Raby, “A Tangle of Discourses”

Hyperlinks

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/14/california-elementary-school-bans-kids-from-playin/

As Raby had discussed in "A Tangle of Discourses", teenagers have been seen as a social problem and banning certain activities and games that may cause problems.  The article that I have linked in this posted is a story about a California elementary school that banned kids from playing tag during recess.  Even though this article is about elementary school kids I find that it is still related to the topic of teenagers.  This school was concerned with the game becoming too aggressive and wanted to stop an issue that could have occurred.  the issue that I have with this is that any child can play tag outside of the school so violence and aggression issues will not stop they just might subside on school grounds.  By banning the game they are hiding the fact that there might be a aggression issue and by banning it the school may be ignoring and missing the fact that they need to change the way their students are interacting; it's not the games fault.  This idea that children and teens are a social issue is starting at a very young age stopping them from just being young and playing fun games that never seemed to be a problem before.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/14/teenage-brain-neuroscience_n_7537188.html

Teenagers are also seen as moody, hating life and parents and wanting to surround themselves with tons of friends.  As Raby discussed in a conversation with one of the girls about how she has been moody the girls points out that she has been stressed, over socialized and tired.  I found an article about why teens are so moody and I agree teens are over socialized.  They spend hours on their phones, making plans, texting during school and playing sports.  I remember one worry that my mom had when I was in high school was that I was not socializing enough.  The teenage brain is also still developing and hormones are going crazy during this time.  The article discusses that hormones causing moodiness is a myth but there is an imbalance within the brain

Media Matters

Towards the end of 8th grade I for some reason felt the need to want a Myspace account; unfortunately at that time my mom was very strict on social media and using the Internet too much.  So, being a teenager and not listening to parents, I went behind my moms back and made a Myspace account.  Doing this felt kind of good and rebellious considering my mom still had a child protection on my AIM account and a child lock on MTV.  I remember not having a Myspace and how left out I felt because so many of my friends had one and my sister who is eight years older than me had one too.  As a teenager you thrive to be accepted into some group of friends and possibly do anything to be a part of it.  Myspace and Facebook were becoming more popular for my age group around this time and this need for social media was pushing through middle and high schools.   

My Super Sweet 16 is a show that was on MTV that featured very wealthy families giving their children overly extravagant, expensive and unattainable sweet 16 birthday parties.  The parties had celebrity guests, expensive cars, the best venues and hundreds of "friends" that would have died to go to the party.  As a teenager who is greatly influenced by media, I compared my life to the unattainable lives of those in the show.  It showed me that if I had a lot of money and a lot of material "things" then a lot of friends would follow.  

Teen magazines that featured some of the top celebrities when I was a young teenager were one of my favorite things.  These types of magazines would have quizzes about love and compatibility, the hottest trends and make-up tips and all information on teen celebs.  As teens we were smothered by these magazines and TV shows that showed us how to be teenagers.  They influenced us in a way that having crushes, drama and gossiping was the way to be a teen.  Love quizzes showed us that romantic relationships were only between boys and girls and we didn't really know otherwise.  These magazines also came with large posters that I would hang up all over my walls and so did most of my friends.  We surrounded ourselves with celebrity media and used that as a way to show that we were teens.  

Framing Youth

Bogad, "Framing Youth"

Quotations

"As adults we believe we know youth-we once were youth, and some of us share our daily lives with youth as teachers, parents and friends.  But to rely on that which we already know is to reproduce that which we already "know"(Bogad, 3).

     The technology and media that children and teens use influence their lives in both positive and negative ways.  Technology today is more versatile and assessable than 30-40 years ago and it is being introduced at a much younger age.  Cell phones, tablets and the internet are some of the first tools of media that children know how to use.  Toddlers now are showing parents and grandparents how to work their phones and download apps.  Many parents say "I was a kid too, I know what it is like".  In some ways that is true.  Every teen wants to feel like they belong no matter when they grew up but social media and other media platforms change the way teens now grow up.  This relates to the text "Framing Youth" by Bogad discussing the representation of adolescence relies on the normal social meaning.

"The cover photo of Holmes helps the consuming public recognize teenagers as a brooding sort, caught in flux between the innocent child in a floral sundress, and the seductive young women with pouty lips and a sparkling choker necklace" (Bogad, 5).

     This quote is a description of a magazine cover of Katie Holmes with an innocent but seductive womanly appeal about her leaving her life as a teen and entering adult life.  During this time, many young adults are caught in between keeping their teen life and moving into the adult world.  But the only difference is the age, nothing else is changing.  At this age, teens are still looked at as mysterious and misunderstood.  They still keep their life private but at the same time they are told to act like adults- which is difficult because they are not yet treated like adults but society.  The life of a teenager is difficult to understand because they are trying to figure out life for themselves but still in need of some guidance and support.

"If I am arguing here that the transition between 12 and 13 or between 19 and 20 is merely a socially constructed event shaped by discourses of "maturity", "transition" and "adolescence" how do we account for the actual experience of such transitions which I would say are significant moments for many people in American culture?  Does adolescence not feel "real" to adults and youth alike" (Bogad, 10)?

     Overall, experiences vary from person to person, environment, gender, class and sexuality.  There are some teenagers that have experienced more than others and some who have been sheltered most of their life.  The idea of being a becoming a teenagers is important in American culture.  I remember having my 13th birthday party and it being a big deal that I am now a teenager but looking back I was just another year older.  This also reminds me of each birthday when someone asks "How does it feel to be 14" And the truth is, it feels just the same as 13 and is going to be the same as 15.  The way adolescence are developing is different now than 30-40 years ago.  Children used to write in journals are diaries, now, they post on social media as an outlet.

One of the difficult things about being a teen is feeling like you have no one to share or explain yourself too.  Even if parents, family and friends are a positive aspect of your life it is important express yourself openly.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/12/readers-panel-whats-it-like-being-a-teenager-today

Media and Ideology

Croteau, "Media and Ideology"
Reflection:

The section of this article "Ideology as Normalization" guided me to think about media in a way that I usually don't.  Social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram are sites that I use without even thinking of their implications, negative or positive.  I wake up in the morning and one of the first things I do is check my phone and look on Instagram.  There are times when I stop myself from checking social media early in the morning because I want to start my day off fresh by not looking and questioning myself due to the many opinions spread through media.  Many companies and organizations use media to get their brand and information across to a wide range of individuals.  Media is used to sell and by successfully sell your product you must be relatable.  Popular tv shows are popular for a reason.  They have adjusted their scripts to relate to the groups their trying to obtain.  Media is about what will be the most "normal" or popular to get the most views or sales.  When people are scrolling through their news feeds or watching the latest tv show, their perception of what is normal is taken from media.  Young teen girls are scrolling through the Instagram explore page and viewing a variety of pictures and seeing what is normal and thinking if they don't look like the other women in the pictures then they are not what others want to see.  

The other day I was watching a new show, the actor in the show is an Indian man and he plays an aspiring actor.  He got a spot in a tv show but another Indian man was also given the spot.  They ran into the problem of having two Indian men in the same show saying that it wont be popular and that people will think its just an Indian show.  This is the issue with the media, if something is not part of the norm it's not displayed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalization_(sociology)

Introduction

The beach I usually go to 

My favorite flower is a sunflower 

Dolphins are my favorite animal 

This is my dog Harley.  This was taken about 3 years ago; he is now 13 years old!

I work at Chilis