How much influence do magazines have on today’s teenagers?

Kids are growing up too fast these days for anyone’s comfort. They seem to learn faster, and as long as you stick to this, all parents seem to revel in the idea that their child is a fast learner. But this also implies that they will start behaving like teenagers much sooner. Teenagers seem to grow up from playing dolls to putting on makeup almost overnight. Sometimes it comes as quite a shock to the parent who hasn’t been looking long enough.

The media and exposure to a vast field of information has fermented this change that is taking place in our current adolescence. Teen magazines have a particularly high impact on the teen mindset and they seem to be enamored with the information provided on the latest pop stars and models. Teen magazines have changed over time to satisfy the growing curiosity of children. Previously, these magazines talked about a celebrity’s favorite color or outfit, but now they publish relationship facts, makeup tips, and hair tips to entice teens to try them out themselves.

They no longer deliver the ethically correct message of waiting for the right person to take the plunge, but instead discuss the ways and means of attracting the “sexiest” guy in town and how to get and keep him. All this talk puts a lot of pressure on teenage girls to have a ‘boy’ who is ‘in’ and flaunt him. This leads to a lot of problems with more and more teenagers trying to imitate pop stars and celebrities. They crave the skinny, gaunt look and diet and a large proportion become anorexic. They worry about a bad hair day and want to skip school if they have a little pimple on their face.

Clothing and accessories stores actually help the cause by providing state-of-the-art clothing, ranging in size from small to extra-small. The choice of accessories is so wide among an attractive and eye-catching range that it becomes impossible to decide what to buy.

Teenage boys, however, have not been as influenced by teen magazines and are quite happy with their involvement in sports, bikes, and mixing platforms. They are interested in and attracted to girls at a younger age these days, but they don’t get too attacked by the corporate world with accessories, clothes and makeup.

Even when parents protest the influence that the ten magazines have on adolescent children and the irresponsible way in which corporate companies behave, these protests are rebutted by the companies on the pretext that these magazines are aimed at children over sixteen years old. In fact, these companies want to take full advantage of this trend and try to entice teenagers into ever-increasing consumerism and role models for higher profits and earn more money.