Media Influence On Teens Research Paper

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Media Influence on Teens
Gang violence is a growing problem in the US, and the percentage of teen membership in gangs is getting bigger. Thirty-seven percent of gang members in the U.S. are between the ages of thirteen and age of eighteen. And although that doesn’t seem like a big percentage, it’s nearly half of all gang members in America, and that’s not even counting the percentage of gang members under the age of thirteen (which is more than you would think). Teens chances of being killed or incarcerated double when they join a gang. Ninety percent of juvenile boys in a correctional facility are affiliated with a gang. There are many different reasons why teens are joining gangs, but a recent study shows that teens who listen to, or watch …show more content…

Teenagers spend an average of two and a half hours listening to music each day. It’s become a huge part of their lives. A subgenre of Rap, known as Gangster Rap, is at the top of the billboards in Hip-Hop today. Not only are teens listening to this kind of music, but they are also looking up to the rappers. The people rapping about being in a gang, shooting people, raping women, and selling drugs are role models to teens. And not only are these rappers rapping about these things, some of them are actually doing it, and some are just simply not getting caught. What kind of an example is that setting for teens? There are many teenage boys that have dreams of being famous rappers, and they are looking for ways to get to the top. Well, what better way to find out than looking at how current famous rappers did it? They broke laws, and didn't finish high school, but they still got famous. Teens see things like that and take them to …show more content…

They rap about being in gangs, but they aren’t actually out there in the streets dealing with all the violence. And if their career ends up failing, they have almost nothing to fall back on. Teens won’t get instantly famous being a gangster, and they definitely won’t be filthy rich. If anything, the only thing being a gangster will do for them, is get them arrested, or killed. There really aren’t many benefits to becoming a gangster that is worth losing your life, or going to prison.
I believe that gangster-themed media can influence teens to join gangs. Teens are at a point in their life where one of the biggest things is being accepted and being cool. Media portrays gang life in a way that shows both being accepted, and being cool in exciting and thrilling ways. And when one person is set to join a gang, they soon pressure other friends to join too. Then you have the media and peer pressure working hand in hand, to corrupt the minds of teens. There should be more media preventing gang affiliation, and less media promoting it. The gangster lifestyle really isn’t worth

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