A Positive Value for Youth through Media
Last Week's post introduced the socialization of youth. We discussed social media as an instrument for messages from celebrities and peers. This week we shift our focus to the values youth receive from the various forms of media. We ask, "Who does Media say youth are?" My partner, T., and I, K., have broken the response into positive messages and negative messages to be delivered in separate posts. Here, I discuss a positive value that youth may learn from media as a part of their socialization into current American society.
There have been increases in the development of technology and production of youth marketing over the past years that has created a "voice" that speaks to youth, be it through television programming, music lyrics, commercial ads, or social media sites. The most popular messages of this "voice" are often considered negative, because of the direct and often value-less ideas presented. The messages are so candid that it is often hard to decipher the age group of the target market. However, there is a silver lining of positivity. Youth are empowered like never before. Gone is the notion that children are to be seen and not heard. Youth are directly acknowledged and encouraged to use their voice.
A positive value youth may perceive through all of this is the benefit of political and social activism. Youth of all races are socialized into the practice of voting through organizational campaigns like Rock the Vote and Media Mogul Sean Combs' Vote or Die, among many others. On election day, many facebookers post when headed to and/or from the polls, resulting in peer influence as well. Voting was once taboo for women and minorities, and youth were traditionally ignored because of their lack of resources. But now, media is placing a cool on voting that can capture the interest of youth of all ages. Even those who are not yet voting age are interested in voting as soon as their birthday hits.
The 2008 Presidential Election marked a new era of campaigning as the Obama commitee utilized social networking among other methods of inspiring a change in politics and in our country. Many feel that President Obama won the election based on the youth vote. Another area of activism is the attention to causes including supporting the terminally ill and the disadvantaged. Youth are being targeted for advocacy and giving. Check out this youtube video on youth politics and the internet and the following articles. But don't forget to post below. Can voting and activism become a way of life through media socialization. What do you think?
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