Teenagers and Society
Liza Saravia
Mrs. Strudensky
English section 18
October 9th, 2014
Teenagers and Society
Who decide the culture of people? It is society. Indeed, it determines the norms that citizens must follow in order to fit in. Therefore, the ‘‘culture into which [people live] influences [their] sense of who [they] are and what [their] goals in life should be’’ (Robertson 48). This is good because people who rule the society can impose good values and be a good influence on citizens. However, it can also be negative for some groups of people. In fact, the culture of the North American society has a bad influence on teenagers.
Primarily, in North America, people live in a world where mass media occupies a huge space in people’s lives due to the technology advancements that have come to be. Unfortunately, mass media influences teenagers greatly, but does so in a bad way through advertising, film, social networks, video games and so on. Moreover, an example of this is that women are sexualized and portrayed as objects through marketing and advertising: ‘‘from a young age, girls are treated as sexual objects, their development is not respected, and the lines between childhood and adulthood are blurred’’ (Our Children Under Influence). Furthermore, most of the films people watch in North America are based or filmed in Hollywood where the amount of creativity is not limited, thus these films often contain violent or sexual scenes and are regarded as ‘‘normal’’ by viewers. Consequently, teenagers who watch these films tend to be influenced by them; for example a male who watches a film in which women are not portrayed as individuals, but as sexual objects that can be toyed with is more likely to have a changed perception of women. This could also lead to a loss of respect for them. On the other hand, a male who does not enjoy watching these types of movies is less likely to exert rude or grotesque behavior in accordance to women. Withal, ‘‘media violence leads to increased
Mrs. Strudensky
English section 18
October 9th, 2014
Teenagers and Society
Who decide the culture of people? It is society. Indeed, it determines the norms that citizens must follow in order to fit in. Therefore, the ‘‘culture into which [people live] influences [their] sense of who [they] are and what [their] goals in life should be’’ (Robertson 48). This is good because people who rule the society can impose good values and be a good influence on citizens. However, it can also be negative for some groups of people. In fact, the culture of the North American society has a bad influence on teenagers.
Primarily, in North America, people live in a world where mass media occupies a huge space in people’s lives due to the technology advancements that have come to be. Unfortunately, mass media influences teenagers greatly, but does so in a bad way through advertising, film, social networks, video games and so on. Moreover, an example of this is that women are sexualized and portrayed as objects through marketing and advertising: ‘‘from a young age, girls are treated as sexual objects, their development is not respected, and the lines between childhood and adulthood are blurred’’ (Our Children Under Influence). Furthermore, most of the films people watch in North America are based or filmed in Hollywood where the amount of creativity is not limited, thus these films often contain violent or sexual scenes and are regarded as ‘‘normal’’ by viewers. Consequently, teenagers who watch these films tend to be influenced by them; for example a male who watches a film in which women are not portrayed as individuals, but as sexual objects that can be toyed with is more likely to have a changed perception of women. This could also lead to a loss of respect for them. On the other hand, a male who does not enjoy watching these types of movies is less likely to exert rude or grotesque behavior in accordance to women. Withal, ‘‘media violence leads to increased
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