The influence of media on teenagers

The mass media has a huge influence on people of all ages but children are exposed to mass media more than any other adults are. The internet is absolutely the winner when we talk about the influence of media on teenagers. Children ignore their studying and sport activities in exchange for sitting in front of their computers. Their body does not develop and grow properly and they often have health problems. As we can see, the influence of media on teenagers is very big and it probably goes in the wrong direction. What is more, it has a very painful and harmful effect on growing up... What should we do or better still, what is necessary to be done to stop the negative influence of the mass media on teenagers? Is it too late? We must do something before it gets too late. Sport and science must become our priorities and they must be promoted more than nowadays so that teenagers can become more interested in them… 
Let me begin with the first point of view:

Teenagers’ leisure time is stolen by the mass media.

As it is already mentioned, the influence of media on teenagers is very big. They spend too many hours being entertained by the mass media. 17% of girls and 16% of boys are entertained by the mass media less than 20 hours. Three of ten girls and one of five boys spend about 25 hours trying to find some fun on TV or surfing the net…. Merely 14% girls spend more than 35, but 47% boys spend more than 35 hours being entertained by the mass media. In my opinion that is too many hours per week of “socializing “with the mass media per week. Certainly, there can always be something that they can do instead and that can be useful. For example, teenagers can organize an association for helping the environment, or some groups of support, or go out and help people in need.

Homework is not as funny as the media is

The days of children coming home from school, eating homemade lunch and cookies and then going outside to play with their friends until it is time to do homework are gone. Today, older children are often home alone after school. As a result, they sometimes are tempted to spend their time being entertained with video games, watching television, downloading music and chatting on the Internet instead of doing their homework and more active leisure activities. The statistic is devastating. More than 60% girls and 50% boys neglect their studying in favour of being over exposed to the mass media. It should be clear to everyone that good results at school cannot be achieved without hard work and practicing at home. In my opinion, teenagers should try to realize what is more important, turn off their computers and TVs and start studying.

Face -to-face is not “cool”

Due to the speed of life, the day of 24 hours is short and in the absence of time, young people, in order to meet their need for company of others. Social networks are an ideal solution for this problem, but in many cases that leads to the formation depending on the chat, and send messages with friends. More that 60% said that the popular media are better than those who are left behind. On the other hand, one of five teens thinks that the face-to-face communication is normal feature of the human race. However, when asked whether a conversation over a cup of coffee can replace the chat on the internet 4 / 5 students stated that this is impossible and it is better to talk about the problems ’live’ with a friend or someone who will listen and understand you.

Reading, who cares about that?

Reading books was very popular in the past… Students had to read school books and every child had to read books at home… There was no TV and reading was the only way to have some fun…“Romeo and Juliet”, “20 000 leagues under the sea” and “Don Quixote” are some of the most famous books in the world… They were read a lot up to about 20-30 years ago, but now some children have never even heard of these books. I wonder how students can improve their knowledge without reading. It is hard to say. When we read we learn new things and we find what we are interested in or what we would love to do.
   In conclusion, I'd like to say that the influence of media on teenagers is very big. I asked them how would they imagine an ideal day without mass media? There is a wide range of activities they can do. Students said that they would turn to sport, walking around the town, hiking, having barbecues, reading, studying more and they were really creative while thinking about that. On the other hand, some of them answered that they would drink all day and get sousing. Simply, we must ask ourselves whether it is better with the media or without them?