MEDIA - Representations of Age in the Media

Question 1

What 3 terms can be used to describe how Children are presented in the Media?

Answer 1

• Active Consumers
• Pester Power
• Boundary Maintenance

Question 2

What 3 terms can be used to describe how Teenagers are presented in the Media?

Answer 2

• Moral Panic
• Boundary Maintenance
• Media Saturation

Question 3

What 3 terms can be used to describe how the Elderly are presented in the Media?

Answer 3

• Grey Pound
• Gender Differences (Patriarchal)
• Ageist

Question 4

What are the 6 ways in which Children are presented in the Media?

Answer 4

• Cute = In baby commercials
• Little Devils = Troublemakers, like Bart Simpson!
• Brilliant = Child prodigies, such as Sheldon Cooper in ‘Young Sheldon’
• Brave Little Angels = Suffering from long-term or terminal diseases, such as ill children in shows lie Grey’s Anatomy
• Accessories = Stories on how children humanise celebrities, such as stories about Angeline Jolie or Madonna
• Modern = Children today know so much more ‘at their age’ then children did years ago!

Children are seen as vulnerable and special! (Links to the ‘Cult of the Family’)!

Question 5

What did Heitz-Knowles study and identify? HINT: American TV and children’s motivations

Answer 5

They studied American TV and found that children are often portrayed as motivated by peer relationships, sports and romance and not motivated much by religion or school-related issues; they are rarely shown as having to deal with social issues, like racism or family issues, like child abuse = Shown in a positive light!

However = There is a lack of studies for UK TV; studies mainly focus on US TV shows! There is also a lack of different media representations of different families and their religious backgrounds, including Islamic and Buddhist families!

Question 6

What 2 Sociologists identified the ‘Pester Power’?

Answer 6

Evans and Chandler

Question 7

(EVANS AND CHANDLER) What is the definition of ‘Pester Power’?

Answer 7

The power of children to train or manipulate their parents to spend money on consumer goods that will increase the children’s status in the eyes of their peers = Conspicuous consumption!

Question 8

(EVANS AND CHANDLER) What problem does ‘Pester Power’ create amongst Working-Class Families?

Answer 8

Working-Class parents often struggle to afford the newest toys and consumer goods - This can create greater anxiety amongst these families about them being able to provide for their children!

Question 9

Give Examples of companies in the Media Industry who have Teenagers as their target audience! HINT: Name as many Examples as you can; there are 8 here!

Answer 9

• Magazines, such as Teen Vogue
• Record companies
• Internet music download sites, including SoundCloud
• Radio stations

Also, networking sites, such as:

• Instagram
• Twitter (or X)
• Facebook
• Snapchat

Question 10

How, stereotypically, are Teenagers presented in the Media and what can this Cause? HINT: Links to Cohen!

Answer 10

Teenagers are often presented as a Social Problem!

They are seen as being immoral and anti-authority = These stereotypically presentations of Teenagers can lead to Moral Panics in society!

Question 11

Give an Example of a Moral Panic regarding Teenagers in the Media!

Answer 11

There have been many Moral Panics since the 50s regarding teenagers:

• ‘Teddy Boys’ - Hoodies
• Regarding drugs, binge drinking and ‘Rave Culture’ = Links to Ecstasy Girl in the 90s!

Question 12

What did Wayne et al study and what did they Identity? HINT: Teens were seen as a ‘Violent Threat’!

Answer 12

He conducted a content anaysis of news items across main TV channels in the 2000s!

He found that young people were mainly represented as a VIOLENT THREAT to society!

He found it was rare for the Media to actually listen to teenagers or to get young people to feature on TV and give their own opinions about events = The media only offered a one-dimensional picture of teens; creation of fear and Moral Panics!

Question 13

(WAYNE ET AL) Why do they argue that the Media focuses on creating fear regarding Teens and the Youth in Society? HINT: Distraction!

Answer 13

The negative stereotypes of Teens distracts people in society from the real problems that young people face, such as homelessness, mental health issues and unemployment = All of this has been caused by society’s and the government’s failure to tackle the problems of the Youth seriously!

Question 14

What is the Functionalist argument, in regards to the presentation of the Youth in the Media? HINT: Boundary Maintenance!

Answer 14

They argue that the Media functions to maintain and normalise boundaries of socially expected behaviour in Society (Links to Durkheim and Crime and Deviance)!

Young people may be subjected to negative peer pressure and be encouraged to indulge in deviancy - The Media reminds Teens what is socially expected of them and also the punishments and consequences (reinforcing of the boundary) that will happen if they overstep!

Question 15

What is the Pluralist argument, in regards to the presentation of the Youth in the Media? HINT: Democratic Mirror and Market Model!

Answer 15

They argue that the Media simply reflects Social Reality - They believe that, as young people do in fact commit more crime than any other social group, this is why it is shown more on the news!

Criminal behaviour is newsworthy (Think about News Values, such as Negativity) - People want to read about Crime, so it sells = Market Model!

Question 16

What is the Interactionist argument, in regards to the presentation of the Youth in the Media? HINT: Labelling!

Answer 16

They argue that young people are frequently labelled by older generations as being a threat to ‘social stability’, as they often challenge the authority of the elderly and believe that respect should be earned and not given!

They argue that the way the Media presents Teens and the Moral Panics caused are often a result of the attempts at social control by the older generations!

Question 17

What is the Hegemonic Marxist argument, in regards to the presentation of the Youth in the Media? HINT: Journalists and Agenda-Setting!

Answer 17

They argue that most Journalists follow the Consensus view of society that places the older generation at the top of the ‘Hierarchy of Credibility’ (HALL)!

Agenda-Setting = The reporting of the youth is set by older-people, who often negatively stereotype the youth!

Question 18

What is the Postmodernist argument, in regards to the presentation of the Youth in the Media?

Answer 18

They argue that, in a media-saturated, postmodern society, negative portrayals are just a small aspect of the Media; the Media is actually diverse and includes loads of different interpretations of teens!

Postmodernists highlight the role of the New Media, including apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, which allow Teens to become Citizen Journalists and present themselves they way they choose online! EG: Teenagers online!

Question 19

What do Stoller and Gibson identify, in regards to the link between Age and Gender, especially for the Elderly? HINT: Women are shamed for Ageing etc!

Answer 19

They found that female TV stars often lose out on roles once their looks and bodies begin to physically age (this is why many female Hollywood stars resort to getting Botox or plastic surgery), whilst male actors continue to play leading roles even as they age!

They argue that elderly women are also shown in more social and family settings and are seen as being passive and isolated from society!

Question 20

What do Sociologists say happens to female news reporters when they begin to age?

Answer 20

They get booted off to the radio, whilst ageing men stay in the limelight, as their grey hairs are represented as them having more experience!

Question 21

What does Age Concern identify regarding the under-representation of the Elderly in the Media? HINT: Ageist!

Answer 21

They argue that the Elderly are under-represented in the Mass Media and that, the limited representations that exist, are extremely ageist and are stereotypical!

Question 22

(AGE CONCERN) What are the 3 stereotypical representations of the Elderly that they identified?

Answer 22

GRUMPY = As shrews or busybodies for women, or being lazy, boring and stubborn for men - Often portrayed as very conservative and right-wing, especially on societal issues like immigration!

MENTALLY CHALLENGED = Having dementia, losing their memory, being forgetful or declining mentally!

A BURDEN = As an economic burden or a physical or social burden, such as people having to care for them!

Question 23

Describe what the Grey Pound is!

Answer 23

The Grey Pound is often the nickname for the economic power of the Elderly!

Older people are often said to have much more disposable income, which they can then spend on consumer goods!

Question 24

What do Lee et al note in the representation of the Elderly in adverts? HINT: It is low!

Answer 24

They found that the Elderly are often represented fairly poorly in adverts, with them only appearing in around 15% of ads!

However, the majority of these adverts (around 90% of them) portray the elderly as ‘golden agers’, who are active, healthy and successful (they don’t shown other, perhaps more negative and realistic representations of the elderly)! - This stereotype is unrealistic as, when people age, it has been found that many fall into poverty, suffer from loneliness and from the loss of their partner (more negative stereotypes)!

Question 25

What did Robinson et al study and what did they Identify? HINT: How the Elderly are perceived by different social groups!

Answer 25

They compared how older adults and college students perceived the stereotypes of the Elderly in adverts.

They found that their Elderly sample liked the ads that showed them as clever and funny.

Neither groups like how the adverts poked fun at older people or portrayed them as out of touch or unattractive!

Question 26

What do Media Representations do, in regard to shaping the public’s attitude?

Answer 26

Media representations of age, alongside other agencies of socialisation like the family and the education system, are important in shaping people’s attitudes towards Elderly groups and helps people dictate how they will act and engage with different social groups.

Question 27

TRUE OR FALSE - Most research, in regards to how Age is represented in the Media, is AMERICAN-BASED!

Answer 27

TRUE!

Question 28

Are Media Representations Limited for Children and the Elderly?

Answer 28

TRUE - This is due to the lack of sociological experiments in regards to these groups, as they are given a lower status in society, especially in comparison to Youth, due to the impact that these stereotypes have (especially in regards to Crime)!

Question 29

What are the Criticisms of recent representations of Children in the Media? HINT: Over-sexualised!

Answer 29

Some critics have suggest that Media representations of childhood are becoming more problematic because the Media is guilty of over-sexualising childhood, especially girls’ childhood!

Many Feminist commentators have observed that the Media focuses on Girls worrying about their weight and appearance - There is also a pressure for children to take an interest in sex at too young an age!

Question 30

TRUE OR FALSE - Ageing women are LESS LIKELY to be stigmatised than Ageing men are!

Answer 30

FALSE - Ageing women are MORE LIKELY to be stigmatised than Ageing men are! –> MORE PATRIARCHAL!

Question 31

Are Elderly People with disposable income portrayed more POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY in the Media?

Answer 31

POSITIVELY!

However - Elderly People who live in Poverty will be portrayed negatively!

Question 32

TRUE OR FALSE - Young People / Teens are BECOMING Citizen Journalists and Active Participants in the Media!

Answer 32

TRUE - Some Sociologists, like Postmodernists, would argue that Media Stereotypes of Teens have actually become more positive, as Teens are actively producing and constructing the Media, not just consuming it!