In America, do we glorify bad behavior?
Television is a powerful medium and is a effective tool in shaping how young people perceive the world they live in. I wouldn’t have known how to be in a relationship if I didn’t watch tv shows and movies. I don’t know where I end and where media begins. Do children grow up in this decade?
I grew up in a household where my parents didn’t talk about sex and weren’t open with it. Every time they did bring it up I felt like they were expecting me to be a virgin until I got married. Needless to say, it was always an incredibly awkward conversation.
But I fear, I’m not the only one in this situation.
In a world where more and more parents are working, it’s easy to sit their child in front of the television leading them to draw their own conclusions, and it may not be beneficial to them. They may learn it’s ok to be passive in a relationship, it’s ok to fight with people you don’t agree with by throwing drinks in their faces, sleeping with people in order to get them to like you, drug use is exciting, and that attractive people are the only people who matter. We learn these kind of unwritten rules of femmedom by the media they consume. We are also taught that all kinds of social norms that if we don’t abide by we are not “normal”.
I was one of those kids, one of those who learned because I didn’t drink with my friends to have a good time, that I was not normal.
But now staying out of trouble is a thing of the past, where is it cool to get into trouble? Shows like Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, and 16 & pregnant glorify the things like getting in trouble, being with many sexual partners, 16 and preggers speaks for itself, and Teen Mom virtually makes celebrities out of all of it’s characters.
But that’s what they become, characters—not people. They become people with social media accounts, sex tape leaks, getting punched in the nose, and drinking obnoxious amounts of alcohol. News stories about these people may even make it look desirable to get into trouble for the attention it creates. Parents need to teach good decision making because the media often is a misconception of reality.
