TV Shows
The Secret Life of the American Teenager - teen pregnancy, sex
Hannah Montana - double life, easy-to-reach dream
That's So Raven - easy-to-reach dream, drama
Victorious - nothing on this show is really realisitic besides the drama
Lizzie McGuire - the most realistic show about teenage girls and high school
Teen Mom (reality) - teen pregnancy
World's Strictest Parents (reality) badly influenced teens
That's So Raven - easy-to-reach dream, drama
Victorious - nothing on this show is really realisitic besides the drama
Lizzie McGuire - the most realistic show about teenage girls and high school
Teen Mom (reality) - teen pregnancy
World's Strictest Parents (reality) badly influenced teens
Movies
Thirteen shows how an average teenager can go to being a rebellious teen through peer pressure. Peer pressure is very common with teenagers. In this movie, Evie pressures Tracy into doing drugs, drinking, stealing, having sex, and self harming.
News
We often see news about teenagers doing bad things, such as stealing or being involved in a crime. It is rare that we see an article about something good that a teen has done. Lately, mass shootings have been happening around the US, some of them being at schools.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/ohio-high-school-shooting-students-injured-15800040 - A teen at Chardon High School in Ohio opened fire in the cafeteria during school and killed three students. He supposedly did this because he wanted to get back at an ex girlfriend.
In March 2005, Jeff Weise killed five classmates when he brought a gun to his high school on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=611342&page=1
We often see news about teenagers doing bad things, such as stealing or being involved in a crime. It is rare that we see an article about something good that a teen has done. Lately, mass shootings have been happening around the US, some of them being at schools.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/ohio-high-school-shooting-students-injured-15800040 - A teen at Chardon High School in Ohio opened fire in the cafeteria during school and killed three students. He supposedly did this because he wanted to get back at an ex girlfriend.
In March 2005, Jeff Weise killed five classmates when he brought a gun to his high school on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=611342&page=1
Documentaries
Digital Nation shows how teenagers have become less social in real life because they have texting, Facebook, and online simulation games like Second Life. It shows how they can be social when they aren't confronting anyone and are talking to people online, but don't like to talk to anybody or are too shy to talk to people in person. This has changed the lifestyles of our generation because less people are active since there's an obsession with social media.
Books
Many teen fiction books show teens with low self esteem or with a really high self esteem, but really stuck up. Geek Charming and Uglies are both good examples of this. In Geek Charming, Dylan is the most popular girl in school and Josh is known as a film geek. Dylan has high self esteem and Josh doesn't because he knows he's not popular and has little confidence. In Uglies, everyone who doesn't live in New Pretty Town wasn't pretty and had very low self esteem since they were known as ugly.
Similarities
Teenagers are often portrayed negatively or have something wrong with them (depressed, mentally ill, eating disorder, etc). Media that is shown on family channels usually portray teenagers as happy and funny, such as That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, and iCarly. Most shows and movies about teenagers are based around a girl like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Thirteen, and Lizzie McGuire, which almost makes it a stereotype that girls have issues and guys don't.
Differences
There aren't many differences in how teenagers are portrayed. Many Disney and Nickelodeon shows or movies don't show as many problems as shows on other networks (like ABC Family or the CW) do. Since the audience for Disney and Nick tends to be younger, the TV shows and movies usually show someone that the kids can look up to.
Consequences
The problem with Disney and Nick showing that being a teenager is usually all fun and nothing happens is that it isn't reality at all. TV shows like Secret Life and Lizzie McGuire show what it's really like to grow up. If people really rely on the expectations that some shows give them, they'll be very disappointed when they get to that point in their own life. Shows like Victorious and Hannah Montana show how easy it is to get into their dreams when they're young. It isn't that easy. On Victorious, Tori becomes the most popular girl at an art school when her sister has to back out of a performance and she has to take over. Hannah Montana got into the music business because of her dad. These networks make it seem incredibly easy to reach your ultimate goal in life when it really isn't. There are many obstacles involved and they should be portrayed better.
Digital Nation shows how teenagers have become less social in real life because they have texting, Facebook, and online simulation games like Second Life. It shows how they can be social when they aren't confronting anyone and are talking to people online, but don't like to talk to anybody or are too shy to talk to people in person. This has changed the lifestyles of our generation because less people are active since there's an obsession with social media.
Books
Many teen fiction books show teens with low self esteem or with a really high self esteem, but really stuck up. Geek Charming and Uglies are both good examples of this. In Geek Charming, Dylan is the most popular girl in school and Josh is known as a film geek. Dylan has high self esteem and Josh doesn't because he knows he's not popular and has little confidence. In Uglies, everyone who doesn't live in New Pretty Town wasn't pretty and had very low self esteem since they were known as ugly.
Similarities
Teenagers are often portrayed negatively or have something wrong with them (depressed, mentally ill, eating disorder, etc). Media that is shown on family channels usually portray teenagers as happy and funny, such as That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, and iCarly. Most shows and movies about teenagers are based around a girl like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Thirteen, and Lizzie McGuire, which almost makes it a stereotype that girls have issues and guys don't.
Differences
There aren't many differences in how teenagers are portrayed. Many Disney and Nickelodeon shows or movies don't show as many problems as shows on other networks (like ABC Family or the CW) do. Since the audience for Disney and Nick tends to be younger, the TV shows and movies usually show someone that the kids can look up to.
Consequences
The problem with Disney and Nick showing that being a teenager is usually all fun and nothing happens is that it isn't reality at all. TV shows like Secret Life and Lizzie McGuire show what it's really like to grow up. If people really rely on the expectations that some shows give them, they'll be very disappointed when they get to that point in their own life. Shows like Victorious and Hannah Montana show how easy it is to get into their dreams when they're young. It isn't that easy. On Victorious, Tori becomes the most popular girl at an art school when her sister has to back out of a performance and she has to take over. Hannah Montana got into the music business because of her dad. These networks make it seem incredibly easy to reach your ultimate goal in life when it really isn't. There are many obstacles involved and they should be portrayed better.
