The popularity of MTV is directly proportional to teenagers and their ideas. If this station did not listen to its audience’s zeitgeist, there would be no MTV. Once MTV became a hip icon, it began to create a somewhat distorted image for boys and girls. The concept of the “Funhouse Mirror” declares the reflection of society is mirrored, but also distorted. Rushkoff described a “crude, loud, obnoxious, and in-your-face” character introduced on television networks like MTV.
Specifically, such shows like South Park, The Chappelle Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Boondocks are extremely common in the lives of these young adolescents. Although these shows are/were intended for mature audiences and strive for outrageous humor, they can be harmful to those who view them at a young age. These shows attack “people of every race, class, gender, religion, profession, and credo with their parodies, albeit usually
Violence is a source of laughter in children's programs; films present it as staple fare; it is served as pseudo-information in sensation-hungry newspapers and on reality TV; and it is even glorified by some musicians in their lyrics and performances. In fact in the public domain, it is difficult to find material that is not linked to violence in some form. Those who are worried by this development also point out that the negative examples provided by the media are not balanced by a positive view. Criminals are often seen as daredevil and debonair or are presented so as to arouse sympathy. The so-called ‘heroes’ in TV series and films, be they Dirty Harry, the Power Rangers, Butch Cassidy or the Mighty Ducks, are frequently violent and
Hundreds of studies have found that children and teenagers that watch television may: • Become “immune” or numb to the horror of violence • Gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems • Imitate the violence they observe on television; and • Identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers Also, Extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness. In some cases, watching a single violent program can increase aggressiveness. So what are the Pros of Children Watching TV? • Because of its ability to create powerful touchstones, TV enables young people to share cultural experiences with others. • Shared viewing gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together.
Many people outside of the industry believe it affects teen’s sexual activities and violence tendencies. A recent study in the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested that the display of sex on television can contribute to preadolescent sex. Rebecca Collins et al Ahmed 2 argued in their article that sex in entertainment can lead to teens having sex. She argues that when teens start to become sexually curious, the programming on television showing sexual content influences their idea about sex, specifically in regard to gender stereotype. The amount of sexual content on television is huge.
This event showed the growing interest of Americans in television broadcasts, but consequently may have triggered some future negative issues for young people. Marika Tiggermann and Amanda S. Pickering, authors of Role of Television in Adolescent Women’s Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness, suggest that television has become the most prominent and influential form of the mass media, especially for young people (200). As the boom of television has occurred, the media has developed a negative influence on adolescent teens because it manipulates their minds by promoting a perfect body image, displaying unrealistic lifestyles, and presenting dangerous behaviors. Television tends to promote “perfect,” unrealistic, body images. Amy I. Nathanson and Renée A. Botta, authors of Shaping the Effects of Television on Adolescents’ Body Image Disturbance: The Role of Parental Mediation, came up with a simple definition of body image: “Body image is an overall concept consisting of related but distinct dimensions addressing feelings, thoughts, and perceptions about body size and shape” (305).
A large number of these young people are easily influenced. As soon as a new fad or way of speaking is shown to look cool on television, these young people and sometimes even older people try to copy these trends. When the show “Jersey Shore” televised in 2009, it contained fighting, humor, relationships, and excessive drinking. This show has been popular with a large number of today’s college students. Even though the show only aired once a week, it portrayed a bad image that parents did not want their children to be idolizing.
These shows air on basic cable television, open for any age group to view. Some shows casually move around the subject of sex, making it harder for children to catch, but some discuss it with out any hesitation. Some shows degrade virgins, and make sex look like the cool thing to do. This allows the youth to feel as though sex is acceptable for their age. When ratings in movies first began, the “R” rating probably meant that sex may have been implied or a few sware words were used.
Sex and Violence in the Mainstream Media: Hurting Our Youth With the increase in violence in the media and multiple forms of entertainment, our youth are viewing violent acts on a regular basis. The violent acts haven’t been viewed by the public forever either, just recently since the rise in the TV and the internet the media has become easier to broadcast to a broad range of people. “Indeed, six medical and public health professional organizations held a Congressional Public Health Summit on July 26, 2000, and issued a Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children.” This statement noted that, “Entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior, particularly in children.” (Anderson, 355). Although this was around eight years ago, the issue with violence in the media is still affecting the way today’s youth acts. Today violence is just a part of everyday activity, flip on the TV to watch the news and there is another homicide, or robbery.
Many people attribute the increase in violent youth to the increase of violence in the media. There is a common belief that television, films and video games are to be blamed for making children deem that violence is not only acceptable, but a necessary way of solving conflict. Some blockbuster movies that top the charts tend to be action-packed, such as the Terminator in 1984 or films about superheroes that save the day by destroying the villains. Superman, Batman and Spiderman are the perfect examples. The youth are then influenced by observing these behaviours and mimicking the actions of these so-called heroes.