How does the media influence young people in today’s society?

The first 200 words of this essay...

How does the media influence young people in today's society?

Our society still seems confused about what to think about children and young people. It seems to be gripped with a fear of children, blaming them for much of society's ills: crime, vandalism, drugs, drink, sex, teenage pregnancy. The list goes on. But if these theories are true, where do these rebellious attitudes stem from?

The obvious answer would be from the upbringing of children, but in my opinion the media also plays a substantial role in the attitudes, behaviour and physical aspects of youth today, in particularly that of young women.

We are constantly being bombarded with advertising, opinions, images and stories which appear to be forcing us to conform to a specific image of how we are supposed to be, whether it be thinner, more intelligent or prettier, and no matter how much we try to persuade ourselves that we are in no way affected by such marketing ploys and television programmes, everyone is in some way influenced by the media.

These days we cannot escape the constant media attack, whether it be from television, radio, magazines, newspapers or the Internet. Two of the biggest