Reflection on Module 2 Readings
One of the ideas in these readings that I found interested was the way products are marketed to children and teens. Children and teens tend to be the most impressionable so it is easy for companies to advertise to them. They also spend a lot of time looking at media. According to the article, Advertising to Children and Teens: Current Practices, one of the ways products are being advertised is directly in the shows they are watching (2014). For example, a logo will appear on something a character is consuming in a television show they are watching. This could be one of the tools of persuasion such as using celebrities to promote a product and make it look cool or even the bandwagon technique where if these people on TV are doing it then I should too. I find this really interesting because I have actually noticed this on children’s shows. One thing that I see the most advertised on media children are using is food. Usually sugary foods, candy bars, and fast food restaurants. We see this in the article, Why that Creepy Character in the Cereal Aisle is Eyeing Your Child. This article states that sugary cereals are placed at eye level for younger children instead of up higher for adults (Tuttle, 2014). He says that they characters are actually looking downwards so they make eye contact with children. This is really creepy to me, but it shows how easy it is to market to children. Fun characters and yummy flavors are things children want. This is an issue because according to the article, Sugar Season. It’s Everywhere, and Addictive, sugar is an addictive substance and could possibly one day be listed in the DSM as a substance abuse disorder (DiNicolantonia & Lucan, 2014).
Media often promotes stereotypes and generalizations. Often times media, such as the news, show people of certain races or cultures committing crimes and other bad things, but don’t show any other positive things about these people and this unfortunately tends to lead to stereotypes (Cortes 148). In schools, one of the possible stereotype and generalization issues relates to gender roles. According to the article, Out of the Mainstream: Sexual Minorities and the Mass Media, gays and lesbians are a group that have been stereotyped heavily in the media (Gross 410). The gender role stereotypes are a huge issue right now. Boys are supposed to like blue, trucks, and sports while girls are supposed to like pink, dolls, and dancing. Mass media stereotypes are something that I believe could be to blame for this issue.
The reading that stood out to me the most this week was the reading from the textbook about cyber bullying. I think this is such a huge issue in our society today and that is why it stood out to me. Teens and young adults spend so much time on social media today that they are bound to experience some type of cyber bullying. I know that I have experienced it in my life. To connect the reading to media and gays and lesbians, the text states that the internet is a new way to express homophobia (53). I don’t think we need to protect children from cyber bullying, but I think we need to teach them to be aware of it and that saying mean things over the internet is just as harmful, or more harmful, that saying it to their faces.
