in dialogue, lyrics,and behavior." These messages often contain unrealistic, inaccurate, andmisleading information that young people accept as fact. Specifically, the report will consider the ways inwhich mass media influences teenage violence, self-image, sexuality,consumer purchases, and alcohol and/or drug use - to name only a few areasin which media's influence can be overwhelming for young people searchingfor autonomy and identity (Teen People, p. Parental control oroversight of media access and exposure may be the only way to reduce theeffects of such exposure. 8 1) also points to rock music videos and rock music concerts inwhich young, popular entertainers are commonly seen in scanty clothingwhile singing sexually explicit lyrics and performing generally eroticdances as evidence of the influences on adolescents. At the same time,Gilbert (p. According to Austin, etal (p. Research in the area of how the media affects teenagers' body imageand thin ideal endorsement indicates that media seem to have an impact uponbody image disturbance (Botta, p., 22). This occurs, in part, because ofa process known as identification in which relatively unsophisticated anduninformed young people believe that by emulating the behaviors andattitudes of media personalities or fictional characters, they will acquirethe status of those characters or personalities. By affirming the validity of sexual activity for young teenagers, themedia have a powerful impact on sexual activities and behaviors. "Hot Topic: Our News Team's Views." Teen People, June 1, 2 1, 4(5), pp. Just as television andother media programming shapes adolescents' attitudes toward behavior, sodoes the media influence their purchase decisions. 54), is a steady progression toward greater tolerance of all types ofdeviant or antisocial behavior; it is this movement, and not merely mediaviolence, that may be causally associated with an increase in certain typesof teenage violence. In this television show, a group of attractive high schoolstudents are regularly depicted smoking marijuana, drinking beer, andengaging in sexual activity. 14) suggests, media directed towardyoung people is undoubtedly more violent in its content and message todaythan it was in the past. 6-1 .Field, Alison E., Camargo, Carlos A., Taylor, C. Drug use and alcohol consumption appear to be commonplace in manydifferent forms of media. Most of these examples ofviolence are clearly positioned within the realm of fiction or fantasy andare seen by Malcolm (p. Mediamessages in the form of advertising and programming as well as music videosappear to be associated with early onset of drinking in particular, as wellas the use of such gateway drugs as marijuana. 225). 343-358.Botta, Renee A. The constant bombardment of young females with images of glamorousyet unhealthy and unrealistically thin models, singers, and actressescreates a situation in which most young females experience some level ofnegative body image and lower self-esteem. 22-24.Chapin, John R. The media, in the forms of movies,television, radio, and print as well as the new electronic communicationsmedium of the Internet, helps to connect individuals to one another and tothe world; invariably, this powerful influence shapes the ways in whichviewers or participants perceive the world and their own place within thatworld. James Gilbert (p.54), in commenting on the new wave of school violence in places likeLittleton, Colorado, contends that violence in the media cannot be helddirectly responsible for increases in teenage violence. 344), the continued depiction of alcohol and drug use as "cool" sendthe message that teenagers who use either substance will experience anincrease in popularity among their peers. 8 ) reported that media content is often highly sexuallycharged and that the increase in the depiction of sexual activity ontelevision and in film appears to be associated with an increase of sexualactivity among adolescents as well as a lowering at the age at whichfemales in particular experience sexual intercourse for the first time.Chapin (p. Farrington(p. It is important to be suspicious of any attributions of direct cause-and-effect relationships between media violence and real world violence.Malcolm (p. They tend tohighlight the enormous and normative influence that the media can exert onyounger people. Barr, Berkey, Catherine S., Roberts, Susan B., and Colditz, Graham A. There are more than 2 , television advertisements each year, with uncounted thousands ofadvertisements in print, on the Internet, and in other media. "Television Images and Adolescent Girls' Body Image Disturbance." Journal of Communication, Spring 1999, pp. Monica Preboth (p. 23). 1861) has reported that American children spendmore than 38 hours per week using media such as television, music,computers, and video games. A currentlypopular television situation comedy called "That 7 's Show" is an excellentexample of how not-so-subtle media characterizations can overtly condonesuch behaviors. Chapin (p. Male adolescents, onthe other hand, appear to find validation for aggressive behaviors andattitudes in the mass media and even to respond to media characterizationsof females as sexual objects. This program affirms for young people thevalidity and acceptance of such activities. 343) haveasserted that teenagers are exposed to many alcohol and drug-relatedmessages in the media. It influences, particularlyamong teenagers, the ways in which individuals and groups dress, talk,behave, and think (Teen People, p. 8 1) claims that adolescents spend more time watching television andlistening to sexually explicit music than they do in school or with theirparents. Parents are also responsible foreducating their children as to what kinds of behaviors are and are notacceptable. For young female teenagers inparticular, the undue emphasis in the mass media on thinness tends to belinked to an increase in personal dissatisfaction and lowered self-esteem.Additionally, the continued emphasis on the maintenance of a low weight anda high level of perceived physical attractiveness for women tends to fosterfurther dissatisfaction with the self (Botta, p. Farrington (p. However, it isunlikely that such relationships do not exist. 54) makes the case that repeated exposure to all kinds ofviolent and aggressive behavior desensitizes individuals to violence. 225) on the relationshipbetween media influence, self-esteem and gender, body image, and sexualharassment tended to reveal that the media tends to be one of the mostsignificant influences during the entire period of adolescence. Moresignificant, according to Preboth (p. "Washington Diarist: Juvenilia." The New Republic, June 14, 1999, pp. At work in the entire national culture, says Gilbert(p. The media also appear to be influential in facilitating adolescentalcohol and drug use. 347) maintain that when themedia associate positive outcomes with either drinking or drug use,teenagers are more likely to participate in such activities. Formany decades, all forms of media have been closely scrutinized by socialscientists and others who believe that depictions of violence and/orcriminal behavior in various media has had the effect of lending a certaindegree of social approval to these kinds of actions. For some adolescentfemales, the onset of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia is also associatedwith such media images Polce-Lynch, Myers, Kliewer, and Kilmartin, p. Recent data show that between one-third and one-half of high schoolstudents begin experimenting with alcohol by eighth grade, with two-thirdsexperimenting by the time they are in ninth grade. "Adolescent Self-Esteem and Gender: Exploring Relations to Sexual Harassment, Body Image, Media Influence, and Emotional Expression." Journal of Youth And Adolescence, April 2 1, 3 (12), pp. 54) argued that the development of eatingdisorders among adolescent females is overtly encouraged by mass mediadepictions of unrealistically thin body ideals that are unattainable formost females. The mostlikely mechanisms through frequency of exposure to the mass media increasesthe likelihood that a girl becomes concerned with her weight or developseating disorder symptoms are via encouraging girls to compare their bodieswith those depicted in the media. The Effect of Media on Teenagers The media exerts an enormous, almost a normative influence, over thelives of men, women, adolescents and children. Research conducted by Polce-Lynch, et al (p. Works CitedAnonymous. 6) contends that television and other media advertising have becomeincreasingly focused on younger consumers who have increased purchasingpower due to a more generally affluent society. The popularity of fast food restaurantchains is an excellent example of how advertising fosters parentaldecisions as well as teenagers' decisions. This is something thatadvertisers have long recognized. 225-243.Preboth, Monica. "Teen Violence: Does Violent Media Make Violent Kids?" National Catholic Reporter, May 28, 1999, 35(3 ), pp. Thus, as this brief report has indicated, the media have a direct andextremely powerful impact upon attitude and behavior formation in youngpeople. Noting that the media is not the only source of pressure to be thinor to be attractive to members of the opposite sex, Field, Camargo, Taylor,Berkey, Roberts, and Colditz (p. The effect of suchimages is to give tacit approval to adolescent sexual activity and even tosuggest that such activity is necessary and vital to the developmentaltasks that confront adolescents. 16), children who are exposed tofamily violence are much more likely to tolerate violence or behaveviolently than children who merely see fictionalized or computer-generatedviolence. "Peer, Parent, and Media Influences on the Development of Weight Concerns and Frequent Dieting Among Preadolescent and Adolescent Girls and Boys." Pediatrics, January 2 1, 1 7(1), pp. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.