Portrayal of teens in the media

You know the one. You see these kids on TV, engaging in a range of generally unacceptable acts of social rebellion and disobedience. Is this the truth? My question today, is how has the widely accepted portrayal of the teenage demographic in the media affected the commonly held view of us (I am a teenager, for those who are not aware)?

I have mentioned it in a previous post, and I think it is time to blow the dust off it and show it to you again. It is through the worst of something that we tend to judge things placed in a particular grouping. The example I used before, was the stigmatization of Islam, while the only real trouble comes from isolated strands of fundamentalist, extremist believers, we see Muslims as a whole, as the ones to blame for religious unrest.

In a similar fashion, (while not everyone believes this, and I am fully aware of that) society is often too quick to look at the young people, AS A WHOLE, rather than those isolated groups, (who only need a bit of support from those who are blaming them), as a scapegoat for many societal issues. The fact of the matter is it is simply not true.

As a teenager myself, I am with, and around people of this very age bracket most of the time, and I, as much as anyone, know that many of us, (the vast majority in fact), have an intelligent, mature engagement of society. It is all a matter or misinterpretation. My own perspective of the issue, however, is likely to have been affected by my contextual environment. I understand that possibly if my own upbringing was different, and I was not associated with the people I am, then naturally, the story may be very different.

My general theory is, that upon realizing that blaming minority ethnic or religious groups was unacceptable, the media then moved to shift their focus onto the next best thing – teenagers. While I believe this problem is currently looking to be dealt with, there is still a lot of work to be done.

If anyone feels naturally compelled to share their thoughts on the matter, please leave a comment. Thanks guys, and enjoy what remains of your day.