Teenagers Are Bad!!!

A trend I've noticed a lot lately in the media is, for lack of a better term, bashing on teenagers. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure plenty of the things that are said about teenagers are entirely true, but it sort of seems like our age group is the perfect target for the media, because we always seem to be mentioned on social media, shows/movies, and especially in commercials. Of course, I realize that, as a teenager (I am almost ashamed to call myself that sometimes), I am constantly making stupid mistakes, or saying meaningless nonsense without thinking, but I find it interesting that this kind of thing is what's projected to the public through the media.

For example, just the other day during Thanksgiving break, my mom, my brother, and I were packing up our suitcases to go home as the TV was on, playing pointless commercials in the background. One commercial that came on was advertising for some kind of skin care product and the commercial's voiceover was a woman saying something like, "Teenagers are always breaking out because they're lazy, and can't stick to a basic routine." Right after she heard that, my mom proceeded to groan and exclaim "True!" Obviously, this is only one example of how teenagers are portrayed by the media (as lazy), but I've noticed a similar pattern within many other advertisements as well.

What really interests me is the fact that commercials are directing their ads away from teenagers, because typically, parents aren't the ones sitting around watching TV all day, that usually happens to be kids. Although, in the example, I used, my mom was the one who commented on the advertisement, in reference to her own experience with me, her teenage daughter, which demonstrates the kind of reaction the advertisers were probably hoping for–for a parent to see it, relate to it, and possibly buy their product. Unfortunately in attempt to sell their product, advertisers often focus their negative attention on the "laziest" people they know–teenagers.