Girls are influenced to being 'pretty' from a young age, even before reading magazines there are television adverts advertising make-up, hair dye/styles, clothes etc. which gives girls the impression that they have to be like the beautiful, perfect woman who is on the adverts. And when they do start to read magazines there are printed advertisements for clothes, perfume everything girls are interested in, with another beautiful, perfect model which makes girls think that if they buy this product they'll look like her, which is just the start of how the media influences young girls.
A common story in most magazines is about weight, how to diet, exercise, staying thin. Girls should want to be healthy but with all the young, thin pop stars in their skimpy outfits on the cover of the magazine they're buying, they're setting an example that you should look like that, which has backfiring effects of girls having eating disorders or bulimia, because they aren't being taught to diet properly, and that dieting takes time and patients. Whereas young girls just want to be thin straight away, and take drastic measures to make themselves thin, fast.
Sex is another problem in magazines. Because there is no age limit on women's magazines, 14 year old girls can buy cosmopolitan magazine which almost always has stories about sex or sexual related things. Allowing young girls to buy these magazines with sex related stories and 'how to look and feel sexy' articles is pushing young girls to be more sexually interested to things they shouldn't even be thinking about yet. I think magazines with these articles have a part in the rate of teen pregnancies. Girls read these articles and think they have to act and be older than they actually are, to be considered as 'cool' or better than everyone else because they've had sex under age. Which is wrong because girls under 16 should not be thinking about sex, unless it's learning about where babies come from and at learn how to use contraception.
I understand cosmopolitan is a magazine for woman aged 18-25 but I think an age limit should be set to refrain young girls from buying the magazine and being exposed to stories and articles which are too young for them to read. And in magazines such as bliss, more, teen vogue etc. should involve more stories which teach girls that being 'thin' and acting 'sexy' isn't all there is to life. They should involve stories of real inspirational woman who have had eating disorders because of what they had been exposed to at a young age, and how they completely change and ruin your body and life. And maybe stories of teenage mums and how hard it is to look after a baby especially at such a young age. The magazines should teach girls to steer away from this 'perfect' look and exploring sex at a young age, in stead of pushing it upon them.
These magazines aren't just making teenage girls concious, it is also having an effect on older woman, who feel that the women representing the younger generation make them feel old and unattractive, and they also feel pressure to look good for their age using anti-ageing creams (which are mostly fake products, but women believe most of them) and are being tricked into thinking women have to have a certain 'look' which is the perfect model, body, face and hair.
Men and young boys are getting affected by teen magazines as well, there is a certain 'look' which pin points how men should be, its the muscular, bronzed '6-pack' body type which not all men have. But this is putting pressure on young boys to look this way. And young male actors have an influence on boys as well, when a actor who has a big influence on people has a new hairstyle, most boys go and get that hairstyle just because that is considered the certain 'look' for boys.
The media has a huge influence, especially teen magazines, not just on young girls but young men and older women. These magazines affect how people look at the world and brainwash people into thinking you should look a 'right' way when you shouldn't, you should only consider just being yourself. The media has a bigger influence on people than it should, especially young girls and i think the media should take a step back and just let people find themselves and who they are, instead of pushing on them about how they should be.
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You do make some useful points here and have made some really good links between particular representations and young teenage girls' behaviour. You note how a lot of material aimed at young girls is inappropriate and could have a negative influence. well done for completing all tasks fully
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