McCallion
Quest

The Media Needs to Take a Closer Look at the Messages it Sends to Young Women....They Can Be Life Changing

By: Dani Baker Bagauskas

 Have you ever wondered how much the media impacts the young lives of teenage girls? It is truly amazing how much we turn to the media to decide for us the different things we do in our lives. For example, I have no doubt that mostly every girl in our school has looked at one of those teen magazines such as Seventeen, Teen People, Vogue and so on. Girls see young women like Nicole Richie on a cover of Cosmogirl and think she must be so amazing to be on the cover of such a good magazine. The truth or the "rumored" truth is that she is now only 82 pounds, which is unusually abnormal for a 23 year old. The fact that she is denying that she has a problem, may put thoughts into young girls minds and they might think her weight loss is normal. Some may think the same way she does and some might just follow her path.

            Also, although shows like Laguna Beach and My Super Sweet Sixteen are very entertaining, they definitely have a big influence on girls too. Basically, Laguna Beach is nothing but teenage drama which is completely fictional. However, some girls might feel like it would be "cool" to cook up some similar drama in their own lives, just for the excitement. Fighting over boys and talking behind one another’s backs are two examples of the long list of things girls will do to gain popularity and attention. Sadly, for teenage girls, these things can, at times, get a little bit dirty. If you watch the girls on the show My Super Sweet Sixteen, all you are doing is seeing teenage girls, who are spoiled to the max, and who just whine and complain until they get their way. Even though you may think, "Oh, it's a good thing I'm not like that", don’t some of us who watch it, wonder if we could get our way just like they often do?

            Besides the whining and complaining, the show often shows the characters giving attitude towards their parents, and towards their peers. Easily influenced people, like us teenage girls, may and most often do follow this path. Even worse, the word spreads about this awesome show and then parents everywhere start becoming an outlet for your disrespect, thanks to a show that doesn't really care about the messages it is sending out.

            Don’t get me wrong, teenagers aren’t the only ones influenced by the media. Television shows like Bratz show little girls how cool it is to have a boyfriend, to wear tons of makeup and to wear skimpy little outfits. Whatever happened to young girls playing with their Barbies or actually playing a simple game of hide and seek? It just shows that everyday, society and the media want us girls to grow up faster. And sadly, it is happening…everywhere I look girls are trying to look older and older, in age, personality, and appearance. We are only young once, so why are we trying to become older??? The media needs to take a harder look out there and actually pay attention to what messages they are putting out in the girl world. If it’s true that we only live once, then why is the media forcing us to rush this???