Popular Teen Magazines and Their possible effect on adolescent development
Introduction
Teen magazines have been in existence for decades. However, the evolution of the content in the magazines is subject to debate. Currently, teen magazines have a wide scope, covering issues like sexuality, dating, body image, clothing, physical appearance, pregnancy, careers, fashion, exercises and work. All these are issues related to or affecting teenagers in the world today. The presentation of these issues in the magazines has however raised eyebrows on how it impacts on the teenagers. The aim of the magazines is to inform and educate the young individuals on how to become all round individuals depending on the content of the magazines. However, it has turned out to be an issue of concern because the magazines are having more negative impacts on the character and mentality of young people. They have neglected their initial purpose of being sources of valuable information to develop young people into responsible adults.
Magazine content comparison
Publications meant for teenagers in the 1990s and 1980s were not different to those of today. In fact, the main issues that the publications focus on are the same. However, the different that exists between magazines of these two different periods is that the magazines today contain too much information which turns out to be misleading. The youths today are exposed to sensitive information and the issues focused on have narrowed down to sex, beauty and fashion. In the 1980s and 1990s, the magazines were purely materials meant to educate the youth on how to be descent and professional. Issues like education, careers, health, relationships and fashion were addressed with a cautious approach using moderate language. Most of these publications were presentable and contained very little controversial information.
Effects of popular magazines in the present day
Popular magazines today like Teen, Marie Claire, Cosmo Girls and others have turned out to be controversial material where every parent worries about their teenage children accessing them. These publications are entirely focusing on irrelevant issues which mislead youths into believing wrong things about beauty, sex, relationships, fashion and physical appearances. These publications do not even touch on other important issues like education and career anymore. They are now centered on sex, celebrities and fashion, something alarming.
Consumerism
With the modern day publications focusing mainly on fashion and beauty, the teenagers are heavily influenced by these materials when purchasing personal effects like clothes and cosmetics. According to an expert, Anastasia Goodstein, a staggering 80% of teenagers purchase items because they saw an advertisement in a teen magazine. These young people read about these trendy fashions and cosmetics that would make them resemble certain celebrities, who pose on the covers of these magazines, and they cannot resist the urge of trying out the same. For instance, The Teen People magazine portrays the kind of controversial material. The cover girl on the March 2007 issue is an actress and singer, Mandy Moore. The celebrity has provoking looks and has the best fashion today with attractive make up. The theme of this issue turns out to be “the sexy issue.” The magazine’s headlines are mainly about looks. For instance, one reads, Dress to Impress” while another states, “Easy Hair Makeovers.” These topics tend to change the mentality of teens to believe that it is only through embracing the fashionable material in these publications that one can be seen as beautiful.
Misconceptions about sex, relationships and sexuality
The advertisements aside, articles inside the magazines are misleading and have many misconceptions about sex and relationships. For instance, YM magazine portrays its cover girl in a particular issue, Amanda Bynes, an actress, is among the coolest American girls according to the publishers. On the cover page of the November 2003 issue, volume 51of this magazine, the publishers are trying to attract young people’s attention on how beauty is a major factor when getting into relationships. Another headline in the YM magazine is, “Boys! Boys! Do You Need One?” Such topics change the attitude of young people towards relationships and their view on sex.
Sex is usually blown out of proportion by these publications. Teenagers are curious individuals who would want to experience everything that sounds adventurous. It is imperative that these magazines are influencing most of the teenagers to engage in sexual activities which poses risks like contracting diseases and early pregnancies. The magazines take on relationships tends to be skewed and unreal. These publications only focus on the happy side of relationships. Teenagers therefore, believe relationships are entirely happy unions, when they get into one and find the going tough, they quit. Therefore, these materials should focus on both sides of relationships and treat sex as a sensitive issue which should be unfolded to the teens in a cautious manner.
Discouragement and self esteem
Teens are psychologically and mentally affected when they read some of the material published in teen magazines. For instance, in Cosmo Girls magazine, there is an article with the headline, “185 Makeover Tricks and Tips.” This is in the October 2003 issue of Cosmo Girl where Josh Hartnett is on the cover photo. These tips are meant to be encouragement and motivation on young girls to be beautiful. However, teenagers will view it that if what they are doing with their hair is not one of those tips, and then they need a makeover. This is wrong because it has a wrong impression on beauty all together. Magazines should not state specific beauty and fashion designs because they affect teenagers badly. Some of those young people who cannot afford such expensive makeovers and outfits will be discouraged for not being fashionable and their esteem will be badly affected.
Personal thought
Teen magazines are important in making young people in society aware of social issues like relationships, education, careers, beauty and sexuality. There are parents who buy their teenage children these magazines to make them learn about these important aspects of life because they prefer not to talk about them directly. However, the content in these magazines has become derogatory to young people, threatening to spoil their morals completely. The magazines are relaying misleading information about important moral issues like sex, beauty and relationships. As a result, teenagers who read these magazines have ended up having early sexual encounters, pregnancies and most of them have social and attitude problems because they try too much to put into practice what they read. The magazines publishers should adopt a new approach of relaying their information on social issues. They should present practical scenarios to the youth and use appropriate language in order to stop misleading the youth about social issues.
Conclusion
The current situation of how teen magazines present these sensitive social issues should no longer be tolerated. This is because most of the teens are getting carried away by the content especially on sex, relationships, fashion and beauty. The magazines today have very little, if any, educative materials for the teens to learn. In fact, research shows that 85% of the teen magazines do not focus on career or education. Most focus on the lavish life of celebrities and fashion, things which they benefit little. Therefore, it is high time that authorities like federal and state governments put regulations on the content to be published by teen magazines. The magazines should be published with a moderately struck balance between social, professional and entertainment issues. This will help adolescents to grow up responsibly and make wise decisions. Furthermore, they will not be exposed to the explicit content of sexuality, and other socially skewed issues like fashion and beauty.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Blasi, C. H. (2011). Child & Adolescent Development: An Integrated Approach. London: Cengage Learning.
Lerner, R. M., & Steinberg, L. D. (2008). Handbook of Adolescent Psychology: Contextual influences on adolescent development, Volume 2 (3, illustrated ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
