What I Learned from Teen Magazines

[LisaRocksYourWorld, yo]

No, this does not belong in Books and Writing.  I saw a thread like this on Estro, and I thought it would be a good idea here, as well.

Some of us might read magazines.  They attempt to influence our lives with tear-jerking stories, and then, on the next page, tell us what eye makeup is in for Spring.  

So what have you learned, positive or negative (preferably negative ), from these magazines?  What do you wish you learned?

[BrokenDestiny]

Actually, I've learned some positive stuff from teen magazines. Like in last month's issue of Comogirl they had an article on types of car problems (battery's dead, blow out,etc) and what to do, who to call. On another issue, they had a few pages dedicated to getting ready for college (how to write a good recommendation, asking good questions about your college etc) What to do if someone has choked, overdosed, or is drowning,stuff about your body, and other health related topics. Sure magazines have a whole bunch of stuff on makeup and clothes, but it also has stuff on fun careers.....etc. There's a lot of stuff you can learn from magazines besides what the latest trend.

[rozie87]

i agree that you can learn from magazines. but, they have to have most of their content as "whats in" and "how to get a guy" etc..because thats how they get most of the shallow, trend-following teenage girls to buy it. am i right?

[LisaRocksYourWorld, yo]

Yes!  Exactly! That's just where I wanted this thread to go, Rozie.  But since no one is too eager... I'll add a little.

I've pretty much stopped buying teen magazines.  They insist they want you to be your own person, yet they list dozens of outfits on how to dress like your favorite celebrities.  Page 30: How to feel good about yourself.  Page 32:  How to dress like Shakira!  And even if I wanted Shakira's lip gloss, no one could possibly afford it on a standard teenage budget.  

Then there's the "Getting Guys" portion.  Flirting tips, quizzes on finding out if he's "right for you"... It's all so pointless.  I saw one magazine give out flirting tips, and one of them actually said, "Tell him he has a nice ass."  Um, yeah.  Let me tell you, you'll get a winner with that one.  What seems to be all the rage lately are guys saying what they like about a girl... What they want her to wear, how much makeup she should put on, etc.  Okay, so Rob from Michigan likes girls in knee-length skirts; I better go trash my wardrobe!  

While we're on the subject of clothes... I don't think I even have to say much.  It seems to me that a lot of the outfits are something along the lines of bikini tops paired with leather mini skirts, knee high boots, and red fishnet stockings.  Yes, it might look good on a French runway, but on a 15 year old girl.  And even if I wanted it, there's no way I'm spending $150 dollars!

...and that is my vent of the day.    

[funkylemonpez]

^^ i agree with you completely! i have one friend who hates teen mags as much as me and  we rant about how much we hate teen mags and you pretty much said everything i was going to. they tell you be yourself, but you should wear floral prints becuase acording to the guys of otown girl who wear floral prints look hot(i made that up, but it is an example of what they do say). also follow these thirty tips to become beautiful, and then at the end they tell you that you are beauctiful the way you are and that guys will like you for you if you are just confident. great, all i have to do is be confident! that's a lot harder than it sounds becuase every time i flip through the pages i think " i wish i looked like her" and my self esteem is lowered. sorry if this post if confusing, i am really tired.

[GlitterPunk]

^Well, i love teen mags..

yep, for real i've been collecting them since like 13 or something.There's nothing wrong with them,it depends how you see it though.Do you see them like they are
telling what to wear? or do you see it as
suggestions?.I prefer to see em' as suggestions.I don't have to be like those stick-figure models, ya know.Thats not why i read em' (yeah i read them, they not only for the pics ).I honestly can stay for like 3hrs straight reading them.They are rather entertaining.especially those embarassing moments, very funny ;D.

my favorite is, cosmogirl, use to be teenmag...now it kinda sucks.

[ThaIceLady]

I agree with GlitterPunk. It all depend on how you see it.

[dorkateer]

i remember the day that i was scanning the magazines in the aisle of 7 11 with my pina coloda and banana slurpie in hand when i came across some teen magazine with the headline
"what guys really want" on the cover.
i almost had a minor meltdown right there.
call it an epiphany, but all the sudden i realized that i was <i>supposed</i> to mold myself into what a guy thought would be perfect.
its not possible,
i could never do it,
i need to live for myself.
when you open a guys magazine do you ever see articles claiming to teach you to model yourself into a girls perfect man.
its not likely
or entire society seems to depend upon the approval or disaproval of guys.
exapmple..flip through any magazine to the section where they have a group of guys tell what they like in a girl and have them rate fricking flavors of lipgloss.
its just all so shallow,
please everyone
drop the subscriptions
and pick up a book when you need something to read

[funkylemonpez]

^^^^ exactly. that was beautiful

[LisaRocksYourWorld, yo]

<<Do you see them like they are telling what to wear? or do you see it as suggestions?>>

Well, of course they're not going to hold a gun to your head and say, "Wear this, you fifteen year old Britney-wannabe, or else I'll rip out your fake eyelashes and spill grape juice all over your DKNY jeans!"

I'm not putting anyone down for reading them, but I don't even see the point of even suggesting something to wear. Wear what looks good on you... There's nothing trendy in magazines that you can't see in most stores.

<<call it an epiphany, but all the sudden i realized that i was <i>supposed</i> to mold myself into what a guy thought would be perfect.>>

Exactly (Your post was really great, by the way). The only magazines teenage guys read involve computer games, video games, biking, cars, or pages of hot women in revealing clothes. Things brings up an interesting question: Do you think guys have to conform to fit what girls want?

The bottom line: I don't care how guys want me to wear my hair, how short they want me to wear my skirts, or how much makeup they would like slathered on my face. I'm not going to wear skirts... I'm going to wear t-shirts, and I'm going to wear my same ratty jeans two days in a row if I want to.

[DirtyMagic]

LisaRocksTheWorld said:

The bottom line: I don't care how guys want me to wear my hair, how short they want me to wear my skirts, or how much makeup they would like slathered on my face. I'm not going to wear skirts... I'm going to wear t-shirts, and I'm going to wear my same ratty jeans two days in a row if I want to.

This might be beside the point, but I've read some of those "What guys really want"-type articles, they didn't seem to me like they were trying to tell girls what they had to conform to. (It also seems like the guys DON'T like a lot of make-up on girls, I'm not basing that just on what magazines say, either.)

Maybe it's just me - I don't open a copy of Teen People in hopes of finding out what's in or out, how to be popular, or how to please a guy. I read them for their entertainment value. That's what they do for me - entertain me, and somewhat lessen my boredom. No, I haven't learned much from them - unless you count learning that scrubbing your lips with a toothbrush can help get rid of dead skin on them - but I don't open them hoping to. I don't have half as many problems with magazines as other people seem to, I don't look at the models and wish I could be "perfect" like them, or think I have to go out and buy whatever they deem in. Like I said, maybe it's just me. Occasionally I've found somewhat informative stuff in them, too.

[Larigirl]

most teen mags suck, but a few are actually pretty good. JUMP is nice because it doesn't use just superskinny models and it talks a lot about being yourself. Cosmogirl is good because it actually has intelligent informative articles. and the new magazine from Shoppers Drug Mart, called Glow, is good.... it emphasizes being healthy rather than trendy.

[tam]

I thought the 'flirting tips' were funny!
I like the friendship quizzes.
They often have cool competitions!
I learn't that lots of teens are drinking underage, that was pretty scary! Also there are some good tips and info articles on body probs and stuff like that so once you get past all the superficial stuff there are some interesting articles in the teen magazines too.

[lilblondie1892]

i love magazines especially seventeen i love the embarrassing moments... and they do have good stuff in then that can help u in real life situations

[LittleGreenDream]

Ugh, I hate teen magazines. I do like their embarrassingmoments though, very funny. Most peeps have already said what I was thinking. I just think it's stupid that on one page it tells you to be yourself, and you don't need to be stick-thin to be beautiful, and on the next page it has diet tips, and all their models are 95 pounds. They make it seem like all teen girl think about it how to make guys like them and what kind of make-up Britney Spears likes.