Custom «Effects of Media on Teenagers» Essay Paper Sample

This is an article on how marketing moguls through the media have affected how most teenagers are behaving now days. It is evident that most marketers are spending most of their time looking for target groups. In America, the merchants are simply focusing on teen desires and they have started to manufacture those desires with an aim of securing this lucrative market. In last year only, it is estimated that America's teen spent $100 billion and this might increase if the influence they have on parents is anything to go by. However, as simple as it might sound, marketers have to look for ways to attract teenagers. To that effect, they look for the next cool thing that is the media. One such media company is MTV.

As it has been observed, the teenagers are being affected in many ways. In our culture, media exerts complicated and hurtful influence on teenagers. In a bid to advertise their products and attract teenagers, the merchants use well-known men and women who are referred to teenagers as their role models. The teenagers tend to mimic them. Young women want to resemble models that look fashionable, and young men would like to take after the energetic champions in sports or the sexy dudes shown by the media. As a result, most youths end up feeling devastated and develop hatred towards themselves. They continue to struggle to achieve what is obviously hard to get and in the end, they develop self-violence (Lecture notes p 2). A young man tries to change his physical appearance to resemble that of a muscular celebrity. This is obviously not the way to go, the muscle mass of a boy increases when he reaches puberty. Due to increase in androgen, his strength and speed increases (Greenberg, Bruess and Conklin, 2011 pg 295).

Another negative effect of the media on the teenagers is making them feel frustrated and lonely. It is through the media that teenagers are made to feel anxious. The media is always sending messages to them that they are not beautiful enough, they are not fashionable, and probably they are associating with the wrong people. In an effort to move with fashion, young men may engage in bad habits such as smoking tobacco, which can lead to breast cancer (Greenberg, Bruess and Conklin, 2011 pg141). So many young men and women are jeopardizing their health because they are struggling to fulfill the demands from the media. Very few boys reach the status of super athletes who are affluent, physically strong, and independent and other traits which they admire (Lecture notes p2). In the end, the teenagers are left frustrated.

Through the media, more and more teenagers have been made to change the way they behave. Although boys have been associated with being more physically and verbally aggressive, biologically, it is wrong (Greenberg, Bruess and Conklin, 2011, pg 297). While males are associated with traits such as cruel, hostile, tough and self centered, females are related with being nice and care about others. This may lead to a very negative impact such as developing low self-esteem and depression.

In conclusion, it is evident that most of what the media is displaying does not conform to the desires of most teenagers. It has only created a culture of infatuation full of music and images that glorifies sex and aggression as well as antisocial manners and feelings (MAN, 2002, Exposing Gender Stereotypes). Not all that is being offered by the media makes somebody feel cool, the victim ends up being a looser and more confused than before. It would be better, if the society intervenes and rescue the generation of tomorrow before things get out of hand.