Teens and the Media

                Does advertising affect teen culture? I am not sure I really need to answer that. It is like asking if an orange is orange. HOW it affects teen culture is a completely different question that will take a lot more explaining. I have to write 4 paragraphs though, so I guess I will have to explain it anyway. A wise man once said “Teenagers are a prime target for advertising because they are impressionable and they have lots of disposable income” and by a wise man, I mean the Internet. I only have 3 paragraphs left so I guess I should start explaining it now.

                To be completely honest, advertising affects just about everyone on this planet except for our 300 year old grandparents who still read newspaper, think software is comfortable pants, and think the Internet only happens when you are fishing. However, teens are targeted by the media because that is when you start to get your own money. When you are young, you have no money of your own so you can’t buy anything and by the time you are in your 20’s, you know how spend your money wisely. Teens end up falling for things like “6 payments of $9.99”. This causes teens to buy stuff they really don’t need and they end up wasting a lot of money.

                Advertising also severely affects what teens wear and what they do for fun. Without television and the Internet, teens would be like emo cows with their heads cut off. Totally clueless. It has come to the point where people might actually think Justin Bieber can sing. To be completely honest, we probably never would have heard of him without the media, so the media might even be a bad thing.

                It has been estimated that teens spend an average of $144,000,000,000 a year on food, clothing, and entertainment. The number would be much lower if we had never found out about all of these amazing, brain frying things. Advertising promotes unrealistic views of the world to children who lacking a wider experience on their own and may accept the advertised version as reality. This can include poor choices for role models, an airbrushed view of what the "perfect" body is and the importance of social acceptance.

            As you can see, advertising affects teens in more ways than I can count (I really can’t count very high). If you don’t believe me, just take a step outside. Teen culture is everywhere and it is all affected by advertising.