How Teenagers are Depicted in the Media

Usually when people think of teenagers they see us as hormonal, angsty kids who are trying to rebel against the world. They think that we think we know it all when we know that we do not know it all, however we do know a far bit more then others assume we do. We are mostly thought of as jeopardizing our lives with alcohol, drugs and unprotected sex when in reality this is not the case for every teenager. The media portrays a message that all teenagers are trying to do is find out who they are and that is why they make mistakes but saying yes to drugs or alcohol, etc. In reality most of the time we make mistakes because we want to do it or because we want to try something new. Teenagers are definitely not portrayed in the media as someone you can trust because we are always thought of as the type who are going to steal or cause a lot of commotion. We can’t even walk into a store alone without the employees staring us down for fear of us stealing something. It is absolutely ridiculous what the media can make some people believe to think. Teenagers are shown in movies as the type who always party on the weekends and get drunk. Although this may be the case for some teenagers, it is not the case for many teenagers and this is not an accurate portrayal. In most movies and television shows you almost never see the teenagers doing homework or studying which many teenagers do during the weekend. They are not always partying because they do care about their future, even if the media thinks otherwise. Movies these days are always showing that popularity is the key to happiness for teens, when in reality not many people really care about who is popular and who is not. For many teens scoring a date with the hottest guy or girl in high school is not one of the main priorities they are thinking about. Unfortunately, movies and shows are very one sided and only show the stereotypical life of teenagers as opposed to reality. It is really sad to think that teenagers are being perceived as shallow and dumb individuals because of the media. People need to keep in mind that not all teens grow up in the same atmosphere and they o not all have the same experiences. We should not let the media alone define how teenagers live.