How Media Demonises Teenagers

The portrayal of teenage boys as "yobs" in the media has made the boys wary of other teenagers, according to new research.

Figures show more than half of the stories about teenage boys in national and regional newspapers in the past year (4,374 out of 8,629) were about crime. The word most commonly used to describe them was "yobs" (591 times), followed by "thugs" (254 times), "sick" (119 times) and "feral" (96 times).

Other terms often used included "hoodie", "louts", "heartless", "evil" "frightening", "scum", "monsters", "inhuman" and "threatening".

The research – commissioned by Women in Journalism – showed the best chance a teenager had of receiving sympathetic coverage was if they died.

"We found some news coverage where teen boys were described in glowing terms – 'model student', 'angel', 'altar boy' or 'every mother's perfect son'," the research concluded, "but sadly these were reserved for teenage boys who met a violent and untimely death."

At the same time a survey of nearly 1,000 teenage boys found 85 per cent believed newspapers portray them in a bad light.

They felt reality TV – with shows like The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent – portrayed them in a better light – with fewer than 20 per cent believing they were being portrayed negatively.

As a result of the negative press, 80 per cent felt adults were more wary of them now than they had been a year ago. However, the most striking finding, according to the research, was that many were now more wary of boys of their own age. "It seems the endless diet of media reports about 'yobs' and 'feral' youths is making them fearful of other teens," it said. "Nearly a third said they are 'always' or 'often' wary of teenage boys they don't know.

"The most popular reason for their wariness, cited by 51 per cent was 'media stories about teen boys' compared with 40 per cent who said their wariness was based on their own or friends' bad experiences of other teens."

Nearly three-quarters said they had changed their behaviour as a result of this wariness. The most common change, cited by 45.7 per cent, was boys avoiding places where teenagers hung around. Others included dressing differently (14.2 per cent), and changing who they were seen with (11.9 per cent). "For much of the press, there is no such thing as a good news story about teenagers," it added.

"Stories about sport and entertainment, which might have balanced other negative coverage, also took a critical line. Only 16 per cent of stories about teens and entertainment were positive: only 24 per cent about teens and sport were positive."

The research found that – for all the coverage of teenage issues – the boys' voices themselves were rarely heard in newspapers. Fewer than one in 10 articles about young people actually quoted young people or included their perspectives in the debate.

Fiona Bawden, the WiJ committee member who presented the research at the British Library, said: "When a photo of a group of perfectly ordinary lads standing around wearing hooded tops has become visual shorthand for urban menace, or even the breakdown of society, it's clear teenage boys have a serious image problem.

"The teen boys' 'brand' has become toxic. Media coverage of boys is unrelentingly negative, focusing almost entirely on them as victims or perpetrators of crime – and our research shows that the media is helping make teenage boys fearful of each other."

The research, Hoodies or Altar Boys? what is media stereotyping doing to our British boys? was carried out for WiJ by the research company, Echo.

What are Moral Panics? Hayley Burns

SUMMARY

• ·    The way in which the mass media fashions episodes, or stylises them, amplifying the nature of the facts and consequently turning them into a national issue, when the matter could have been contained on a local level
• ·      The Teddy Boys, Mods and Rockers, Skinheads and Hells Angels have all become associated with certain types of violence, which in turn also provoke public reaction and emotion, as topics in their own right
• ·      The impact of issues such as vandalism and football hooliganism might not have been on such a large scale, were it not for the part the mass media play in the exposition of the facts
• ·      The media sensationalises events and then calls for a punishment to be set to persecute the offenders
• ·      Some articles were subject to exaggeration and distortion of the facts. Such phrases as 'orgy', 'riot', 'siege', and 'screaming mob' were incorporated into the text, and exaggeration of the numbers involved all resulted in the perception of the event as a much more violent affair than the facts support
• ·      In a similar fashion, the media have been involved in giving false information about several matters, including BSE, E-coli and the AIDS virus and HIV. Indeed several newspapers declared in the early 1980's that HIV could only be contracted and passed on through homosexual activity damaging the gay community
• ·      The majority of people in society share common values of reality and what is what is acceptable and not acceptable. Generally topics outside of their shared ideas are deemed wrong or detrimental
• ·      The sad truth about the information we receive from our mass media industry is that more often than not there is a hidden agenda, a bias nature which ultimately prevents the public from understanding the essence of the truth of the situation
• ·      The choice of vocabulary they incorporate and the types of photographs they show have a certain bias to them because they want society to perceive these events in a certain way. Although they claim to reinforce public opinion it is worth asking whether they are a voice for the people or a propaganda tool for the rich and powerful.

Past Exam Question

Here is a collection of past questions from the Collective Identity section of the exam paper. Hopefully, by looking at these you will be reassured that the exam does not hold any great terrors for you.

A good piece of advice to try to make the question more accessible is to replace the term 'group of people' with 'British Youth'. 

For example:

Analyse the ways in which at least one group of people is mediated'

becomes

Analyse the ways in which British Youth are mediated.

Stanley Cohen "Folk Devils and Moral Panics"

Alternative Viewpoints

Both articles seem to exaggerate or misrepresent what actually happened during the 1964's clashes. This has a negative effect on the people involved (the Mods & Rockers) as people are going to believe the media, especially when newspapers were the only source of information back then. This will make people prejudice against all teenagers and therefore affect their reputation overall.

Mythbusters has a large picture at the centre of the page. The picture displays Rockers on motorbikes as several people seem to take pictures or record the event. However, the picture does not show them causing any chaos, which reinforces the text underneath. The text reveals that contemporary newspaper reports have exaggerated the events and that the clashing clans have not caused as much drama as the media makes it up to be. Mythbusters have also included a number of past articles which have misinterpreted the truth or exaggerated it in order to support the analysis.

As for Brighton 1964 I Was There, it shows an interview from Freddie Freeman, an old Mod. The answers he gave did not seem to match the intensity of the events as described in the contemporary newspapers. Indeed, words such as 'Invade' & 'Wild Ones' have negatively and wrongly described the events as well as the participants. Freeman gives his point of view, but as he considers himself as a Mod, the answers were slightly biased and did not give an impartial opinion on the events. Moreover, similarly to Mythbusters, he confirms that that events were not as bad as the media made it out to be which is another proof as to how the media abused their power.

Both articles challenge the way in which the collective identity of young people was constructed in contemporary newspaper reports as they contradict with the past articles are saying. They seem to be defending the Mods and Rockers and confirming that the events were not as bad as the media suggests, which might change the way people look at teenagers, but also affect the newspapers' credibility amongst readers. However, suspiciously, most articles that have been published at that time and relating to the events have regarded the Mods and Rockers as troublemakers and that the clashes were indeed abysmal and disturbed the peace in Britain. There are only a few articles that are impartial and defend the people in question, which obviously suggests that the contemporary newspaper reports were indeed true. This has also been confirmed that when the media ran out of real fights to report, they would publish deceptive headlines, such as using a subheading "Violence", even when the article reported that there was no violence at all.

I personally think that both articles are not reliable due to the lack of visual proofs and the bias. The Freddie Freeman interview reveals that some scenes, notably the 'Aquarium in Brighton', might have been partially staged by the press. He went on to reveal that the damage was not as bad the press makes it up to be, which strongly contradicts with the other articles. Some people might believe that Freddie is to be believed as he was a participant, but he could be twisting the truth in order to have a save the tarnished reputation of the Mods and Rockers. Mythbusters also defend the participants but the lack of pictures or even biased interviews that reveal that in fact the press exaggerated the events makes it hard to believe that it was the case. Therefore, the Scootering articles might be hard to be believed due to the bias and single-view answers given.

Mods vs Rockers in the 1960's: Creation of a Moral Panic

One weekend in 1964 residents and holiday-makers in the seaside towns of Brighton, Bournemouth and Margate, were rocked by a sudden influx of young, cool gangs. They were Mods and Rockers, and the culture clash that occurred that weekend, described in the articles below in The Daily Sketch, Daily Mirror and others, has become iconic in the history of youth culture. 

Mods and Rockers were easily identifiable by their distinctive clothing styles: the Mods wore Fred Perry and Ben Sherman designer suits, covered by a Parka jacket; while the Rockers wore leather biker jackets and jeans. Mods also rode European scooters like Lambrettas and Vespas and listened to a mix of Motown, ska and bands such as The Who. 

The Rockers favoured motorbikes and listened to American rock and roll such as Eddie Cochrane and Elvis. Although the movements were short-lived, violent clashes between the two gangs were seized on by the media and used by moralists to exemplify the outrageous liberties enjoyed by Britain’s youths. 

The seafront vandalism and violence described in the newspaper article was later made into the 1979 film Quadrophenia.

The video below shows how the media in the 1960s reported the clashes between mods and rockers and considers whether or not the media coverage exaggerated the scale of events leading to a 'moral panic' in relation to the behaviour of these youth subcultures.

This is evidence of historical creation of collective identity for British youth cultures. 

 

Question

In what ways do the media texts referenced above create a representation of young people as being a danger to society?

Media has been a powerful medium in recent decades due to the multiple platforms available, as well as the easy of access. In this case, print media was much powerful in the 1960's and influenced UK residents with the information it possessed. As a result of the dominance of newspapers and books, whatever information that was included on them would be believed by audiences which would made print media even more high-powered.

In Daily Sketch, the tagline 'WILDEST ONES YET" in capital instantly shows a sense of emergency which will make people buy the magazine. Also, the word "yet" suggests that this event could be devastating for UK residents, which makes the people in question (Mods and Rockers) come across as wild and out-of-control. The subtitle "Beach crowds take cover from battling Mods and Rockers" also gives a bad image on young people as the phrase 'take cover' suggests that beach crowds were trying to escape the battling clans in order to stay alive. This almost gives the UK residents the impression that the Mods and Rockers are terrorists and are causing massive damage to the country, as demonstrated in the picture below.

This picture shows Mods carrying beach chairs and throwing them on Rockers. 

This picture's heading says "'Wild Ones' invade seaside - 97 arrests". The high number of arrests will alert readers of the danger. Also, the verb 'invade' will make readers think that they will cause extreme chaos in the designated area, subsequently will qualify the trouble-makers as delinquents. The beginning of the article reveals that over 1,000 teenagers fought, drunk and rampaged in a seaside town. Also, the word 'desperate' suggests the gravity of the situation and immediately informs readers of the dangers that the people in question could cause to other people.

Moreover, the coverage of the Mods and Rockers' clashes on the media has deeply impacted on the depiction of teenagers in the media. Indeed, the exaggerated tag lines and headings (which must have helped sales) unfortunately helped establish all teenagers of all ages as trouble-makers. The negative depiction could have arguably helped (re-in)forcing stereotypes of teenagers. The common negative teen stereotypes today are rebellious, rude and disrespectful, which were often associated with Mods and Rockers.


Therefore, the print media has indeed created a representation of young people as being a danger to society due to the exaggerated tag lines and headings, the use of emotive language to warn the reader, the high numbers of arrests featured on the front pages as well as pictures showing arrests or even attacks which shocks readers but also reinforces stereotypes. Unfortunately, the negative depiction of teenagers during that period has highly influenced readers and made them almost prejudice against all of them.

Research - Mods

The mods are a youth subculture who were mainly based in London. 'Mods' is the abbreviation of 'Modernists' and came into prominence in the 1960's. Modern Jazz, motor scooters and dancing in clubs are often associated with the 'Mod' culture. 

The history of mod style can be traced back to late 1950s in London and finished arguably in the mid 1960s. Teenagers are considered to be the people that created the mod subculture and appeared to be "a group of working class people and were heavily influenced by Italian culture". In the 1950s, the youth were more attracted to coffee bars, which are associated with jazz and blues - genres that the Mods listened to primarily. Mods were also associated with Lambretta scooters and drugs such as amphetamine pills which added a rebellious and "cool" sense to their community. 1966 was the year when the decline in the mod scene was significant. Indeed, the popularity of psychedelic rock (artists such as the Beatles and the Yardbirds) as well as hippies in the UK made people drift away from the mod style. This had a significant effect on mod bands such as The Who and The Small Faces, as they had completely changed their styles and were no longer considered as part of their original style.

This also influenced the style of young people around the UK, as they were encouraged to dress in a Bohemian fashion, marijuana-infused reflection and out-of-the-common ideas and aesthetics which would be only understood by a few people. The aforementioned elements dominated the youth scene and really showed a contrast with the frantic energy of the mod ethos.

However, the mod style was revived in the late 1970s in England. They started listening to Jamaican Ska as well as attending underground house parties and clubs. Style-wise, they adopted too-short Levi jeans as well as pork-pie hats which resembled the Rude Boy look. The new Mods soon evolved into the first skinheads - a non-political group who hung with black Rude Boys in West Indian clubs. These skinheads retained many elements of Mod clothing such as the Fred Perry and Ben Sherman shirts, the Levi jeans but they added working class oriented accessories such as braces and Dr. Marten work boots.

What is the Media Exam?

In A Nutshell 
The purpose of the exam is to assess your knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates, through your understanding of one contemporary media issue and your ability to evaluate your own practical work in reflective and theoretical ways. 

Logistics
The examination is two hours. 
You will be required to answer two compulsory questions on your own production work, and one question from a choice of six topic areas. 

The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with the two questions on production work marked out of 25 each, and the media theory question marked out of 50. 

Section A : Theoretical Evaluation of production
Section B : Contemporary Media Issues (Media and Collective Identity)

During Term 3 we will be learning about the contemporary media issue of COLLECTIVE IDENTITY in preparation for Section B of the exam.
During Term 4 we will be preparing for Section A of the exam in which you will be evaluating your own completed production work.

The Media and Collective Identity

We will be focussing on the ways in which the media represent the identity of British Youth.

Through the work we undertake you should be able to respond to the following 4 prompt questions:

• How do the contemporary media represent 'British Youth' in different ways?
• How does contemporary representation of 'British Youth' in the media compare to previous time periods?

• What are the social implications of different media representations of 'British Youth'?
• To what extent is human identity increasingly ‘mediated’?

We will explore the representation of 'British Youth' across at least 2 different elements of the media and will develop a critically informed point of view on how British Youth is represented.

In order to be fully prepared for the specific requirements of the question, the material studied must cover these three elements:

Historical – the development of collective identity of British Youth.

Contemporary – examples from no more than five years before the examination. That is, in our case, from no earlier than 2010.

Future – personal engagement with debates about the future of the media forms / issues in relation to the concept of 'British Youth'.

Rules For The Exam

The majority of examples you refer to in the exam should be contemporary. However, theories and approaches may be drawn from any time period.

If you refer to only one media area in your answer, the mark scheme clearly indicates that marks will be restricted to a maximum of the top of level 1.

If you fail to provide or infer historical references and / or future projections, marks will be restricted to a maximum of the top of level 3 for use of examples only.

Introduction to Youth Culture

Noun 1. youth subculture - a minority youth culture whose distinctiveness depended largely on the social class and ethnic background of its members; often characterized by its adoption of a particular music genre

The meaning, formation and behaviour of youth cultures have been the subject of research since the 1930s. In August 2011, England witnessed a number of ‘youth’ riots in several London Boroughs, Birmingham and Bristol. 

The following article was published in The Guardian newspaper in December 1999. You can find the original article online by clicking here.

'They blast the flesh off humans! Teenage hoodlums from another world on a horrendous ray-gun rampage!" So ran the promotion for the 1959 film Teenagers From Outer Space, in the days when teenagers were viewed by grown-ups as deviant, difficult and scary. 

The emergence of this thing called "youth culture" is a distinctly 20th-century phenomenon; the collision of increased standards of living, more leisure time, the explosion of post-war consumer culture and wider psychological research into adolescents all contributed to the formation of this new social category defined by age. Previously, the rite of passage between childhood and adult life had not been so clearly demarcated -this is not to say that young adults didn't have their own activities before the invention of Brylcreem and crepe soles (youth gangs were common in Victorian Britain, for example) but it hadn't before been defined or packaged as a culture. 

Once "invented", the "youth culture" provoked a variety of often contradictory responses: youth was dangerous, misunderstood, the future, a new consumer group. British post-war youth culture emerged primarily in response to the American popular culture centred on rock 'n' roll. The 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, with its soundtrack featuring Bill Haley And The Comets' Rock Around The Clock, was a defining moment, inspiring people to dance in the aisles (and some to slash seats). 

The fear was not only of hoodlums but also of the creeping Americanisation of British culture.   But the impact of imported US films and music did not lead to cultural homogenisation; instead, it inspired a series of spectacular - and distinctly British - youth subcultures from the mid-50s to the late-70s: teds (quiffs, Elvis, flick-knives, crepe soles, working-class London origins circa 1953, drug of choice: alcohol); mods (Jamaican-rudeboy/Italian-cool style, US soul, purple hearts, The Small Faces, scooters, working-class London origins circa 1963, drug of choice: amphetamines); skinheads (Jamaican ska, exaggerated white, British, working-class masculinity, contrasting starkly with middle-class hippiedom of the same period, boots, braces, shaved heads and violence, sometimes racist, late 60s origins, drug of choice: amphetamines); punk (Sex Pistols, spit, bondage, swastikas, circa 1976, drug of choice: glue and amphetamines).   

Drug use became a feature of youth subcultures from the Mods onwards - not just any old drugs, but ones that characterised and defined the subculture in question. Mods chose speed because it made them feel smart and invincible; it also gave them the energy to keep on the move, awake at all-nighters (and through work the next day). 

Later, within rave culture, drug use - this time, ecstasy - was central to the point of being almost obligatory.   Dick Hebdige, acommentator on youth culture, argues that the multicultural nature of post-war Britain was crucial to the formation of many subcultures; each one, he says, should be seen as a response to the presence of black culture in Britain, the ska/rudeboy-inspired two tone movement being a particularly vivid example. The tribes were created through the amalgamation of particular types of cultural goods; music, fashion, hairstyles, politics, drugs, dances - with their boundaries defined through crucial choices: Vespas or Harley-Davidsons, speed or acid, Dr Martens or desert boots. But then, youth culture is full of contradiction: the desire to express individuality by wearing the same clothes as your mates, and rebelling against capitalism at the same time as being a perfect capitalist slave.   

Britain also led the way in the study of youth, and its celebration of creativity and resistance, though these studies, naturally, have their favourite subcultures, often overlooking others. (Still, the kiss of death for any subculture is to be "understood" by a sociologist.) By the late 70s and early 80s, youth subculture began to change, and became less gang-oriented. 

The regular emergence of new subcultures slowed down, and the first major period of revivals began. It became difficult to identify distinct subcultures, rather than just musical styles. In fact, something weird happened: everyone started behaving like a teenager. 

By the 90s, "proper" grown-ups had started to complain that contemporary youth were dull and conformist, and the music of small children became the preferred choice of most teenagers - Pinky & Perky dressed up as Steps.   

Today, there are still plenty of new genres of music, but they don't have such visible subcultures affiliated to them. Even something as recent as 80s dance music and rave culture - after its initial, Smiley-faced, ecstasy-fuelled unity - fragmented into a multitude of sub-genres with no definable set of cultural attributes. 

Despite society's consistent attempts to regulate youth culture, perhaps the main cause of its demise in recent years is the extension of adolescent behaviour until death by the Edinas and Patsys of this world. Youth culture is now just another lifestyle choice, in which age has become increasingly irrelevant.

The following 4 films represent British Youth Culture at different points in time.

Quadrophenia
NEDs
24 Hour Party People
Harry Brown