Part+B+Michael+Ziade's+Media+and+Adolescence

Michael Ziade's examination of how media represents adolescence To our Main Page

Television has been around since the 1950's. It is probably the most powerful and influential form of media because it can be found in almost every household. It is there to entertain, inform and advertise to us. From a young age we are exposed to T.V and the messages it projects are quite powerful.

T.V programs, shows and advertisements often represent adolescents and adolescence in very much a stereotypical way.


 * Programs** like **[|"A Current Affair"]** often report on teenagers going on a rampage or a party that goes out of control or of teenage pregnancies. The myth created here is that all teenagers are the same and this is typical behaviour. It is stories like this that makes people watch the show because it is interesting. The reality is often a small piece of the story which has been looked over (yes teenagers do do silly things but it is not all the time). When watching a program like this, teenagers can be led to believe that what they see and hear is normal behaviour. This can impact on their ability to cope with their own emotional and social changes.


 * Shows** like **[|"Malcolm in the Middle"]** supposedly portrays a typical American family. The way the teenage boys are represented are always in trouble, doing the wrong thing and forever being yelled at. It certainly makes for entertaining viewing but it is not the reality. Again, the myth is that in this case, boys will be boys, always in trouble, immature and mischievous. Often in the show, the girls portrayed are opposite to the boys, confident and mature. In reality, this is not always the case. The irony in this clip is that the Dad was realizing just how lucky he was to have such mature and wonderful boys only to find out that they (Malcolm and Reese) were not asleep in their beds but out somewhere causing trouble.


 * Advertisements** are very powerful in projecting myths. A typical one is the [|Coca Cola] ad of 2009/10 which shows a group of teenagers that are all good looking, happy and fit having a great time with coca cola. They seem to have no problems and it gives the impression that all teenagers are like this. When adolescents watch this, it can make their self esteem and body image fall because most adolescents do not look like the teenagers in the ad. Because of this, dealing with physical changes becomes more difficult when we don't look like the people we see on the T.V.

One important thing to note is that what we see on T.V is a reflection of society today and what it accepts as "reasonable" behaviour. Programs and shows today are a lot different to shows and programs 30 years ago. Compare a show like the "Brady Bunch" and the issues they dealt with to something like "Gossip Girl" that is showing now. The messages they send to teenagers during their adolescence is completely different. Brady Bunch was a very innocent and family orientated show where Gossip Girl pushes the boundaries and says it is okay to be selfish, rude, sexually active and a need to look perfect and have money.

The truth and reality is that adolescence falls somewhere in between the two extremes as shown in the media. Most adolescents will get by okay.They will experience problems and all the emotions that come with it, confusion, insecurities, fears and moodiness.In time it will all pass as we go onto adulthood with its own unique problems.

With all this happening on a daily basis in our homes, we can see how difficult and complicated it can be to journey through puberty and adolescence not really knowing where we are going and how we are going to get there. Our family and friends are our road signs with the occasional detour due to peer pressure. Hopefully, we get back on track with a few minor scratches and dings knowing that it is okay to be ourselves.

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