For the Week of 5/22/06

Media outlets such as MTV and television programs like Fox's The O.C., ABC's Desperate Housewives and the WB network's The Bedford Diaries promote an image of teenage life which glorifies shallow materialism, violence, foul language and promiscuous sex. But today, many real-life teens are defying the media's stereotypes and fighting back.

"If I'm always into rap and I hear them cursing all the time, it becomes a part of me. If all I see is a girl's butt on TV, it becomes part of what I want…If you feed yourself a steady diet of something, that's what you become." -- Daniel Serrano, 18-year-old participant in the Battle Cry conference (Philadelphia Inquirer, May. 13, 2006)

A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation last year found that 70% of the top 20 most-watched shows by teens include some kind of sexual content, and nearly half include sexual behavior. It is indisputable that today's teens, surrounded by sexualized media including not only television but also rap music, raunchy teen movies and the myriad of sexually explicit material available on the Internet, are influenced by such media and are subtly pressured by it to conform to the image it presents.

"Television plays a central role in most youngsters' social lives, providing the fuel for conversations and peer group cohesiveness." --  Nancy Signorielli, professor of communications at the University of Delaware. (Planned Parenthood website, September 9, 2005)

Such portrayals can not only negatively influence teens' behavior, they can also impact teens' self-image. If television and other media tell them that "everyone else is doing it," most teens will think of such behavior as "normal." Therefore, even those who abstain from such behavior will feel themselves abnormal and outcast. During the teenage years, when individuals are striving to find their identity and place in the world, the last thing teens need is pressure to conform to behavior which could hurt them – physically, mentally or emotionally – in the long run.  

"When kids are really trying to fit in, it's easy to be swayed by pop culture…Kids should be aware of the messages that they are buying into." -- Johnny Weixler, 17-year-old participant in the Philadelphia Battle Cry conference (Philadelphia Inquirer, May. 13, 2006)

With encouragement from their parents, their peers and various organizations, teens throughout the nation are rejecting the media and corporate structures which profit off young Americans without being concerned about the negative influences their products may have. One such nationwide youth organization, Teen Mania, is actively encouraging young people to and to stand up for their right to think for themselves free from the media's corrosive messages. 

"We're just saying that we don't want to drink, smoke and sleep around. We don't want to do what they tell us it's okay to do." --  Teen Mania youth leader Amanda Hughey, who experimented with drugs before her involvement in Teen Mania (Philadelphia Inquirer, May. 13, 2006)

Confronting the increasing prevalence of teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, pornography and violence, Teen Mania has held several "Battle Cry" rallies in Detroit, San Francisco and Philadelphia. The Texas-based Teen Mania organization also offers teens leadership training, mission trips, and stadium rallies. 

In an era when it is easy to assume that all teens are succumbing to the malign influences of corporate media, it is inspiring to find some who are unwilling to be the pawns of those who seek to use them solely to make money, indifferent to the suffering they may cause. The PTC applauds Teen Mania and all other organizations which help teens to stand against the media's negative messages; and we salute every individual teen who struggles against the pressure to conform to the unreal world presented by television.  

"When character and morality are uncommon qualities; when corporations and marketers seek to profit from our destruction; when pop culture icons do not represent our values…it is necessary for us, the emerging generation of young Americans, to stand for what is right and reclaim the values that have made our nation great. We call our nation to a higher standard and a lifestyle based not on convenience but on character; not on what is easy but on what is excellent; not on what feels good but what is good; not on popularity but on principle; not on what is tempting but what is true. We, as young Americans, assert our right to determine our future and the future of our great nation." – excerpt from Teen Mania's Teenager Bill of Rights

Culture Watch - Entertainment Industry News

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org