5. Magazine Responsibility Question

To What Extent Should Magazines Be Held Responsible For The Social Ramifications Of The Representations They Offer?

Magazines are widely read by young teenage girls looking for entertainment and celebrity gossip. In the past, teens read girly magazines just to keep up with all the latest gossip. Nowadays, girls read them to find out how to get ‘that body’ and how to make their hair perfect. Girls are affected massively by content in these magazines, and it makes them question whether they are good enough, and often leads to them adapting their bodies to reach the required standards in the magazines. The magazines also talk about sex, and being sexy. I think that this would make teens grow up way too fast. At 12 or 14, they don’t necessarily need to know all the details about having sex, or being in a relationship. Magazines for teenage girls aren’t age appropriate. Magazines such as Sugar, Cosmo Girl, More! and Bliss have content and coverlines that aren’t appropriate for young teenage girls. Telling them how to get the perfect hair, or how to be the best at snogging. Some of the content however, can be appropriate. Real life stories that would make young teenagers think about their own lives, and with stories about drunken disasters and similar events, it may make teens more careful in the future.

Of course magazines are not the only media source that affects young girls. TV shows and any media content on the internet also has a huge effect on girls views of themselves. They can access so much on the internet that could not be aimed at them as it has not been censored or age restricted. 12 year old girls could easily look up photographs of topless celebrities and come across an inappropriate naked photo instead. The majority of teenage girls now have their own TV, and if not, they at least have access to one. With their own TV, they can watch any show that they wish. They could watch a TV show with violence, nudity and swearing. All of these, mainly swearing, would influence girls to perhaps copy what they have witnessed. They may become a little more violent, or start swearing more.

Another culprit of effects on girls is the parents who brought them up. For example, the mother of the teenager is a loud alcoholic who swears a lot, then the teen would learn from her actions and perhaps copy them. They would certainly pick up the words and language used, and they would used it elsewhere, maybe even sharing it with their mates. On the other hand, if the girl had a fashionable, thin, pretty mother, the girl may look up to her and try to look, act and speak like her. Theses are both negative and positive influences, but they still effect the teen. 

I think that things related to sex, or other inappropriate topics should be removed from teenage magazines. I also think that images of celebrities with low cut or see-through clothing should be removed and replaced with sensibly dressed celebrities, suitable for teenage girls.