This essay will look at the different ways in which young people are portrayed in the media. It will focus on how the idea of childhood innocence has been challenged by the media and rather than ‘little angels’ children are now seen as ‘little devils’ in the public eye. By looking at ‘The Bulger Case of 1993’ we can see where the idea of ‘little devils’ and children as evil beings began. It will examine why media stories of young people are focused much more on negative aspects such as crime and gang culture rather than positive ones. It will also look at how television programmes such as ‘Teen Mom’ and ‘Skins’ portray the youth of today and whether these programmes come across as a positive or negative portrayal of teenagers. The idea of a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ will also be examined and whether the way the media portrays children can be harmful to the construction of their identities and possibly lead to alienation.
In 1993, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged ten at the time, abused and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. There was media uproar about the case with the two boys being described as ‘evil’, ‘monsters’ and ‘freaks’ in the media (Franklin & Horwath 1998). There were many references to evil in the newspapers; with the telegraph stating that Thompson’s nickname was ‘Damien’ (from The Omen) and declaring that Venables birth date was Friday the 13th. The majority of society was united in the belief that these two boys were the epitome of evil and it was the media that nurtured this belief. ‘Newspaper reports were unequivocal in their denunciations of Thompson and Venables as inherently evil, prompted perhaps initially by Justice Morland’s description of the murder as an act of unparalleled ev...
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Buckingham, D. (2000) After the Death of Childhood: Growing up in the age of electronic media. Great Britain, Polity Press.
Lakhani, N (2008) Nasty, Brutish and Short: The Horrific Life of Baby P. [Internet], UK, The Independent. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
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‘James Bulger’ aged two years, was taken from his mother whilst she was shopping by two ten year olds named ‘Venables and Thompson’. James was diagnosed with horrific injuries and lead to his death. The two ten years had abducted, tortured and murdered James. The investigation indicated a brutal murder suggesting James had been struck by thirty blows to the skull causing deep bruising and the skull had been damaged with an iron bar and a brick. The investigation showed ‘Venables and Thompson’ had stripped James from the waist using ugly impropriety endows had also been inflicted on James. Both these boys had shown a form of a typical behaviour.
"The Impact of Stereotyping on Young People." MediaSmarts. National Film Board of Canada, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
In a modern age where the media retains a strong influence on the general population, many youths across the globe are feeling the effects of being misrepresented by media. The characteristics often forwarded by media frequently links youths with that of criminals and gangs. Similarly, depictions of teenagers being ignorant and haughty is now a widespread stereotype. These inaccurate depictions, which are sometimes taken for granted, are causing detrimental damages to the lives of youths and their futures as members of society. Despite the media’s likelihood to portray modern youths negatively, evidence suggests the opposite; that modern youths are in fact responsible,
My keen interest in all of these forms of media immediately drew me to the subject; television, film and music are major influences not only in my life but in the lives of teenagers across Western Europe, Australasia, Developed Asia and the United States of America. Despite this easy accessibility of popular culture - film, television, music and radio - to young people, popular culture and adolescence are not mutually exclusive with the effects and the range of mass media affecting one in three adults in America.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Rideout, Victoria and Hamel, Elizabeth. (2006). “The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of
about four friends who go on a journey to find a dead body to become
The Representation of Children in the Media I am writing about how children are represented in the media, after a group investigation carried out to see how they are portrayed in different papers; local newspapers, tabloids and broadsheets. We were looking to see if newspapers showed positive or negative images of children and how they portrayed them in general. In local papers there are usually articles of local news from around the area, items for sale and advertisements. Local papers highlight local stories and issues. Local papers usually have the scores or information about local teams in the sport section.
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. “Perverted tennis club coach jailed for seducing pupil of 15.
Have you ever met someone who acted just as teens are stereotyped? Not many people have because they do not exist. Real teens are poorly portrayed in the media and are the complete opposite of their stereotypes. Books and TV shows make teens out to be wild or crazy, irresponsible and out of control. One hardly ever hears about teen-heroes. Instead, newspapers and magazines are plastered with stories of teens and crime. And while looking at commercial billboards and other related media, the regular teen seems to be sex-crazed and image-obsessed.
The media, that giant intimidating creation has taken the stereotypes of teens, the way people view teens, and the way we view ourselves, and has turned it into a delusional monster. The media at this point in time portrays teenagers as generally bad. Well to be honest, not generally bad, but mostly horrible. We are seen as the cause for alarm and trouble in society. The media portrays us as manic delinquents with no solid past and no concrete future.
Media can present content that seems and is more or less real, however, it is our duty as the viewers to be able to distinguish, and differentiate between “reflections of reality, and constructions of reality”. The prime targets of the media are young people because they so unwittingly believe everything the media tells them, from “how to talk, how to dress, and how to relate to others”. This newspaper article, seeing is not believing by Leslie Fruman is essentially explaining that now “for the first time students will take a mandatory course to help separate fantasy from reality in the media.” The mandatory course is referred to as media literacy, and will teach young people the classifications of reality and fantasy.
Young people especially the teenagers are sensitive and receptive to learning new things. The media provides more than they can handle. Access to different programs, shows, and movies affect the manner that the teenagers behave. Today, it is unfortunate to say that the media is becoming more sexual and violent than the older days, resulting in similar behaviors among the teens (Craig, & Baucum, 2001). By watching programs intended for the adults, teenagers are drifting even further. They start behaving like adults without the prerequisites of becoming one. This means that they have contents that do not match with their ages. And then terrible things begin – increased college dropouts, teenage pregnancies, and increased cases of suicides. Some teenagers who had bright future ahead of them will
The Web. 9 Jan. 2014. Mokeyane K. Nola. Media’s Positive & Negative on Teenagers. Everyday Life: page 2.
Mokeyane, K. Nola. "Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers." Everyday Life. Globalpost, Web. 21 Jan. 2010.
As long as violent programmes are shown on TV, the role of the mass media becomes completely different from how it was originally treated. Violence is socially harmful and especially the youth are very prone to such scenes that may strongly affect their psyches. It is true that programmes featuring cruel pictures are marked as ‘only for adults’ but the time when they are emitted is relatively early and the access to them seems to be rather unlimited to young people.