Media Matters

What do we learn about teens via the media?

The film "The Mean Girls" (2004) tells the story of Cady Heron, a young "tom-boy" teenager who was once educated by her parents in Africa. The movie tells her story transferring into a public school for the first time. Her experience involves drama, cliques, and rules that were implied into the social culture of high school. Cady finds herself involved with a group of girls "The Plastics" which she experiences the highs and lows of her teenage life. This film portrays the culture of high school to be unexpectedly crazy. Cady was a student with good grades, pressured into fit in a culture different than something she has ever experienced. As a teenager, I shared some of the same qualities of Cady, being a "tom-boy", I always wore sneakers and always made the Honor Roll in school. Entering high school, I thought of the worst. The media portrays high school to be a place where one is not accepted unless they "prove" themselves to their peers. In high school my wardrobe changed, I started to wear dresses and boots, and I became more self conscious about my looks. I also experienced drama between my friends and became involved in my first relationship. I also got my first tattoo in high school. My experiences in high school were unique because I experienced many changes to my body and mind, the media portrays high school to be a place where one is expected to "survive" in a place full of wolves, especially as a incoming Freshman. I can say that as a good student, I was accepted by my peers in high school, but I attended Classical, which had a stereotype, many would say "where all the nerds go.

Myspace was popular in my life as a teenager. It was a place where teens could socially connect to each other through messaging, commenting, and posting pictures of themselves. I spent a lot of time on Myspace and my mother was generally concerned. In the mind of a teen, I honestly liked the site because it was a place where I could express myself to my friends, while building my "page" to fit my needs and likes, creating an "About me" to sound appealing. I felt like a rebel because my mom did not have access to my account and I had control of my passwords. I had my best friend, my older sister, and three other friends on my Top 5. The site had a large population of teens in middle and high school. As a teen, we use social networking sites as a way to be accepted into our age cohort.

As a teen, sex and pregnancy was a big concern among teenagers. Starting from Middle school and into High school, many teenage girls became pregnant, even my friends. It was a concern in such a way that I began using birth control in middle school for health reasons, but it became accepted into culture for years to come. I remember I would have conversations with my friends about the types of birth control we used and how it affected our bodies. Now, we have shows like "16 and Pregnant" and it makes me think about how society has changed over time and now that I look back, almost all of my friends became teen mothers. The show is intended to prevent teen pregnancy, highlighting the struggles that teen girls faced due to their choices in life. My mother grew worried as I entered my teen years, wondering which choices I will make that will ultimately affect my life. Motherhood is not a bad thing, but as a teen it is not accepted by society and adults.


- Point to talk about in class:

• Which experiences shaped you to negatively and positively to shape into the person you are today?
• Were some of the things media portrayed about teens deemed true (based on your experience)?