Pop Culture and Mass Media Negative Effects on Teenagers (Essay Sample)

Name: Professor: Course: Date: Pop Culture and Mass Media Negative Effects on Teenagers Mass media has fostered an active adoption of pop culture among the public. The media encourages and introduces certain pop culture trends and activities to the people. This has a possibility of leading to negative social influence, especially on young people who might fail to make good decisions on their own. The research question of this argumentative proposal is: "As part of the trendy practices of incorporating contemporary pop culture in the general trends in the mass media, how do pop culture and mass media negatively affect the teenagers?" I chose this research question since based on my observation and the current trending news, many teenagers are negatively impacted by the adoption of certain practices associated with pop culture. This is because mass media portrays different aspects of pop culture to different media audiences including the youth. This has a great influence on how people conduct themselves, think, dress, or talk, among other things. The teenagers could thus adopt certain negative things while aiming to fit into the trendy pop culture. A crucial trait of all teenagers' maturation is their self-definition. Self-definition refers to the way an individual perceives their self-image. A teenager's self-image is influenced to a greater extent by personal choices, which are, in turn, influenced by the associations and images teens glean from pop culture and mass media daily. "Some male teenagers who listen to music advocating violence become more antagonistic'" (Tramel). This means that they imitate the content they hear from music or other media content. They could wish to become like the heroes they view in the media hence developing some antagonistic traits. The pop culture content, images, video games, or music that is viewed in different mass media could negatively influence teenagers. The teenagers could develop negative thoughts as reflected in the content they view. Moreover, pop culture icons sell products or services through the mass media (Tramel). The teenagers who highly regard these icons could be tempted to copy their way of life like their dress code, language, or conducts. These contribute to the self-definition of teenagers which has a potentially harmful effect on their development. For instance, a teenager could decide to use certain drugs after they view that their pop culture icon is using the drugs (Tramel). Consequently, the teenager will be deviating from the moral standards, and their health will be negatively affected. Possible addiction could occur, the teenagers could have negative relationships with their families, and their normal growth and development would be hindered. Nevertheless, pop culture and the media, in general, could have a positive influence on teenagers. "Pop culture as reflected in mass media strengthens and builds interactions among individuals who share the same culture" (Burke). This means that teenagers who share similar likes and preferences in pop culture practices are united. For instance, those who follow a particular pop culture icon on social media platforms could form social interaction groups. This has a positive impact since they could share issues and help one another through those social groups in mass media (Burke). There are some questionable aspects concerning the claim that pop culture strengthens and builds positive interactions among individuals who share the same culture. One could wonder whether there are actual positive impacts from the interactions in social media among individuals with similar pop culture preferences. This is true since the individuals could fail to physically meet hence it could be challenging to evaluate the positive impacts. A person could hide their true feelings behind their online social profile unlike when people physically interact. It is therefore questionable concerning the positive interactions and influences associated with pop culture and mass media. That being said, it is evident that pop culture and mass media in general have greater negative impacts on teenagers compared to the associated benefits. The teenagers desire to fit into the portrayed pop culture practices. This causes a detrimental effect o...