Teenagers In The Media

I believe that in the media teenagers are portrayed in a number of different ways. I believe that every subculture of teenagers has its own way of being portrayed in the media. Not every portrayal of the subcultures is just or fair, but then again not many are about the culture in general. I think that with so many subcultures of teenagers, it is impossible to choose one accurate portrayal of the teenager.

Firstly I believe that since the teenager is such a widely portrayed stereotype that it isn't fair to those who do not fall into that category. The stereotypical portrayal of a teenager is summed up as a delinquent. They steal, the fight, they vandalise, that is how we are portrayed because thats all anyone ever pays attention to is the bad. This is not a fair portrayal because teenagers do a ton of good stuff, but it just never gets recognized. when i walk into a store sometimes the clerk will follow me around to make sure I'm not stealing anything. This is a rediculous stereotype that is unjust because they just assume I'm a bad kid, based on what the media tells them. This is a sign that people need to stop letting the media take over their life. The media is teaching humans as a species not to trust anyone.

Secondly I think that the subcultures of teenagers are being exposed for the worst possible side to be shown. For example, metalheads. People who are catagorized by the type of music they listen to. this is a problem because good kids who just like the music are getting negative stereotypes surrounding them. people as a community and a society judge people way too much, looks, the type of music people listen to, everything is under constant scrutany. This makes it virtually impossible for anyone to express themself or be individual, and that is where i believe most of the stereotypes start. But it's not always the case, people judge people by how they look, and thats not right. I like metal music and people aren't calling me a freak because of it, just because I don't look like some of the other people who like that same music.

Thirdly I believe that it's the human nature to pay attention to the negatives more than the positives that gives teenagers a bad reputation. Imagine there is a group of five teenagers walking down the street. one of them is smoking. now because one of them is smoking, the other four are now categorized into the same group as him, not matter what the kids are doing. people are automatically attracted to the bad side of everything, nothing gets as much publicity as the bad. people dont walk down the street going "Oh this boy looks nice, I think I'll say hello.", people automatically, based on the bad they hear about teenagers are thinking, "Oh no a teenager, I hope he doesn't try to steal from me, or pull a knife out on me." It's just rediculous how these stereotypes have been escalated to the point where people who have never met me before think I'm going to kill them.

For the most part in the media teenagers are portrayed poorly through stereotypes and negativity. It's not all bad though. There are some accurate portrayals of certain groups of teenagers, but there are so many subcultures of teenagers that it makes it impossible to categorize any one teenager into any one specific portrayal.

1st blog

1.I believe that media is very important in my life. I believe this because media not only informs you of current events, but can educate you about the past and history. I also believe that media can be bad though because people use the media to exploit others.



2. Music is the form of media that is most important to me because it can educate, or stand out against something that is unjust or cruel.



3.I think that pop culturecan be used well, but everybody gets spammed with the mindset of buy, buy, buy. It can be used for entertainment, such as t.v. and video games, but, at the same time there are commercials and advertisements within the entertainment. i dislike all the commercialism involved in popular culture because there is simply too much of it.



4. In my opinion music is the most powerful form of media. Every year benefit concerts all over the world make millions of dollars for world issues such as world hunger. This is a good form of media because it is contributing to society, not wasting everyones time with celebraties. Musicians also write lyrics about social issues to raise awareness for world issues, and to try and inform the listener of what's really going on in the world, however blunt they may have to be with it.



One of my favorite bands of all time is called Threat Signal. they are a metal band that released their debut album in 2006, and have just released a sophomore album this year. Threat Signal makes a difference in the world by writing about everything from political issues, to teen issues, bringing something to the table for everyone. This is an example of good media, media used to educate and show people what it's like to be in a war, or to be depressed, and brings emotion and feeling with it. if every musician donated money to charities, the world would have alot more funding for charities, because everyone would support the music, and even if they didnt support the cause, indirectly, would be contributing to it by liking the musician