Teens on television have been depicted in the same broad light since the beginning days of the silver screen. Teens are sex-crazed, uneducated, emotional, illogical mini humans who seem to be in constant need of direction. I’d agree with this to a point but I think teens as a whole aren’t given enough credit. Sure, there are still those characteristics above being displayed by teens on a daily basis, but there are also those who choose to rise above the stereotypes and take responsibilities for their own actions. While these rogues may be few and far between, they do exist, but do they exist in the media?
Its well known that most “teens” on TV are actually being portrayed by 20 something’s and written for by 30, 40 and 50 something’s. This begs the question; are they being accurately portrayed? Teens are targeted by television and movies, no doubt. They are a massive demographic. Put porn stars in your horror movies and the kids will come running, (and yes, Piranha 3D was horrible).
Every day we see photos of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez straddling each other at the beach, making out for the paparazzi lenses. Honestly, why should we expect our teens to behave behind closed doors? More than anything I think we need to take a look at how our teens view the “role models” that are presented to them through the media. I’m not saying these people can’t be role models because they make out in public. I’m saying that our teens can easily have an unhealthy view of what a relationship should look like. We’re not all models, or Disney stars or whatever Bieber is. Expectations skyrocket and “average” teens are left to wonder why no one wants them.
So I want to pose these questions to our readers:
How do you view teens today?
How do you think society views teens?
What do you think teens think of themselves?
Is our view of them healthy? Is theirs?