Role of the Media in Influencing Trajectories of Youth Smoking - Research Paper Example

MEDIA I. The media is one of the most controlling, informative and critical part of the human society. This is so because the society relies on the media to get information from other geographical areas and location which are far from the human persons in other parts of the world. Conventional wisdom and empirical evidence has pointed to the direction that the society skews its opinion towards the area which the media is alluding to. In practice, the teenagers or the young girls are not an exemption since they are also likely to follow suit and believe what the media puts forth. Most importantly, there are popular people in the world who get a lot of attention thus the whole society as a whole seeks to follow and fodder for their information. II. Introduction The term media in the simplest and most basic sense refers to the avenue where information is shared or passed from one source to the recipient. In the recent past, there have been changes, modifications, advancements and improvements in the fields and sectors of technology therefore the definition of media has changed. Accordingly, there has been the concept and notion of social media which encompasses avenues such as you tube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram where information is passed and shared uncensored and an unedited. This paper will thus look at the extent to which the media inclusive of the social media could influence the behavior of the teenage girls (Martin & Bush, 2000). In principle, this article and text will discuss and look into the exact ways in which the media affects behaviors of girls. In form of a hypothesis, this paper will explore how the media affects dress codes and fashion patterns or inclinations of teenage girls. Fashion also encompasses and covers the way in which a celebrity or a popular person poses to represent themselves and the background identity as a whole. A practical case and instance is the way Britney Spears did pose in magazines in 1999, the implication it had on the teen girls and what that instance or posing could influence and impact the behavior of girls. Tentatively, this research paper will be exploratory in nature, stemming from the fact that it does not have any static hypothesis which would be sought to be confirmed or disapproved. In principle, the research paper will be free-flowing and self-guiding, therefore the conclusion that would be made would be informed by facts and figures obtained in the course of the research paper. III. Method Participants Given the nature of this research and study it would be proper to obtain first-hand information from the primary participants-the girls who fall in the teenage brackets. In order to arrive at a logical conclusion, the study would select a sample of twenty teenage girls. Ten of them must have full access to media avenues such active account holders of Facebook, Twitter or You tube where they are sure to access information which is trending. The remaining ten of them must not be so active in the social media but should have access to the mainstream media which may not give full coverage to celebrities (Wakefield, Flay, Nichter & Giovino, 2003). The mainstream media houses report major things and happenings that a celebrity or a popular person do and not all the basics of their life. Similarly and equally important would be to invoke the opinion and input of experts who deal with issues of teenage behaviors. The most common behaviorists would be sociologists or psychologists who would explain why and how the teenage girls are likely or not to be influenced by the things that happen in the media. The experts would also form body of the research participants since they would guide and give meaning and reason to issues. In brief, they would contextualize the things that the primary participants or the teenage girls would give. Parents also form an integral and crucial part of the life of the teenage girls and they cannot escape the attention of this research and study. Parents are also best placed to contextualize any effect that the media or the social media by extension has on their teenage girls. If the fashion and dressing patterns of the teenage girls have changed due to the presence of the media then the parents would give their view and guided opinion accordingly. In principle parents of all the sampled groups of participants would be required to participate in the research or study and give their opinion and feel on the issues that would be raised by their teenage daughters. Procedure After sampling the participants, it is critical that we obtain their input and opinion relating to what their perception of the media is regards to their behaviors and human patterns. In rhetoric form it would be proper to ask them if they consider the trends and fashion designs portrayed in the media are good or not? They would then provide their reasons for the same. Secondly, the participants should answer as to whether or not the media influences their behaviors and fashion or social patterns. In retrospect, they would also respond as to whether they feel the way celebrities such as Britney Spears are good roles for them, or for their children as in the case of the parents. It is important to note and mention that the nature and character of this research and study is exploratory in that there is no static guiding hypothesis which should be approved or faulted. Research participants Questions to be answered Response of the Participants Teenage girls in ages of fourteen to eighteen What is your view on media? Do you think what you view in the media affects your behavior? Are the trends and fashions shown in the media good or bad? Give reasons for your answers Do you feel that celebrities who pose for magazines without all of their clothing on are good role models? Explain your answer Do you ever feel that you need to keep up with the trends portrayed in the media? Why or why not Parents of the teenage girls What is your view on media? Do you think what you view in the media affects teenage behavior? Are the trends and fashions shown in the media good or bad for your teenage girls? Give reasons for your answers Do you feel that celebrities who pose for magazines without all of their clothing on are good role models for teenage girls? Explain your answer Are comfortable with your teenage girls’ relation with the media or social media? Explain Experts and academicians in sociology and behavior therapy Explain the reason as to why the participants gave the reasons which they gave IV. Analysis/Results From the outset, the teenage girls responded that they are comfortable with using the social media and following the popular trends such as celebrities. The most common reason that they gave is that it is cool and fun to follow the trends and the happenings that occur around them. Celebrities are sort of idols who the girls would wish to emulate because they feel the celebrities have it all. Fame, beauty, money, attention and celebrities associate with anything good that the teenage girls would wish to be in their lives. However, most of them are reprehensive that posing half-naked or in any compromising situation is bad because it is embarrassing and shameful to them (Grabe, Ward & Hyde, 2008). Most of them also mentioned that such pictures could resurface in later stages of life of a person and harm or hurt them. Parents as a whole agreed on the benefits that the media as a whole present to the teenage girls or the society as a whole. However, they were apprehensive that celebrities who are overly covered in the media for the wrong reasons are not good role models. For instance, social media usually trends with information and news of things which are not morally upright such as a celebrity who posed nude or half naked. Thus, because the teenage girls are young they may be tempted to copy and emulate what they see in the media. V. Synthesis and evaluation/ discussion The experts and academicians outline that the teenage girls are under pressure to conform to the things which trend so that they will not be left behind. Thus there is some level of pressure which forces them to keep with what is trendy or hot so as not to be treated like some social outcast of sorts. The parents are however apprehensive and cautious because they want to guide their teenage girls in the right direction of life. Thus, anything that may threaten the prospects of a good future of the teenage girls be it social media or the negative aspects of the media would be frowned upon. VI. Conclusion The above essay and research paper has explored the effects of the media and the social media by extension to the life of the teenage girls in the society. The irreducible minimum is that the teenage girls appreciate and are likely to be influenced by the happenings in the social media or the media as a whole (Brown, Steele & Walsh-Childers, 2001). However, the parents also support the positives but are outright opposed to the negative images being shown in the media because they may influence the girls to copy and emulate them. Experts also contextualize the behavior of the girls because they would wish to keep up with the trends of the society such as the social media. References Brown, J. D., Steele, J. R., & Walsh-Childers, K. (Eds.). (2001). Sexual teens, sexual media: Investigating medias influence on adolescent sexuality. Routledge. Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: a meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological bulletin, 134(3), 460. Martin, C. A., & Bush, A. J. (2000). Do role models influence teenagers purchase intentions and behavior?. Journal of consumer marketing, 17(5), 441-453. Wakefield, M., Flay, B., Nichter, M., & Giovino, G. (2003). Role of the media in influencing trajectories of youth smoking. Addiction, 98(s1), 79-103. Read More