Youth Media Survey

YOUTH MEDIA SURVEY

Teen Magazines

For this, I chose the following teen magazines: Teen Vogue; Seventeen; YM; Cosmo Girl and Teen People. I read each one cover to cover as required. Included in this section are my notes on the contents of each magazine and my personal reflections.
To begin, the first thing I observed about youth media is the extensive amount of advertising. I noticed heavy emphasis on style, fashion and beauty in every magazine, some more than the rest. For instance, Teen Vogue dealt mostly with fashion and beauty. For example, articles discussed shopping, top fashion trends, fashion in the family, shaking the dress code and searching the streets of London for the city’s trademark quirky chic. Teen Vogue also contained an article on the teen breast implant boom. In my opinion, the article showed breast implant surgery in a positive light. To me, the article seemed to be saying everyone is doing it and parents are OK with it too. The article stated that, “in 2003 more than 11,000 girls 18 and younger had breast augmentation.”
Overall, I noticed the focus on being beautiful, especially for teenage girls, and the magazine seemed to target their desire for beauty. Even in feature articles, they would highlight all the clothing worn by the person in the photos. Finally, I did not think this magazine was very Christian friendly. I say this mostly because the magazine seemed to emphasize outward beauty via material things and nothing more. As a result, it seemed more like a clothes advertising catalog with a few articles in between. Second, Seventeen was the only one of the five magazines I chose that had a section devoted to faith. The faith section included segments on prayer, role models, inspirational quotes and a story about a trend of more young couples going for counseling before they are engaged. This magazine dealt with health issues and real life issues such as voting and making a difference in the lives of others. Even their stories on dating seemed more positive and helpful in their focus (i.e., staying together vs. breakups). Seventeen included articles such as how to relieve stress, workouts that help prepare you for sports tryouts and fundraising ideas. They also included an article on the dangers of liposuction.
In my opinion, Seventeen was the most Christian friendly magazine out of the five I chose. In my opinion, it had more depth of character than other magazines I read. Seventeen’s focus seemed to be more to make a real difference than to just sell merchandise. The final thing I noticed is that even though Christian friendly, it still included a section on horoscopes and talked about other religious beliefs (i.e., Islam, Atheism) as well.
Third, YM interviewed an athlete and a celebrity and both of them were females. It was reading YM that the thought hit me that all the magazines I was reading targeted teen girls. Obviously, Cosmo Girl is for girls but then, all the rest seemed to be for girls too. Interviews, advertising featuring women and feature articles dealing with topics of interest to girls. YM seemed to be just your basic lots of advertising, celebrities, hair and boys type of magazine.
In my opinion, YM seemed to be more neutral as far as Christian friendly vs. Christian hostile goes. It did not strike me one way or the other.
Fourth, Cosmo Girl seemed to have a New Age flare to it. I say this because of articles that discuss the color of your aura, talking to psychics, horoscopes and signs. There were some noteworthy articles though on girls in combat, obesity & anorexia, acing the SAT, being smart with credit and voting. They also featured 10 teen girls who are entrepreneurs. The thought occurred to me that Cosmo Girl attempts to empower women. For example, it featured girls in combat, entrepreneurs, going to college, handling finances and having a voice in politics.
Finally, Teen People touched on both sides of the issues presented in their magazine. For example, in an article on the abortion debate, they discussed the pros and the cons. On a Christian friendly note, they covered topics such as serving in the community and a crisis line for kids whose parents were alcoholics or on drugs. However, on the other side, they also included a section on horoscopes. To me, all of the magazines seem to want to stay away from being a “Christian” magazine. Instead, each magazine appears to be all-inclusive when it comes to religion. It is just that some topics are also Christian friendly.

Music
Top 10 Songs (Hip-Hop)
Top 10 Music Albums


For the music portion of the survey, I chose the genre of Hip-Hop. I listened to the top 10 songs and read the lyrics to each. In August 2004, according to the Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive website, the top 10 songs (in order) were: Head Sprung by LL Cool J.; Lean Back by T. Squad; Diamond in the Back by Ludacris; No Problem by Lil Scrappy; Why by Judakiss; Slow Motion by Juvenile; Thief’s Theme by Nas; Sunshine by Lil’ Flip; Let Me In by Young Buck and Jesus Walks by Kanye West. For the most part, these hip-hop songs were about sex, being a “gangsta”, sex, drugs, violence, sex, guns, money and more sex. Yet, in the midst of all of this, the #10 song was about needing Jesus.
In addition, I read the lyrics to the top 10 albums as of October 8, 2004. According to the Billboard website, the albums are (in order): Rascal Flatts, Feels Like Today; Hilary Duff, Hilary Duff; Ciara, Goodies; Green Day, American Idiot; Nelly, Suit; The Used; In Love and Death; Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company; Nelly, Sweat; Marilyn Manson, Lest We Forget: The Best Of and Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying.
I read the lyrics of each album off of the Daps Lyrics website. In this section, I will include my summary of those lyrics. Rascal Flatts, Feels like Today album was about life changing, dreams coming true, finding true love in a woman, the pain of losing love and the freedom of the open road. Hilary Duff was about taking control of your life and not hiding yet there was another song on the album called hideaway, which was about hiding. Hilary Duff also sang about feeling the pain of life yet having hope, revealing different things about who she is and her personality, the decision to break up with a someone or not, a person who brightens her world and about a girl who took her boyfriend away from her. Ciara sang about sex, dancing and relationships. Green Day screamed about America being an idiot and how we are a nation controlled by the media, they mention suicide in their songs several times, sang about losing a girlfriend and about walking through life alone with broken dreams. Nelly has two albums in the top 10 right now, Sweat & Suit. Sweat is about clubbing and sex while in Suit, Nelly sings about his relationships with girls in his life. The Used sang songs about being a fake, not listening and someone leaving them. To me, The Used and Green Day both seem to be lonely and angry type albums. However, The Used did include a love song on the In Love & Death album as well. The only song I could find for Marilyn Manson’s album was Personal Jesus. I think the song was saying your personal Jesus is telephone sex and to reach out to that person on the other end of the telephone because they will be forgiving and caring toward you. Tim McGraw sang about divorce, going for your dreams, carrying on in troubled times, people hating you when you are successful, people choosing drugs or Jesus, not listening and getting in trouble and about memories. There were also a couple of songs about relationships. Finally, Ray Charles’s album, Genius Loves Company, was mostly duets with other famous performers, hence the title of the album. It was a very jazzy, soulful sounding album in the spirit of Ray Charles.
Conversations with Youth
First off, I just want to say this portion of the survey was the most challenging for me. From formulating the questions to initiating conversations with strange kids and asking them personal questions. However, I did get through a few interviews alive and I will include my conversations with them here. In the interviews, I asked the kids about who their role models are and about media influences in their lives such as, movies, music and TV. In addition, we discussed their views on voting and on prayer. I asked whether the choices they make in their daily lives reflect their beliefs and values and how did they decide what is right and what is wrong. Still yet, I asked the interviewees about the problems they face in youth culture today, what it is like to be a kid today and how they plan to make a difference with their life. Finally, I asked for their thoughts on the critical issue of portraying violence in youth media.
The interview questions were as follows:
Who inspires you (role models)? Why?
Media Influence: Movies, music & T.V. programs. Why did you choose these?
If you could vote, would you? Why or why not?
Do you pray? Why or why not?
Do your choices reflect your values and beliefs? How do you determine if something is right or wrong?
What issues/problems do you face in youth culture today?
What are your thoughts on the critical issue of violence portrayed in movies?
What do you want to be when you grow up? Why?
Their answers were as follows (no names included):
#1
Who inspires you? Why? My friends. They encourage me to be the best I can be. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? Lord of the Rings, they are exciting and full of adventure. Simple Plan and Avril Lavinge, they seem to know who I am. Law & Order, they teach her about what is happening in the world. If you could vote, would you? No, I do not want to because I do not feel like I could choose between two equally deserving people. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, I am a Christian and God wants us to always talk to Him. Are your choices based on your values and beliefs? They are in between. I do not listen to any rap. Some of the music I listen to has a small amount of cursing and that is all. What issues do you face in youth culture today? People pretend to be your friend when they want something from you. What are your thoughts on violence in movies? Well, it is ok to some extent but not anything too terribly gruesome. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be an Aerospace Engineer because I want to be involved with the new discoveries of the universe.
#2
Who inspires you? Why? Kobe Bryant - I like basketball. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? Blade II - it has vampires and Cheaper by the Dozen because it is funny. I listen to Usher because he can sing and dance. I watch Disney Channel and Nickelodeon on T.V. because the shows are funny and I can learn from them. If you could vote, would you? Yes, I would vote for Bush because I think he did the right thing. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, I pray because it works. How do you determine what is right and wrong? God tells me what is right and wrong. What issues/problems do you face in youth culture today? I don’t really, because I love everybody. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be a basketball player because I am good at it.
#3
Who inspires you? Why? My teacher, Mrs. Maloney, because she cares about me and I can talk to her about life. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? Master of Disguise because I liked the impersonations, especially the one of President Bush. I listen to Shania Twain and Brad Paisley too. They sing about real life and about relationships. I watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch on T.V. because she does magic and can do anything she wants. I know magic is not real though. If you could vote, would you? Yes, I would vote for Kerry because I have heard a lot of bad things about Bush but not about Kerry. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, I pray to God because he answers them. Are your choices based on your values and beliefs? I am just enjoying being a kid and watch what is appropriate for my age now because I will grow up and my taste will change. What issues/problems do you face in youth culture today? I don’t like it when people do illegal things, like drinking and driving. What are your thoughts on violence in movies? I do not like to see blood in the movies because of an experience I had in real life. I won’t watch movies like Silence of the Lambs or Scream. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be a math or science teacher because those are my favorite subjects.
#4
Who inspires you? Why? My best friends because they are funny and we hang out together. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? Harry Potter because of the scary action, Pirates of the Caribbean because of the skeletons, Shrek 2 because it is funny. I listen to Bow Wow. I like rap music. I watch the Romeo Show because it is funny. If you could vote, would you? Yes, I would vote for Bush because I want him to have another term. Voting is important because you vote for the best decision maker, whose decisions you like. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, but just before meals. I don’t know why I don’t pray at other times. What issues do you face in youth culture today? Discipline issues at school. Blackmail and bribery from kids. What are your thoughts on violence in movies? Sometimes it is OK, not too much though because you do stupid things if there is too much of it in the stuff you watch. You keep thinking about it and ask your parents if you can do it too. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be S.W.A.T team or a CIA agent because they use weapons.
#5
Who inspires you? Why? No one, I don’t have an older brother or anything. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? I don’t really watch movies. I like to ride my bike and rollerblade and go to the park instead. I listen to the Backstreet Boys because they have smooth voices. I watch Antique Road Show on T.V. because they have rare things on there and tell you about them and how much money they are worth. If you could vote, would you? No, but my mom and everyone I know is for John Kerry so I would probably vote for George W. Do you pray? Why or why not? No, because I don’t know any prayers. Are your choices based on your values and beliefs? They are based on what I do best in life. What issues do you face in youth culture today? Kids swear (cursing) and then beat me up if I don’t swear (curse) too. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I don’t know. I change my mind a lot. I’ve wanted to be a firefighter before because I like dogs. I’ve also wanted to be a police officer.
#6
Who inspires you? Why? Haley, my best friend, because she doesn’t lie. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? Cheater Girls because I like the dancing. I listen to Alisha Keys and Beyonce because I want to be a singer too. I watch Sister, Sister, Lizzie McGuire and Raven on T.V. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, sometimes, because it works. Are your choices based on your values and beliefs? My choices are based on what my parents say. What issues do you face in youth culture today? My brother is always giving me a hard time and gets on my nerves. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be a singer like Alisha Keys.
#7
Who inspires you? Why? My best friend, Riana, because she is nice to me and we share common interests. Media influences: movies, songs, T.V. programs. Why did you choose/like them? I haven’t seen any movies lately but I see movies that look like they’ll be funny. I like Michael W. Smith and his new song Healing Rain. On T.V., I watch Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon because it makes me laugh and it teaches you how to get out of trouble. I also watch Ghost Hunters where they are searching for ghosts. I like it because it is scary. Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, because God tells us to because it is important. Are your choices based on your values and beliefs? Yes, my decisions are made to be good to God. Finally, what do you want to be when you grow up? Why? I want to be firefighter because I want to rescue the world.
In conclusion, some of my final reflections on the interviews are that no child said their parents inspired them. When talking about role models, it was generally a peer, a friend, rather than a mom, dad or even a relative that they mentioned. In addition, it was great interviewing boys and girls, Caucasians and African-Americans, Christians and non-Christians because the perspectives were so diverse and the culture within a culture pronounced. Since I telephoned a few of the youth, I also have different geographic regions of the country represented such as, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas as well as CO. Finally, there is a distinct difference in the responses of churched/Christian youth vs. non-churched/non-Christian youth. The interviewing may have been challenging but, it was also very rewarding to talk to the kids like this and learn from them.

Bibliography


Billboard Album Charts, available from http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/bb200.jsp;
Internet; accessed 8 October 2004.

Cosmo Girl, Vol. 6, Iss: 7, September 2004.

Daps Lyrics, available from http://www.dapslyrics.com; accessed 8 October 2004.

Seventeen, Vol. 63, No. 9, September 2004.

Teen People, September 2004.

Teen Vogue, September 2004.

The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive; available from http://www.ohhla.com/most.html;
Internet; accessed 15 August 2004.

YM, September 2004.