Abstract
This paper takes a look at self-injurious behaviors without suicidal intent among adolescents and college students. The author provides statistics that show the incidence and prevalence of self-injury but cautions that the surveys and studies that have been done are usually of relatively small sample sizes. The paper discusses several risk factors that might contribute to self-injuring behavior in young adults, such as childhood trauma or disrupted emotional development due to an invalidating environment. The paper also speculates that the increased media attention to this problem, though creating awareness, might also be glamorizing self-injurious behaviors by the "goth" and "emo" teen and young adult subcultures.

From the Paper
"Non-suicidal self-injury is the intentional act of causing physical harm to the self, committed without suicidal intent. Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) can range from the most common methods of self-mutilation, such as cutting and burning the skin, to pulling hair or pinching/slapping. For the purposes of the examination herein, socially acceptable forms of mutilation such as cosmetic piercing and tattoos are not included in the scope of self-injurious behaviors. The incidence of socially deviant self-harm among adolescents and young adults, particularly those in a college population, has been on the increase. In addition, awareness of self-harming behaviors has become a focus in the media. This new level of attention has had two distinct and contradictory effects: one is an increased effort to understand and help those suffering with the condition; the other, a glamorization of self-injurious behaviors by the "goth" and "emo" teen and young adult subcultures."

Tags:self-harm, adolescents students media

Abstract
This paper is about the effects of the media on underage drinkers. The author focuses on the television industry targeting college students and how drinking problems arise early in teenagers and adolescents.

From the Paper
'Teenagers in general are being targeted more and more every year. The alcohol-related fatalities among teenagers rise every year. If the alcohol companies would target an audience other than children this could all be prevented. Media exposure at younger and younger ages is shaping the way children are going to think. The alcohol advertising agencies are shaping the future of so many kids, with promises of a positive outcome due to drinking."

Tags:drinking, teenage, underage, adolescents, youth, alcohol

Abstract
This paper discusses the negative effects the media can have on children and adolescents. The paper reviews an article, "Adolescents and the Mass Media: From "Leave It to Beaver" to "Beverly Hills 90210", written by Donald Roberts. The paper discusses the impact that violence and sex in the media has had on youth and stresses that too few studies have been conducted to specifically determine the correlation between content and consequent behavior.

From the Paper
"One of the most controversial subjects in the past decade has been whether or not the media, namely television and film, are having a negative effect on children. Although a number of studies have been conducted on this topic, the jury is still deliberating, since research results conflict due to the way the studies are conducted or because of the many different variables involved. In his article "Adolescents and the Mass Media: From 'Leave It to Beaver' to 'Beverly Hills 90210,'" (1993) Donald Roberts discusses the impact that violence and sex in the media has had on youth and stresses that too few studies have been conducted to specifically determine the correlation between content and consequent behavior. Further, much of the research done is flawed or biased. Roberts does believe, however, that even if a small number of teens are being negatively impacted--and most likely this is true--it would pay to take some steps to change the situation."

Tags:television, film, children

Abstract
An analysis of twenty articles about adolescents that focuses on applying what is learned about the way the media portrays kids in the classroom. Topics include the generation gap, teenage sex and the teenage code of silence.

From the Paper
"In "The American Teenager Why Generation Y", David Plotz attempts to understand the truisms associated with adolescents. Plotz notes that the current generation of youth-Generation Y-has been characterized as being far more sunny than their cynical predecessors in Generation X. Indeed, according to Plotz, today teen pregnancy, drug use, crime, dropout rates and sexual activity are down. Church-going is up. Racism is out. Plotz, however, scoffs at the notion that this new generation is any better adjusted than any of the generations that came before it..."

Tags:adolescents, teens, teenagers, media, online, depiction, portrayals, classroom

Abstract
This paper describes three basic angles of the media's impact on adolescent self-perception. The paper illustrates the media's most positive portrayal of teenagers and its more customary negative angle. It provides real world examples of the state of adolescence in America. The paper explores how and why corporate America and the media affect the nation's children.

Table of Contents
I. Fear is in the TV: Media images of an adolescent world
II. Truth is in the Streets: The rest of the story
III. Autopsy Reports in the Profit Margins: What does Corporate America have to gain?
a. Media Stock in Violence
b. Drug Companies and the New Marketplace
c. Get Tough on Crime (it's easy on the approval ratings)
d. Selling Popularity
IV. I Don't Want to Be Part of Your World: Self-definition and other underage options
a. Media Complications and Youth Reactions
b. Self-Definition and Viable Options
V. Summary
VI. Sources Used

From the Paper
"I began work on this paper with every intention of sticking to traditional subjects. I planned to discuss media portrayal of women and beauty, the formation of high school "cool" through marketing and media pressure, and the legalities of advertising to teenagers. Along the way I expected to discuss such random issues as cartoon characters and smoking campaigns. However, once I actually started my research, an entirely different topic kept popping up over and over again: the negative media portrayal of teenagers and the wholesale selling of violence and mind-altering drugs.
"Multiple school shootings have passed in recent memory. Daily news reports continue to be filled with stories of adolescent murderers and children in adult prisons. The question then presented itself to my mind, how does all this negative media coverage affect the way teens view themselves, and the way in which they interact with the world? Are teens today really more violent, and if so, is that the fault of the entertainment media or some other cause? What is it like to be part of a subculture that takes the brunt of these media scandals? Is it all hype, and does the hype worsen the problem?
Increasingly my other research seemed to pale in comparison to these questions. One day when I was at the library, a boy walked by wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt that piqued my interest and made up my mind as to how I should approach this paper. It read: "Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing children entertaining our adults?" I set myself the task of answering that question, and further exploring how media messages on violence and group conformity might change the self-perception and self-identification of adolescents, with a focus on the events at Columbine.
There are three basic angles that I felt needed to be explored. First, I attempted to explain the media's most positive portrayal of teenagers and its more customary, negative angle. Then I contrasted these stereotypes with a few real-world truths about the state of adolescence in America. Finally, I tried to explore how and just as importantly, why, corporate America and the general media have affected our children."

Tags:media, adolescent, self-perception, teenager, adolescence, america, corporate, violence, crime

Abstract
This paper examines how violence in the media has become a commonplace affair and discusses whether television violence results in more aggressive or deviant behavior and whether it is likely to lead to criminal behavior. Through a literature review, the paper looks at how studies have proved that media violence can lead to criminal behavior and how many sociologists have concluded that violence in television media impacts viewers in a negative manner. It also shows how television violence impacts youths and adolescents much more frequently than it impacts adults.

From the Paper
"The effects of "media" on human behavior have been closely examined for centuries. Even the earliest of philosophers such as Freud hypothesized that human behavior is a product of external influences. Approximately 50 years ago, before television became a mainstay in modern households, a researcher by the name of Hovland analyzed the potential implications of the science of communications, foreseeing much change in communications of the future. He stated "how can stimuli bring about various desired changes in response?" (Vos Post, 1995). He noted that analysis would be required of the stimuli transmitted by the communicator, in this case the television (Vos Post, 1995)."

Tags:youth, adolescents, freud

Abstract
Teenage girls are exposed to images from the media constantly, at all times providing them with a depiction of what the media perceives, or wishes to project, is the standard of beauty. To completely understand how the media affects the self image of girls in America, an exploration as to how it affects them mentally, socially, and physically is undertaken in this paper alongside a review of available academic articles and data on the subject, with recommendations on how to alleviate these negative effects to complete the research.

Outline:
Abstract
An Introduction to the Media and Girls
The Emotional Implications of the Media Upon Girls
How the Media Grooms the Social Landscape
The Effects Upon Physical Perception of Self
Deciphering the Messages
Concluding Observation

From the Paper
"Throughout the adolescent development of girls both self-focus and awareness of others' evaluations of self are heightened. Due to their concern with not only the internal perception, but also that of the external, additional pressure is created for the teenager, further compounding the problem of self image. It is a fact that body image has a major influence on adolescents' self-esteem, backed by the fact that both female and male adolescents place more importance on their appearance than adults, and also report higher levels of body dissatisfaction. (Dittmar et. al.) Image is a very important aspect of life in that it is the part of an individual which is exposed to the public with this aspect of life being particularly important to teenagers, and the reality is that the media does not help in the development of these adolescents, in regards to both their body image, and their expectations as to what they and others should aspire to look like. "

Tags:adolescents, self-esteem

Abstract
This well-researched paper examines the views and opinions of cultivation theorists who maintain that the media, both electronic and print, tends to clouds one's judgment of reality. The writer of this paper focuses on the contribution of the media to the culture of thinness and perfection and the increasing cases of eating disorders in young women. This paper examines the published research, which indicates that female adolescents are increasingly being subjected to unhealthy body images in print and electronic media. This paper explores the research which proves that internalization of media-promoted images may have an even more pronounced impact on body image. This paper discusses the fact the eating disorders are more prevalent in girls than in boys. The writer contends and explains why young people who are more aware of existing socio-cultural pressures are less affected by media exposure than others.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"Research has consistently demonstrated that media images especially TV commercials and magazines play a dominant role in distortion of body image leading to increased cases of eating disorders among women. Kalodner concluded that images of thin models in media generated feelings of anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction among women but not in men. But different results might be obtained if men were shown images of muscular models instead of thin females since culture of thinness affects women more. Body mass index (BMI) was used in many researches to demonstrate that even those women whose BMI indicate good height-weight proportion also suffered from body image disturbance and developed eating disorder."

Tags:nutrition, media, perception, body, image, electronic, print, health, anorexia, bulimia

Abstract
The paper relates that aggression and violence in the media has been a controversial issue for more than forty years. The paper discusses how many people believe that the news media's coverage of wars and violent incidents, and the entertainment media's portrayals of violence on television programs and in Hollywood films is desensitizing, and can cause some viewers, especially young, impressionable adolescents, to become aggressive or violent themselves at some point because of their constant exposure to violence and aggression on television and in Hollywood films.

From the Paper
"Aggression and violence in the media has been a controversial issue for more than forty years. Many people believe that the news media's coverage of wars and violent incidents, and the entertainment media's portrayals of violence on television programs and in Hollywood films is desensitizing, and can cause some viewers, especially young, impressionable adolescents, to become aggressive or violent themselves at some point because of their constant exposure to violence and aggression on television and in..."

Tags:media, violence, issues

Abstract
This paper examines how American educators depend heavily on propaganda and persuasion, using statistics or "scare tactics" to discourage students from engaging in premarital or unsafe sex. It debates different methods used to teach of sex education. It looks at why one of the reasons that sex education is so desperately needed is the fervent promotion of sex in the media. Popular media, television programs, movies and news programs use sex as a method of selling products, which in turn influences and promotes sex among the younger generation.

From the Paper
"Rather than explaining sex and sexuality, along with all of the possibilities that stem from both, teachers choose to disclose the most shocking statistics they can find as a means of frightening students into avoiding unprotected sex, or sex altogether. The "scare tactics" used include statistics about pregnancy rates among teens, single parenting, sexually transmitted diseases, and accounts of the lives ruined by the three. Educators persuade students to fear sex, because it will ruin their lives. This is supported by accounts of young, single parents who are unable to finish their schooling and are often forced to work undesirable jobs in order to survive."

Tags:media, television, adolescents, diseases, pregnancy