The Negative Aspects of the Media

Media have been taking over our lives as we try to wear, act, behave, and even make our opinions based on the celebrities we love. Mass media has lots of hurtful influence such as young people imitating their role models blindly by even trying to look like them causing nowadays lots of teenagers having eating disorder. Another enormous effect of media is having no certain opinion about what is truly happening as you believe whatever you hear and not make sure if it’s what actually happening. I do believe that People must be alert to minimize these negative influences by being responsible towards oneself and other people especially the youth who are easy targets by the media.

Teenagers are however, easily influenced by the good, the bad, and the reality. Not only are teenagers observing from the reality around them, but reality that is shown on television and sometimes in commercials as well. Teenagers find role models in the reality shows they see on television today. It is not always a bad thing, but it is also not always a good thing. Many people wonder why teenagers today have begun to act out of character, mistreat people around them, and even stay up on the latest trends, this is happening because, “Teens are naturally curious about other people’s lives and want to know how their own life compare” says family therapist, Lori Gottlieb (14).

Sept. 2013. http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2013/08/fast-food-television-ads-use-toys--movies-to-target-kids.html Everett. Jeremy. “School Lunches Pack a Healthy Surprise”. Star-Telegram. 18.

Retrieved Jan 22, 2011, from Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating: www.seattlesutton.com/media/document/childhood-obesity-in-america Chubb, P. 17,June2010 (n.d.) Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360: Why it will fail, Retrieved 22,Jan2011http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/17/microsofts-kinect-for-xbox-360-why-it-will-fail/ Greenbalt, A. (n.d.). Obesity Epidemics. Retrieved Jan 10, 2011, from CQ Researchers: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Institute of Medicine. (n.d.).

Celebrities also use their accounts which can be followed by anybody. Teens end up constantly comparing themselves to celebrities’ appearances and bright, outgoing personalities. Studies have also shown that cyber bullying has become a much bigger problem with the growth of internet usage. All of these different things having to do with social media have led to kids feeling depressed, ugly, and alone. The use of social media has increased depression in today’s teenagers.

Manganello, Jennifer A., et al. "A Content Analysis of Food Advertisements Appearing in Parenting Magazines." Public health nutrition 16.12 (2013): 2188-96. ProQuest. Catalog.

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“ Constant self-criticism and body comparison can easily spin out of control” (Yuskavage 98). Teens feel as if they are supposed to be like the people they see on social media advertisements. What they do not know is that they are their own person. A persons worst enemy is themselves. As humans we tend to give each other and ourselves the hardest time.

01 Dec. 2013 Bernhardt, Amy M., et al. "How Television Fast Food Marketing Aimed At Children Compares With Adult Advertisements." E8.8 (2013): 1-6 Web. 30 Nov. 2013 Hudson, Simon, and Charlene Elliott. "Measuring The Impact Of Product Placement On Children Using Digital Brand Integration.