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Critical Response
Teen Magazines:
A Critical Analysis
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Contents
3Introduction �
4Issues facing teenagers �
8How magazines are composed �
15Magazines and Appropriateness �
17The effects of these magazines �
20Conclusion �
23Appendices �
30Bibliography �
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Introduction
Magazines aimed at the young teenage women market may give the impression of being a 'girl's best friend'. Of course, like everything, they have their strengths and weaknesses but do the strengths outweigh the weaknesses? It seems more likely for the negative effects of teenage magazines to be more prominent than the positive effects but is this really the case?
This response reviews the way teenage magazines address issues relevant to young women today, especially from the point of view of promoting healthy body image, safe sex and leading social justice issues. All these aspects are emphasised by techniques used in the composition of these magazines with article structure, visual collages and informal language being the most common.
Are the issues they cover and the extent to which they cover them appropriate for their readers? Teenage magazines, such as Dolly and Girlfriend, are often the first place teenagers turn when they have a problem and that is when segments like Dolly Doctor� are most commonly used. This reinforces the need for the magazine's content to be appropriate for their readers; however, this is not always possible. Magazines, such as Cleo and Cosmopolitan, are in a difficult position; whilst they are aimed at the young adult market, 18 to 35-year-old women, a large proportion of their readers are between the age of 14 and 17. As reported in the respective magazines' readership profiles, 35.16 per cent of Cosmopolitan readers� are aged between 14 and 17 and 29.11 per cent of Cleo readers.� How does...
A good beginning
This essay is a good beginning. It points out a problem that should be given serious consideration, but then it stops, without ever showing what is to be done.
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