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Representation of teenagers in media
Representations of teens in television
Representations of sexuality in films
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Wikipedia defines reality television as “a genre of television programming that documents supposedly unscripted real-life situations, and often features an otherwise unknown cast of individuals who are typically not professional actors”. It also states that, “it differs from documentary television in that the focus tends to be on drama, personal conflict, and entertainment rather than educating viewers.” The use of the word “supposedly” with unscripted and the phrase “entertainment rather than educating” seems to tell what reality television is really about. The argument here is about whether reality television promotes sexual activity or not. Abstinence campaigns composed of people who advocate and promote the restraining from any form of …show more content…
She goes on to explain how these young girls between the ages of eleven and seventeen come to view themselves in comparison to reality tv stars. They acknowledge that these participants in reality shows set bad examples along the realms of personal and social relationships, yet they tend to adopt some of those influences in perceiving their self-image and things that they have come to value and/or accept as a regular part of their lives. Despite all the drama that gets fed into the world of entertainment for the youth that teaches them to lie, manipulate, and be mean, violent, and selfish, it proves to not be all bad. Melnick also includes in her article that 59-65% of the young audience stated that “such shows introduce new ideas and perspectives, the shows have raised their awareness of social issues and causes, and they have been taught new things that they wouldn’t have learned about otherwise”. This leads into shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, but before I dive into those, the concept of abstinence needs to be …show more content…
It shows everything from the insecurities a person possess to their social conflicts and sexual habits and deviations. The sexual habits that are put on display for the world are seen by these young audiences. MTV is marketed to twelve to thirty-four year olds with the majority of the audience being fourteen to seventeen years old. In Chozick’s article, it is said that MTV “sheds it’s skin” every now and then in an attempt to keep up with the times and market to the new viewers within their target audience age range. This is why some shows end or are cancelled and they get replaced by shows with a completely different concept. These shows usually include more drama, more sexual displays, and more conflict in all areas that it explores than the previous show. Jersey Shore is among the most popular of these shows displaying the excessive use of alcohol, public drunkenness, constant partying, and even leading to the creation of words that describe women’s and men’s outward appearance and terms for hooking up which appeared to be the mission for every night of partying they took part in. They also showed an extremely flawed and violent relationship that closely resembles what one could consider being called abusive. There are many television personalities that become famous and begin their careers from what they do on screen. “These "hyper-flawed" characters satisfy our cravings for fantasy and excitement and drama, while at the same
As many may know, television has become less cautious as to what is being showed. Television shows are now revealing certain aspects and situations that should not be displayed. One show that has grown to be a major problem is Bad Girls’ Club, created by Jonathan Murray. A blogger by the name of Bea Blessing states that, “The Bad Girls’ Club is definitely an American reality television line that parodies womanhood and follows the lives regarding seven ladies with several personalities, behavior and subconscious problems, as they live collectively in a house while in three months.” This show undermines females on many different levels, and it is indeed a show that thrives on negativity. These seven ladies live together for three months, have no job, and display immoral behavior. In fact, during a 30-minute episode, you can expect to find grown women constantly fighting, using provocative language, drinking and partying excessively, and even transporting random men from the club to in and out of their home. This type of content is a major problem because adolescents feel the need to believe that this behavior is acceptable. As a result, children show an increase in violence and a chance that they will engage in sex prematurely. Children, as well as teenagers, are receptive to what they see on television; therefore, they are more likely to mimic that type of behavior.
“’Jersey Shore’ Season 5 averaged 5.8 million viewers, including one million ages 12-17” (McKay). These one million teenagers who are viewing “Jersey Shore” and other reality television shows fill their minds with the idea that they cannot have a nice time without the consumption of alcohol (McKay). Sexual immorality, violence, and intoxication consume the cast of this reality television show, and unfortunately, most of society. Not only that, but also the general lifestyle of the girls is to compete with each other through materialistic possessions such as clothes, money, or even men (McKay). Another reality show that is affecting viewers, women especially, is “Are You Hot,” in which competitors submit to a panel of judges for appearance rating (Becker). Shows such as this reduce self-confidence in women, making them believe they should be taller, skinnier, tanner, or really anything other than what they already have. “’[The show] emphasizes that how you look is more important than who you are or what you do. It really narrows the worth of the individual,’ Flanery says” (Becker). The more important things about an individual are q...
MTV, formally known as Music Television, is one of the most viewed networks on television today. Roughly thirty-three years old, it has changed the American culture drastically in more than just one way. Specifically targeting teens and young adults, the MTV network provides all of the most up to date gossip on celebrities, highlights the latest fashion trends, promotes versified lifestyles, and defines the music industry of our generation. However, this so-called “idolized network” has not always been this way. The American culture has been affected by MTV through the creation of the network, the transformation from simply just music television to inappropriate reality shows, and the promotion of inappropriate content.
Even if your goal isn’t to be famous, it gives the idea that this much partying and drinking is normal. Normalizing this lifestyle and behavior has horrible effects on children. Along with normalizing overindulgent drinking, the show normalized and promotes sex with multiple random partners. This effects young girls in two ways. First, it lowers their self esteem. In the show, we see the male cast members scoping out young women (degrading along the way) for one night stands just to kick them out once they’ve had their way with them. When young girls see this it manifests that their worth is as simple as that. It shows girls that they are worth one night stands, not real
In summary, the real detriments of reality television far outweigh the artificial claims that some people consider benefits. Reality television is a successful form of entertainment for many people, but no good comes from it. Scripted television shows that are entirely fictional can serve all of the same purposes. They can be just as dramatic, catastrophic, and interesting as reality television shows. It is important that viewers take the time to evaluate and understand the reasons they enjoy reality television. It is essential to become familiar with the statistics of reality television, learn about the process of producing one, and examine the morality of such shows. Presenting contrived situations as reality, promoting unethical values, and presenting humiliation as a form of entertainment are only some of many detriments of reality television shows.
...sold worldwide. This makes teenagers and other young adults do unruly things to try and gain their own spot in the limelight. Even though reality television is supposed to be this great source of entertainment and may make us happy at the moment, if not watched carefully and really thought about it could ruin someone’s life with its negative values.
Women’s Health Weekly. “MTV Reaches Out to Teens to Prevent Teen Lisa Krueger.” Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Polk Community College - CCLA. 28 Mar. 2011
"Children are influenced by media–they learn by observing, imitating, and making behaviors their own" (APA, 2001, p.1224). Girl’s as young as 4-years sees Britney Spears music clip “Baby One More Time”, who at the time was a 17-year old girl/world pop icon at the time wearing a school uniform showing off her midriff, wearing a lot of makeup and a short skirt. Disney teen icons such as Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana taking personal photos of herself in “sexy” poses and sending it to her ‘older’ boyfriend and then having it all published all over the internet for the entire world to see. Boys also face sexualization too, as has been seen in Calvin Klein ads, where pubescent-looking boys pose provocatively with perfectly sculpted six-pack abs hawking teen fashion These pop culture celebrities both female and male are always in the media, for inappropriate actions and they’re meant to be role models for children. In fact most of these sexualized celebrities are still children themselves. The sad part is it’s not just sexualization being encouraged in the media other negative things such as violence, drug and alcohol use ...
I can recall a time when the media was influencing my life and actions. The week after I graduated high school, my girlfriends and I took a trip to Cancun, Mexico, where the MTV beach house was located that summer. As I look back on the week of drunken partying and sexy guys, I can only wonder how I made it home alive. How could any young woman find this behavior acceptable? Every young woman there was flaunting their bodies to the young men around them. They were proud to be sexual objects. Where did they learn such debauchery? This is the kind of woman that is portrayed throughout MTV and various other aspects of the media. They have even coined the term “midriff”—the highly sexual character pitched at teenage girls that increasingly populates today’s television shows—in order to hook the teen customer. Teenage women increasingly look to the media to provide them with a ready-made identity predicated on today’s version of what’s “cool.” The media is always telling us that we are not thin enough, we’re not pretty enough, we don’t have the right friends, or we have the wrong friends… we’re losers unless we’re cool. We must follow their example and show as much skin as possible. The type of imagery depicted by MTV-- as well as people like Howard Stern, the famous “Girls Gone Wild” videos, and various Hip Hop songs—glorifies sex and the provocative woman.
In today 's society, television is one of the greatest entertainment, and currently reality televisions have become the most commonly watched television programs. Reality tv, beside being entertaining , it has effected society in a negative
Reality television has been around since 1948. Over the past decade, reality TV has seen a dramatic rise in popularity. Today, you can turn on the television and there is a chance that a reality TV show will be on. Reality television is a big part of American’s lives today. There are reality shows starting from relationships, drama, entertainment, to cooking, fitness, sports, and many more. According to a recent study by the Girl Scouts Institute, “Forty-seven percent of girls and young women say they are regular viewers, with thirty percent saying they sometimes watch it." It also reports, “eighty-six percent believe these shows often put girls against each other to make the shows more exciting, and seventy percent say they make people think it is ok to treat each other badly.” Reality television has affected society greatly by encouraging violent behavior, it elevates imprudent personalities, and depicting women of their values.
Reality Television has changed television in a way that no one could have imagined. Being the one of the most talked about genre in history, it is seen by millions of viewers. It has more ratings than any other kind of show (Breyer 16). From its start, there have been many Reality Television shows. Shows like The Real World, Survivor, Big Brother, and Jersey Shore. All of these give off a negative portrayal of reality. While Americans watch these shows, it seems that the show is real life, but in reality, no pun intended, before the show is even filmed, it’s written, edited, and produced (Breyer 21). Writers humiliate and degrade people just for the plot of the show, making their private lives public (Breyer 16).
Profanity and violence are mostly what is involved in reality tv. One advantage of having regulations would be that it would limit violence that can be a bad influence on younger viewers. “After being read arguments on both sides of the issue nearly two-thirds of parents (63%) say they favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching (35% are opposed).” (Facts and TV Statistics 2). By watching this kind of program, it encourages people to do what they do because they think that since those people are getting attention by doing that, they will get it too. With that being said, Shannon Kelly writes, “Some worry that if young people look to reality stars as role models, they might imitate the violence committed by the stars.” (Reali...
He is a veteran journalist with an emphasis on psychology, the role of culture, and the cultivation of creativity. Jacobs argues that reality television changes the way we view our society and makes people show bad behavior when they haven’t done anything. From watching reality TV we see relationships are nothing serious and can just be thrown away. Jacobs goes on to say that people that watch these reality shows have more emphasis on sex, like sex on the first date or multiple sex partners. The way Jacobs goes with his article is by saying our society is shaped on what or who we watch on
Have you ever wondered why people are so addicted to watching their favorite shows on TV? Have you ever wondered why reality TV is so popular? This paper is an explanation of why large numbers of people watch reality TV shows. Proof and facts will be provided showing that reality TV provides entertainment, inspiration, the stirring of emotions, vicarious living, and a substitute for social life for many who watch. Here are a few examples of these statements.