Everyday we're hit with messages to buy things that if they are put simply, they mean "buy this and you will be pretty" or "buy this and you'll be the most masculine man around". One way teens are influenced by media is through music music can have many different effects on a person. It can cause a simple reaction of bobbing your head, it can lead to a major dance party or it can be as simple as listening to the words. For some artists, listening to the words is what they want most for their listeners. Sometimes their message in the song is more than "Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone" or "It's friday friday gotta get down on friday" sometimes it's a message about American politics, cancer reasearch and how the world needs to change.

Even some of the songs that are at the top of the charts right now have positive messages in them, two prime examples are Pink's Prefect and Katy Perry's Firework.

Define: Love

The technical definition of love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Does gender or age have an effect on your own definition of love?

A sixteen year old male, Cawthra student would

define love as "One of the deepest feelings of affection towards a person that one can have."

A sixteen year old, female, Cawthra student would define love as "When you find someone you like that wants to be

there for you, that you can tell anything to. Love is when you find someone who wants to be with you not for your body, but to hold you in their arms to let you know they are there for you."

An twenty year old male would describe love as "When you care about someone as much as you care yourself."

Aatwenty-three year old, female would define love as "A mutual support system. It's not just based on lust or physical attraction but rather something they give you."

50+ female would describe love as "An ever-changing feeling that's not static. It ebbs and flows with a root of mutual trust and a mutual value system."

50+ male would describe love as "The older you get, it's more about mutual respect, being there for one another. More focused on the heart rather than the body."

As we age, the definition of love stays the same in the sense that trust and support plays a big part and that it's not all about lust and physical attraction although, that is also a big part of love. I think the classic quote "Love is friendship caught on fire." would be my own definition of love. With friendship, you learn how to trust each other, and support each other. The fire part to me is the feeling you get when you realize that your "friend" was never just a friend, they've always meant something more to you.

Listen Closely

Everyday we're hit with messages to buy things that if they are put simply, they mean "buy this and you will be pretty" or "buy this and you'll be the most masculine man around". One way teens are influenced by media is through music music can have many different effects on a person. It can cause a simple reaction of bobbing your head, it can lead to a major dance party or it can be as simple as listening to the words. For some artists, listening to the words is what they want most for their listeners. Sometimes their message in the song is more than "Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone" or "It's friday friday gotta get down on friday" sometimes it's a message about American politics, cancer reasearch and how the world needs to change.

Even some of the songs that are at the top of the charts right now have positive messages in them, two prime examples are Pink's Prefect and Katy Perry's Firework. Both of these songs are about being who you are and always remembering that you are important to the world. It's also about remember that people care about you and that to them, you are perfect just the way you are.

There is non of this

Or feeling like this

These artist have made an effort to put positive messages out in the media, other artist have chosen different issues to tackle with their music. The Dixie Chicks and Pink have both created music about the way America is being run, challenging at the time George W. Bush about how people are treated. There are so many songs out there about different world issues it is simply amazing to say the least.

If you want to take a look here is a few to start:

Pink-Dear Mr. President

Dixie Chicks- I'm not ready to make nice

Mugshot ft. Rob Dyer- Skate 4 Cancer Song

U2- Sunday Blood Sunday

basically anything by Bob Dylan

Brett Dennen- Ain't no Reason

John Lennon- Working Class Hero

Rascal Flatts- Stand

Ludacris ft. Mary J. Blidge- Rynaway Love

Just to name a few

Enjoy

Fame = Addiction

In Bruno Mars’ song “Talking to the Moon” he sings “I’m feeling like I’m famous, the talk of the town. They say I’ve gone mad, yeah, I’ve gone mad.” Being watched and people constantly by the whole world at all times will eventually drive you insane. Sometimes the only way you can feel alone in the world and forget about all of your problems is by doing drugs or getting involved with alcohol.

We all know the many famous cases of celebrity additions such as; Eminem, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, and Kiefer Sutherlans. Although, Bruno Mars; the newest addict to the list. He recently pleaded guilty to having 2.6 grams of cocaine in his pocket. Personally, I love Bruno Mars, and I know all of his songs off by heart, he's my version of Justin Bieber. Let’s imagine for a minute that Justin Bieber was found taking a bong hit with Miley Cyrus. Half of the world’s female children and teens would either follow the example that has been set or become ever so dramatic about the incident.

The power of fame is astonishing; every little girl and every little boy once dreams about living the good life with all the money, popularity, and glamour. But in reality, it's not always an amazing life style.

Beauty is Skin Deep.

"You look beautiful today."
Seems like a flattering compliment to receive. But what exactly do they mean by beautiful?
Their personal perception of beauty? What the media tells us beauty should look like? Or do they mean the confidence we exhibit of our inner beauty?

What exactly is does it mean to be BEAUTIFUL?

Beauty is defined as: the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and please the mind. But we all have our own idea of what we personally see as ideal beauty. But do we really go with our instincts of what we feel is truly beautiful or are we influenced so greatly by the western ideal of beauty that our opinion of beauty isn't really our own anymore.

So let me ask you this...

Is this beautiful?

What about this?

Or this?

All of the people above have one thing in common. They want to fit into what is considered to be beauty in the part of the world they live in. Not so different from us westerner's, huh?

Media messages are all about conformity. In any part of the world. It sets an ideal, and it's your job to meet it and until you do you will be bombarded with it's messages telling you to be like that. And some poeple take that obsession of that ideal way to far.

For example in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, western ads and media is advertised heavily over there. And it has set off a chain reaction where women feel they should be more fair skinned. So much so that they turn to skin bleaching products, which some are unsafe and have horrid lasting effects on skin. Another reason why Thai women bleach their skin is because it is a sign of wealth & status. Tan skin indicates you are a labourer and very poor. So let me get this straight? To be beautiful, you have to rich? Sounds crazy right? Not far fetched when we compare it to all the Hollywood stars who the media adore because of their success and beauty.

In some parts of Western Africa traditional tribes still consider the beauty ideal passed on for generations of being overweight to be beautiful. It is considered to be more attractive to be overweight and have stretch marks. Some daughters are sent to camps where they are fed up to 16,000 calories a day to help them gain weight. Just about the polar opposite of the whole 'skinny is pretty' philosophy if you ask me.

There's one place that seems to be on the right track though. Brazil. The embrace and encourage curviness. Even the comparison of Brazilian models to North American models, they look much more muscular, healthy and curvier. Sounds perfectly realistic, right? Think again, Brazil has an huge draw of crowds for their plastic surgery industry. No place is perfect, but Brazil seems to be onto something groundbreaking...healthy? Could it be? Encouraging health and being fit? This is one thing that shouldn't just stay as a trend!

So what ever happened to having a size 12, healthy, happy, confident,  Marilyn Monroe being the face of western beauty?