The Effects of Mass Media on Youths
The Effects of Mass Media on Youths
The concept of adolescence was presented near the end of the nineteenth century and characteristics were attributed to male youths where the adolescents were depicted as "passive and vulnerable". This label, or stereotype, has greatly changed. Nowadays, young boys face varying forms of stereotypes that lead to judgments that were unimaginable in the past century. The mass media has greatly influenced these stereotypes, so it has contributed to creating an increasingly judgmental society, which forces young boys to adapt in order to fit the accepted norm.
It is no mystery that society has become increasingly judgmental. In the words of the teen singer and actress, Ariana Grande, "Sometimes, people can be extraordinarily judgmental and closed-minded to anyone different or special, which is why it 's so hard for young people in this day and age to be comfortable enough in their own skin to not listen to the people picking on them." This is something that I, for one, have experienced first hand not only in the environment I am currently in, but also around the world. People are highly judgmental and take seconds to form a prejudice about a person after a brief encounter. This is a fact that reflects how "broken" societal values truly are. In order to judge a person, he who is judging must know many things in order to determine if he or she is "fit." When it comes to children, these prejudices can truly affect their development. A clear example of this is Walker 's son in her essay "_Putting Down the Gun"._ This boy was a sweet kid who was not a gamer nor a jock. He felt out of place because of this and asked his mother if he should try to become either one in order to be attractive to girls. Stereotypes are shown to lead to judgment, since boys become prejudiced toward certain roles that they must adhere to in order to feel accepted that lead them to make unnatural changes and choices.
Understanding why society has become
The concept of adolescence was presented near the end of the nineteenth century and characteristics were attributed to male youths where the adolescents were depicted as "passive and vulnerable". This label, or stereotype, has greatly changed. Nowadays, young boys face varying forms of stereotypes that lead to judgments that were unimaginable in the past century. The mass media has greatly influenced these stereotypes, so it has contributed to creating an increasingly judgmental society, which forces young boys to adapt in order to fit the accepted norm.
It is no mystery that society has become increasingly judgmental. In the words of the teen singer and actress, Ariana Grande, "Sometimes, people can be extraordinarily judgmental and closed-minded to anyone different or special, which is why it 's so hard for young people in this day and age to be comfortable enough in their own skin to not listen to the people picking on them." This is something that I, for one, have experienced first hand not only in the environment I am currently in, but also around the world. People are highly judgmental and take seconds to form a prejudice about a person after a brief encounter. This is a fact that reflects how "broken" societal values truly are. In order to judge a person, he who is judging must know many things in order to determine if he or she is "fit." When it comes to children, these prejudices can truly affect their development. A clear example of this is Walker 's son in her essay "_Putting Down the Gun"._ This boy was a sweet kid who was not a gamer nor a jock. He felt out of place because of this and asked his mother if he should try to become either one in order to be attractive to girls. Stereotypes are shown to lead to judgment, since boys become prejudiced toward certain roles that they must adhere to in order to feel accepted that lead them to make unnatural changes and choices.
Understanding why society has become
Cited: TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 May 2014. "English Class (IVC)." Paul Theroux 's "On Being a Man" Blogger, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. Richards, Melanie Burleson, "Mass Media 's Relationship with Adolescents ' Values and Behaviors: A Theory of Mediated Valueflection" (2010) Santrock, John W. "The Historical Perspective." Adolescence. 12th ed. N.p.: McGraw Hill, 2008 Walker, Rebecca. What Makes a Man: 22 Writers Imagine the Future. New York: Riverhead, 2004