How are young people and adults represented
in the media?
Young people and adults are
portrayed quite differently in the media.
Young people are typically represented as rebellious people and adults
are typically portrayed as responsible. The
media usually portrays teenagers in a negative light but adults usually get
represented in a positive light. Teenagers
are also shown in the media as lazy and disrespectful. Adults are shown in the media as hard-working
and respectful and well-mannered.
In the television extract, ‘Representation
of Age – Monarch of The Glen’, the teenagers are represented as irresponsible
and they don’t listen to the adults whereas the adults are represented as
responsible and intelligent. This is
quite a stereotypical representation of teenagers and it also shows that
teenagers lie to impress, as shown in the TV extract as the girl lies about her
age to her boyfriend.
However, in the TV extract, the
adults are shown to be intelligent and responsible and know what is right or
wrong. They are also displayed as very
mature and wise. They always seem to
know what is right or wrong and that is shown in the TV extract when the girl’s
father is telling her off for lying.
From the pictures, it is shown
that both age groups are also presented very stereotypically. In the pictures, the teenagers are
represented as dangerous and hard to approach as they seem to have a hard
exterior and they can be quite threatening as they seem to have a challenging
exterior. They also seem to be irresponsible
and they have no cares in the world. They
are also portrayed as happy and fun and rebellious. They are usually shown to be interested in
only alcohol, drugs, sex and relationships which is an inaccurate
representation.
Also, from the pictures, it
shows that adults are smart and responsible.
Adults are also shown as very hard-working. Older adults seem to be wise and quite frail
which is very stereotypical as not all old people are this way in reality. The media can exaggerate on how they
represent adults as some adults are not wise and responsible.
On TV shows such as ‘Hollyoaks’
or ‘Eastenders’, the teenagers are shown as rebellious and always drinking
alcohol or smoking which shows that they don’t listen to others and are only interested
in relationships and there are barely any responsible and mature
teenagers. Whereas, the adults are
mostly shown as wise and responsible but there are a few exceptions which makes
this a lot more realistic.
The media shows that ‘popular’ teenagers
drink or smoke or take drugs which also encourages other teenagers to do it and
it will lead to plenty of health problems.
It encourages teenagers as they feel they will fit in and it ruins the
reputation of young people and portrays them as rebellious. On the other side, it is also shown on
television that teenagers who study are boring and young people will not want
to work as they will feel that they are boring and will not participate in
school work.
However, adults can be
portrayed negatively in the media as they are shown to have no understanding on
how to deal with children and teenagers and it also shows that adults have
problems communicating with the younger generation as it is also shown that
teenagers have no respect for adults. Adults
lives’ are usually portrayed in the media as happy and stress-free but the
reality is the complete opposite. Adults
lead very stressful lives due to work and children so the media is not always
correct.
