Society Killed the Teenager Essay Example

Introduction

Society killed the teenager. This statement which has been all over social media sites such as tumblr and twitter pretty much expresses how the way society sees and treats teens can affect the way they look, dress, act, speak, think, and even the way they see things. Society has this definition of beauty. To be beautiful, you have to be skinny, tall, have flawless skin, nice hair, perfect white teeth, and the list goes on and on. Its like teenagers are being dictated on how they should look like and act. Teenagers today have been hurt and judged just because they dont fit in.

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How Does Society Kills Teenagers

They sometimes even feel self-conscious and sorry for themselves because they cant live up to societys expectations. Doesnt society know that teenagers are greatly affected by their judgments? Many people look at teens as a stereotype. As Reid states in his article: Even the way we dress can cast immediate stereotypes from the people around us. Wear a hooded sweatshirt, and were a thug looking to rob someone. Dye our hair an unusual colour, and were weirdos with problems¦ We get stereotyped from our clothes, hairstyles, social class, the way we act, our ethnicity, even thekind of mobile phone or iPod we have.

It can be difficult to find our personal identity everything we do, say or buy seems to be associated with a certain social group. Sometimes we feel we should fit in with our friends, so we buy the same things and listen to the same music. Reids statement is exactly what is happening today. Teenagers are being judged based on their appearances and actions alone. Media also plays a very big role in a teenagers life especially since they spend most of their time watching television, surfing the internet, and browsing through magazines.

An online article on Buzzle. om entitled Medias Effects on Teenagers states that Fashion magazines are also to blame for their glossy covers showcasing models with so-called perfect bodies that teens idolize and work towards, while of course compromising on health. Seeing and knowing such information, the self-confidence of a teenager can really be destroyed. Society creates this image for teenagers to look up to which, by the way, just ruins them. Take for example those pictures of models with nice bodies seen in magazines; when teens look at them, they think to themselves why dont I look like her?

I wish I had what she has. It is sad to even know that teens are not contented with their imperfections. It may even come to a point where they ruin themselves in order to meet the standards of society. Some even develop eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa which, as pointed out by an online article on troubledteen101. com, is one of the most common teen eating disorders¦ Anorexia means that a troubled teen is starving her or himself. Teens with anorexia are obsessed with their body image (qtd. in Nemours Foundation). They do this just to be acceptable to the norms of society.

Conclusion

Despite all the influences and pressure the society is giving to teenagers, they should still have their own set of standards based on her needs and not the wants as dictated by her environment, most specifically the society which could either destroy or improve her as an acceptable individual. So the fate of a teenager really lies on her own decisions. It is the teenagers choice if she gives in to all the pressure and complies with societys definition of beauty or she stays true to who she is and be contented with her own imperfections.