I flicked open to today’s media on my sofa. I read the news headline. I was shocked as today’s media perpetuates and glorifies unrealistic reality of the current generation. Over twenty years, the history for the dominant media and cultural ideals always has shaped the public’s perception of the ideal current Generation Y. Furthermore, the behaviours of the current Generation Y have been determined by various factors, including media and magazine. The media has portrayed the current Generation Y as being technology addicted. This can not be the truth! Teenagers these days are studying hard as they are spending more time studying which leaves little time for housework, gaming and socializing.
If a person questioned you, do teens do little beyond text messaging, chat rooming, watching the television and gaming? What will your response be? It will obviously be hell no. You tell them that they have just committed a fallacy called ‘popular opinion’. You think that we teens are not capable of living in an environment without technology, just because the media portrays us that we cannot function without an iPod hooked to our ears or a mobile phone vibrating in our pockets, does not mean this is true. So readers, I would strongly recommend you, to not believe everything what the media throws at you and absorb it like a sponge. Just trust me on this as I have many personal experiences with this.
A recent study in 2009, Dr. Mann conducted an experiment on ten teenagers to see the amount of time teens devote to electronic media such as TV’s and computers. The results showed that adolescents are spending seven hours a day in front of TVs and computers. Researchers in Ontario are familiar with this growing trend and are likely to take a ...
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...f they have achieved in a certain way to be able to be recognised to the public such as Jessica Watson. Furthermore, a trend that I have noticed when writing this column is that the current generation is always criticised by previous ones in various media forms. I believe that we, teenagers can live harmoniously with the previous generation if we had the freedom to have our side of the story told.
After reading all the different types of newspaper about teens, it had influence me to conclude that the current teenagers do not have the opportunity to express their views to the public. This is because there are not enough articles about how well young people are doing as a whole. However, there are bad story about teens as a whole. This cannot be happening. It seems like the media is not allowing the public to view the brighter side of the story about adolescent.
Bauerlein begins his piece by asserting that “digital diversions,” which is anything technological that distracts the younger generation from finer past times, are in fact cutting the younger generation off from culturally enhancing mediums and is in turn making the teenagers less intelligent. Bauerlein continues to claim that it is the responsibility of adults to guide the younger generation towards meaningful topics. The author adds that teenagers live life minute to minute and because of that suggests that the younger generation is not concerned with the past. Bauerlein states that because of technological advances, including cell phones teenagers are in constant contact with each other. The author states that this constant contact with peers makes it very difficult for adults in the younger generation’s life to guide them toward cultural topics. Bauerlein then adds that if the younger generation continues to indulge in “digital diversions” and is not guided by adults to finer pastimes by the time they are in college they will never take part in high culture. Bauerlein concludes that “digital diversions” and lack of adult guidance will result in a less intelligent generation.
She argues, “Now I suggest that the culture in which they develop tempts them into narcissistic ways of relating to the world” (244). The author argues that the society in which young adults grow up, reflects on their view of the world. Growing up in a technologically advanced society, teens seem ill prepared to deal with their day to day surroundings that require social interaction. Many millennials show little interest in anything dealing in the past. Instead, they are focused on the future and the next great technological advancement. Lastly, at the end of her essay, Turkle expresses the true social issues of teens due to the abundance of technology. She claims, “teenagers who will only ‘speak’ online, who rigorously avoid face-to-face encounters, who are in text connect with their parents fifteen or twenty times a day, who deem even a telephone call ‘too much’ (243). Turkle claims that there are consequences resulting on the heavy reliance of technology. Teens only speak over text and cannot even speak on the telephone, because they are too internal. Rather than speaking externally with others, teens are quiet while only communicating with themselves and over the phone. They would rather write words, than speak them. This is creating a generation of young adults who are not comfortable in normal social
Are technology and the media shedding the very fabric of the existence we have known? As technology and the media spread their influence, the debate over the inherent advantages and disadvantages intensifies. Although opinions vary widely on the subject, two writers offer similar views: Professor Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, in her article “Can You Hear Me Now” and Naomi Rockler-Gladen, who formerly taught media studies at Colorado State University, with her article “Me Against the Media: From the Trenches of a Media Lit Class.” Turkle asserts that technology has changed how people develop and view themselves, while at the same time affecting their concepts of time management and focus (270). Similarly, Rockler-Gladen believes media and its inherent advertising have had a profound effect on the values and thinking of the public (284). I could not agree more with Professor Turkle and Ms. Rockler-Gladen; the effects technology and media have worried and annoyed me for quite so time. The benefits of technology and media are undeniable, but so then are the flaws. People are beginning to shift their focus away from the physical world to the virtual world as they find it easier and more comfortable. The intended purpose of technology and media was to be a tool to improve the quality of life, not shackles to tie people to their devices. I no longer recognize this changed world and long for the simple world of my youth.
Maggie Jackson’s other blog, “Does Self-Control come in an App?” Digital Natives don’t know any difference by going to Facebook or playing games on technology, but it could have a serious impact on them if they get addicted. Kaiser Family Foundation said, the average 8-18-year-old spends more than seven hours and 38 minutes on entertainment media on a typical day. Half of those people use media when doing homework. To help address this problem, we need to teach children to respect the integrity and set up rules for their media use.
Today, technology is all around us, with computers, laptops, and phones just at our fingertips, and though teens seem to be obsessed with their screens, their electronics time should not be very strictly controlled. It would be ridiculous and ineffective to try to keep kids’ heads out of their screens, exemplified by Chris Bergman as he states, “Sadly… I was limited to an hour of screen… But that only fueled covert binging” (Bergman, 1). His screen time was severely restricted, which only caused a higher craving for it. This shows that not only is the suppressing of electronics fruitless, but it actually causes a heightening of the need for a screen! Contrastingly, Bergman’s children have no constraints on their
The media has taken the stereotype of youths, the way the public view youths and the way in which youths view themselves, and exploited the idea, turning it into nothing, but a delusional monster. The youths of society are tomorrow’s future leaders, inventors and scientists, eager to learn and offering new perspectives. The media however, has hijacked the appearance of teenagers, constructing a distorted idea, and warping their reputation into a fictitious lie based on “half-truths”, appearance and generalisation. The Sunday Herald Sun and Courier-Mail newspaper articles have fabricated the stereotypes of youths as violent “animals” and “thugs”, therefore manipulating their audiences to adopt the invited readings through means of silencing, marginalising, generalising and use of connotative language.
“Many Teens Spend 30 Hours a Week on ‘Screen Time’ during High School.” Science Daily. N.p., 14 Mar. 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
Everyone has seen that kid with music blasting basting out of his purple ear-buds, girl texting on her phone, and the teen on their phone communicating with society. As a fellow teen, in my daily life, I use technology constantly. Either in school or outside of school. I feel teens rely on today’s technology to heavily that it may be having harmful affects on teens. The youth of today are constantly engaged in technological advancements. technology promote nonstop communication and instant gratification. whether through cell phones, gaming systems, laptops, or i pods. are these technological advancements a good thing? The growth of technology has negatively influenced the social interactions of today's youth because it isolates individuals from reality, hinders communication, and effects the teens learning ability.
Teens may be technologically savvy, important in a culture reliant on technology, but have fewer skills in dealing with real people. The economic divide pushes those without financial means further from those with internet access and the latest gadgets. How did we survive as teenagers without cell phones and texting? Increasing reliance on e-communication puts those unable to avail themselves of technology at greater disadvantage as they enter adulthood and the workforce. Nevertheless, these problems are not confined to the youth of the world.
The advent of the internet signaled a revolutionary shift for society, in which participation in massive amounts of information was easily and rapidly accessible to any connected country. This digital revolution gave rise to monolithic digital communities that dominate the web and strongly influence the globe; Twitter helped Belarusian youth organize flash-protests against their authoritarian government in 2006, while Wikileaks continues to serve as a public international clearing-house for whistle-blowers. But despite these resounding stories of success, concern is spreading that there is an underlying problem with our digitally enhanced society – especially in the western world. Widespread debate has been sparked by the digital revolution over modern technology's influence on younger generations, with experts combating each other over whether the internet is dulling or expanding young minds. This debate is not restricted to education, but extends to cover issues of morality and perspectives. Education issues are tied to lacking cultural awareness and political activism, but world-views are a separate and altogether more severe problem for the next generation. As the internet becomes more embedded in our lives, youth are retreating into the isolation of private social bubbles and turning reality into a remote abstract concept. Apathetic, amoral and disconnected youth in the western world are spreading to replace the active socially charged older generations.
Males, Mike (1994). “ Bashing Youth: Media Myths about Teenagers”. Online at: , consulted on March/April, 1994.
There is a generation that is 80 million strong who is the start of a new millennium. The people of this generation are called the Millennials. Many think of them as closeminded, faulty and not fit to run the major cooperation’s of the world someday, yet the true identities of this group are just starting to be revealed. Millennials can easily and thoroughly understand the new advances in technologies. They are also the most diverse and open minded generation yet. They show a lot of potential and could someday change the world for the better. A writer for Time magazine, Joel Stein, does a wonderful job describing the millennials for who they truly are in his article “The New Greatest Generation.” While Stein agrees with Twenge in that millennials show faults, he maintains that their faults have potential to make them the next greatest generation. Despite the negative connotations millennials receive, they often have the ability to be resourceful with the technology, open-minded to the diversities the world displays and have a lot of potential.
There has been a long lasting debate in the resent years on whether or not technology has a positive or negative impact on today’s kids. As the years move on, the negative effects have begun to outnumber the positive. The generations previous spent their childhood making forts, fishing, and using their imaginations, contrary to today’s generations who spend their free time texting, playing video games, and watching videos. Damaging effects such as decreases in school performances, addiction to electronics, and lack of brain development have all been linked to the electronic media stimulation. In order to prevent the future generation from following in the current generations footsteps, one must full comprehend just how much technology impacts
Using computer, internet, cellphone, television, etc. make peoples’ lives easier and more comfortable. Young people are the most users of it. They cannot think of a single day without using a technical device. Tara Parker-Pope is an author of books on health topics and a columnist for the New York Times. In her article, she expressed that, “The International Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland asked 200 students to refrain from using electronic media for a day.
As the largest generation on the planet (Jenkins), the Millennials (otherwise known as generation Y) have faced plenty of scrutiny from the previous generations. A Millennial is the demographic group made up of anyone who was born between the years 1980 and 2000. This group of young people has proved to be a great contribution to society and also to the advancement of technology. They do things in their own ways and on their own terms, always approaching a problem in the most efficient way possible for everyone. Millennials have settled numerous issues in our society and they are expected to change our world exponentially. Millennials adapt to new technologies very quickly, however, while Millennials see themselves in generally positive terms such as ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘up to date’, many people from the older generations see them as ‘spoiled’ and ‘lazy’. The new technologies do make living everyday life easier and more functional, however, Millennials are not at all ‘lazy’ for taking advantage of them. Millennials use these new tools in incredibly innovative ways and they see the world in a completely different light.