Media+Manipulation+-+Is+it+Fuelling+Mindless+Behaviours+in+Gen+Y?

**Student Number:** 08327335 **Tutor:** Colleen Niland

** Media Manipulation - Is it fuelling the Mindless Behaviours of Gen Y? ** In today’s society it is quite evident that the behaviour of young people, in particular those of Generation Y, are a reflection of what they see, hear and what they are influenced by in everyday life. The media has been blamed for many of the dangerous habits that have developed amongst Gen Y, but is this entirely fair? What about the influences of the family and educational experiences? Younger age groups are faced with multiple pressures from a variety of sources to conform but is it a case of manipulation or an interpretation of norms? These questions will be reviewed and answered with the consideration of relevant literature and the application of social and cultural analysis. Additionally, a cultural artefact from society will be evaluated on its representation of the mindless acts of Generation Y and what it is that is really ‘fuelling’ their emergence in society.

__ Cultural Artefact __ __ Corey Worthington (individual) __ Media Personality Corey Worthington (as titled by the media: ‘anti-celebrity’, as titled by friends: ‘Legend’, and as titled by society: Moron), first took claim to fame after a house party he publicised on a public social media page went viral and caused major social upset. With his parents out of town, Corey had 500 youths attend his house party which resulted in a large disturbance in the community, police involvement and a hefty $20000 fine.

An aftermath of numerous media interviews on television and radio allowed Corey to claim his stardom as the ‘bug eyed party pest’ and to even gain financial reward from the notorious event that established a negative image on younger generations (Gen Y) in the minds of older generations (Generation X). This event cultivated the idea that Gen Y lack responsibility, judgement and have a high disregard for consequences when it comes to their behaviours and lifestyle choices.

media type="youtube" key="xc0CB6URrV0?version=3" height="360" width="640" (News Reading from 'A Current Affair', //Channel Nine//) __Public Health Issue__ The incident that was ‘Corey Worthington’s unchaperoned’ party, cultivated ideas of Gen Y being irresponsible when it comes to their behaviours and lifestyle choices and that areas such as risky drinking, drug use and smoking are something that need to be addressed. It shows just how much of an influence the media can be as it advertises ideas such as underage drinking, house parties and drugs to younger populations instead of addressing them seriously. Instead of making and showing the bad example of Corey, he was rewarded by the media with the interviews and an appearance on the reality television show Big Brother with financial gain.

As the young individuals of today’s society strive for conformity, what they see and hear is vitally important in the formation of who they are how they behave. The media is interpreted differently by all generations and it can be certain that Worthington’s party was a subject which would have aroused many different thoughts in each household (for parents: “what a moron, I’m glad my children are not like that.” but concurrently for adolescents: “I wonder if a party like that would happen around here?”).

__Literature Review__ Adolescent health behaviours do not occur in isolation. They grow out of complex interactions at the individual, peer, family, school community, and societal levels (Escober-Chaves & Anderson, 2008). We cannot simply make judgement that the categorisation ‘Generation Y’ means that all the individuals of Generation Y carry out mindless acts, rather understand that they are at the more optimal age for growing and learning, and what is presented to them, through sources such as the media, is very important and influential. Trends related to behaviours such as alcohol abuse (underage drinking and bring drinking), smoking, drugs and other health damaging behaviour in younger generations are quick becoming major issues in today’s society and over the years the topic of Gen Y and dangerous health habits have been given a wide amount of attention in much research.

Referring to alcohol, rates of underage drinking, binge drinking and drinking at risky/high risk levels have increased greatly over recent decades. According to the ABS, Males aged 25-34 years were reported to have the highest proportion of drinking at risky and high risk levels and females had the highest levels for age groups 18-24 and 45-54 years (both 14%). These high levels are negative in promoting the idea that younger generations, such as Generation Y, are ‘mindless’ actors who thrive on the idea of getting ‘wasted’ and being drunk in the presence of their peers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Generation Y is easily influenced by media elements seen on the internet, social media, television, magazines and heard on the radio which portray more ‘mature’ and attractive ideals for society with the idea of being more mature and attractive is a major driver for risky drinking. Advertising is often blamed for driving irresponsible use of alcohol by encouraging people to start drinking when still very young and by making alcohol consumption seem an attractive and fashionable pursuit. Such advertising is often blamed for driving irresponsible use of alcohol by encouraging people to start drinking when still very young and by making alcohol consumption seem an attractive and fashionable pursuit (Gunter, Hansen & Touri, 2010).

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The influence that parents and older siblings provide for drinking habits is also a major stimulant, with younger family members assuming habits they see as normal. Younger individuals were usually introduced to alcohol by their parents often in the context of family celebrations and parties. Too, peer groups are seen to also have a greater longer-term influence on drinking patterns (Gunter, Hansen & Touri, 2010). With 19% of young men (aged 18-24) and 16% of young women reported to have engaged in risky/high risk drinking at least once a week during 12 months in 2007 (according to the NDSHS survey, //Risk Taking by Young People//), it can be predicted that drinking habits will continue to be dangerous unless the media realises its enormous and highly dangerous influence, education on the dangers of alcohol increases and alcohol becomes less encouraged throughout society.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">With smoking it is a different story. According to the ABS, the Australian adult smoking rates have declined steadily since the early 1970s, and this trend has continued into the 1990s. This great decline in smoking rates has resulted in Australia being ranked lowest of all countries in the OECD in terms of the prevalence of daily smoking (National Drug Strategy 2004–2009).Education and media advertisements related to the risks of smoking have greatly increased over the last decade, which can be seen as one of the major deterrents of smoking, in today’s society. There are many reasons behind this discouragement, such as the countless amounts of discouraging advertisements that can be found on billboards everywhere and the backs of cigarette packets. The increasing prices of cigarettes and the prohibition of smoking in clubs and pubs has also been a major deterrent for smoking levels across all ages, but more importantly discourages younger individuals to take up the hazardous habit.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Factors which do influence smoking rates in young individuals include the positive mental aspects of smoking: the beliefs and expectations that smoking helps you to relax, have reduced stress, feel more comfortable with other people, forget your worries, keep your weight down, cheer up when in a bad mood and feel more self confident, and also the ‘positive’ appearance of smoking: makes you look more mature and tough. Factors which give a negative physical and social image to smoking include: making it hard to play sports/other activities, puts you at high risk for dangerous diseases like heart disease and also cancer, it is highly addictive and also that it is socially frowned upon (Buller, Borland,Woodall, Hall, Burris-Woodall, Voeks. 2010). Social context variables, such as smoking by peers or family members, are strongly related to smoking according to Buller et. al, with individuals who have parents and friends that smoke are much more likely to take up the habit themselves.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">With drug use - based on responses to the NDSHS, 38% of Australians aged 14 years and over had used an illicit drug at least once in their lifetime with marijuana/cannabis being the most common, with one in three persons (34%) having used it at least once in their lifetime, and 9% of Australians aged 14 years and over had used a methamphetamine in their lifetime. There has been a very large increase of drug use in Gen Y with party drugs such as ecstasy becoming more popular, with a higher rate of individuals going clubbing and attending more house parties in Generation Y then Generation X. Party drugs have become a whole lot more popular for a ‘good time’ with pills coming in a range of desirable shapes and sizes and also there not being as much education towards the effects and health risks involved with taking them.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Other issues such as mental health, self harm and suicide also raise concern in today’s society for younger individuals. For mental health, according to the ABS, the proportion of young women aged 18-24 years who reported high to very high levels of psychological distress (19%) was higher than the comparable proportion of men in this age group (12%). For self harm, in 2005-06, there were 8,040 hospital separations for intentional self-harm among people aged 15-24 years and in 2004-2006, there was an average of 266 deaths per year attributed to suicide among people aged 15-24 years, accounting for 20% of deaths in this age group

__Cultural and Social Analysis__ <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The environment is only a potentiality who’s rewarding and punishing aspects do not come into being until the environment is selectively activated by appropriate courses of action (Bandura, 1999). In many spheres of life people do not have direct control over the social conditions and institutional practices that affect their everyday lives (Bandura, 2002) and as each individual seeks to gain an understanding of themselves, they are constantly and continuously hounded by social ideals that they are ‘supposed’ to attain to and are confronted by. According to Albert Buranda (2001), because of the influential role the mass media plays in society, understanding the psychosocial mechanisms through which symbolic communication influences human thought, affect, and action is of a considerable importance. He states that people are self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating, not just reactive, organisms shaped and shepherded by environmental events or inner forces. Human self-development, adaptation, and change are embedded in social systems and reflect how vulnerable individuals are, especially those reaching adulthood.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The behaviours undertaken by young adults reflect the quantity of self evaluation that takes place within them and how important it is in their minds to resemble something of a social supremacy. Most external influences affect behaviour through cognitive processes rather than directly (Buranda 2001). Such cognitive factors may decide which environmental factors will be seen, what meaning will be taken from them, whether they leave any lasting effects, what emotional impact and motivating power they will have on an individual, and how the information they interpret will be categorized for use in the future. Environmental factors serve as guides and motivators connected to the core belief that one has the power to produce desired effects by one’s actions, otherwise one has little incentive to act on or to persevere in the face of difficulties (Buranda, 2002).

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As also stated by Buranda, self-efficacy beliefs regulate human functioning through cognitive, motivational, affective, and decisional processes that affect whether individuals think in self-enhancing or self-debilitating ways, the quality of their emotional life, and the choices they make at important decisional points. The way people, and especially young people, come to interpret themselves in relation to those around them is vitally important for life development and determines how interactions will take place and self-image will be formed.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People have a strong need to enhance their self-concepts by behaving consistently with their actions, statements, commitments, beliefs, and self-ascribed traits (Cialdini & Trost, 1998) in order to coordinate with what they believe other people want to see presented in society. Ideas such as those referenced provide major insight into how susceptible human beings are and it is evident why the external influences that are working on such high risk personalities (like those of Generation Y) pose such a massive public health threat. Such issues need to be addressed in order for future prevention's against issues such as underage drinking, smoking, drug use and ill-mental health that are creating major issues in today’s society. The public health of Australia is important now, and for the future generations of tomorrow who, as can be predicted, will be just as easily influenced and manipulated into becoming an identity unto which they are not. In order for such a possibility to be avoided, it would be sensible and essential for public health experts to put focus onto the younger developing generations and how it is they are truly developing.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9b273f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">__ Analysis of Artefact __ <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The individual Corey Worthington and the media enraged party that was held at his parents’ home in Victoria reflected the major generation lapse in the adolescents of Australia who, much like those around the world, thrive on building a self-image that is not self-desirable but more peer-admired. The representations of the incident that were publicised on internet, television and radio enflamed images of underage drinking, dangerous drinking, smoking and illicit drug taking in the minds of older generations and, more dangerously, in the minds of younger generations who are far more easily influenced. The images that were intended to warn instead complimented the ideas of the younger population who thrive on the idea of having a more ‘attractive’ and mature image.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the critical analysis of social influence on the adolescents of today, I have concluded that what individuals think about themselves in relation to the society in which they live is highly important as to the development of their self-image that is constantly manipulated by the social, cultural and environmental aspects of society; how they come to present themselves to others is indifferent to who they truly feel they are. As today’s culture continuously enforces and advertises ill-behaviours, young members of society see and predict social normality and mirror the behaviours that they are seeing negatively; enforcing negative ideas in older generations such as that younger generations are mindless - even though their actions are a reflection of those members of society who are influencing them.

__References__ <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2004-06) //Risk taking by Young People,// Retrieved from:[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Escobar-Chaves, S. L., Anderson, C. A. (2008) The Media and Risky Behaviours. //The Future of Children,// 18 (1), 147-180. Retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gunter, B., Hansen, A, & Touri, M. (2010). //Alcohol Advertising and Young People’s Drinking: Representation, Reception and Regulation//. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978–0–230–23753–7

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Buller, D. B., Borland, R., Woodall, W. G., Hall, J. R., Burris-Woodall, P., Voeks, J. H. (2003). Understanding factors that influence smoking uptake. //Tobacco Control.// Retrieved from: []

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bandura, A. (1999). Social Cognitive Theory of Personality. //Handbook of personality; Theory and Research.// (2nd Ed). Edited by Pervin, L. A., John, O. P. The Guildford Press. ISBN (cloth) 1-57230-483-9 (pbk) 1-57230-695-5.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bandura, A. (2001). Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication. //Media Psychology,// 3 (3), 265-299. Retrieved from: [] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bandura, A. (2002). Social Cognitive Theory in Cultural Context. //Applied Psychology: An International Review//, //51//(2), 269–290. Blackwell Publishers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cialdini, R.B., & Trost, M.R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">compliance. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.) The handbook of social <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">psychology, (4th edition) vol. 2, pp. 151-192. New York: McGraw-Hill.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9b273f; display: block; font-size: 19px; text-align: center;">Comments

A great read! I can’t believe the stats in 2009; there were so many deaths and not much being done about it! It is great to know that a lot of research is being undertaken now to fix the problems of HIV/AIDS, through not only science but public health aswell. I agree with the idea that our everyday culture is a major factor in how we behave and present ourselves in society and has a negative impact on ideas such as sexual intercourse and safe sex. The low age for the beginning of sexual activity is also a major concern raised and there is a lot of evidence to say it is as a result of today’s culture; sex becoming more acceptable and safe sex being an element of neglect. A great article that really allowed me to look further into the issue of safe sex and really question the influence of today’s culture. The ideas presented on sexualisation and the media elements within your article are a big eye opener, especially with your artefact of Serena Williams! The point raised: ‘in order for women to appear on the news, they need to win’ really gained my attention as I began to think, this is actually true! Females are not associated with sport on a professional level by the majority of society and it is only those who are truly interested that make the effort to notice they do exist. If more media attention was encouraged for woman, and such problems were brought to light, would the world of sport change? Or do we have to persist with a male dominated world? As was mentioned needs to be asked: ‘does this sexualisation impede on how the sport is perceived? An excellent read thanks for making me think a whole lot more deeper into this issue.
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