Ethical Issue In the Media – TeenagersBy Oliver KaplanRough Draft

In the modern day media, teenagers are presented in a very stereotypical and over exaggerated way. They are shown to be ‘thugs’ and ‘vandals’ who drink alcohol, smoke and do drugs. But surely this can’t be true for all teenagers. It seems to me like 99% of the teenagers presented in the media are only really showing the 1% of teenagers in our actual society, while the real 99% of young people are not really presented at all.

Teenagers are very much badly presented in the news, whether in newspapers, online or in various magazines. One good example of this was a boy called Giuseppe Gregory. Gregory was murdered in Manchester at the age of 16. As Gregory was a teenager the BBC claimed, in an article, that the shooting was ‘gang related’. However further evidence and investigation showed that Gregory was not part of any gangs. Therefore this must have been the stereotypical viewpoint by the news story developers of the BBC.

Teenagers and young people are also presented badly in both film and television. Teenagers in films and television are very often given certain character traits that are very stereotypical. For example being rude to older generations or constantly being on phones and social media. The TV show Skins is a very good example of teenagers being shown in a negative light. At numerous points within the series teenagers are shown taking drugs, drinking huge amounts of alcohol, and smoking as well as having personalities that have no respect for any adults or property at all. In addition to this they are shown as vandals and thieves who destroy everything because they simply don’t care. In reality however most teenagers are not this heartless, selfish or rude to others. The majority are just normal, friendly and polite teenagers. And it’s no surprise that some might find it hard socializing and interacting with adults when it is the adults that are showing the teens as bad people. Many adults are becoming desensitized to the fact that teenagers aren’t all bad but in doing so are making the teenagers more afraid of them. And ultimately this is down the media, primarily TV shows creating fiction but portraying it as reality when it isn’t.

In conclusion it is clear to see how badly and unfairly teenagers and young people are treated and presented by the media industry. They appear to treat all teenagers the same, and focus on the worst-case scenarios, which in most cases is not true. Only a very small percentage of teenagers are actually responsible for and behave in the way that the media show us. It is a total misinterpretation.