Mature Audiences Only: Media and Cultural Pressure to Behave Suggestively in Middle School

Overview

Objectives/Goals Through personal experiences with peers, I made the assumption that adolescents feel pressure to dress or behave in ways that make them feel uncomfortable. For my science fair project, I surveyed middle school students asking questions that addressed media and cultural pressure put on adolescents. I developed the question, "Do adolescents feel pressure from the media and current culture to dress and behave suggestively?" I hypothesized that adolescents do feel pressure from the media and culture to dress and behave suggestively. Methods/Materials I made a survey of twenty questions regarding clothing styles, video games, TV shows, movie ratings, and specific songs.I canvassed the Del Monte Mall, Capitola Mall, Gilroy Outlets and Sacred Heart School in Hollister. I had the parents of the middle school students I approached sign the required parental consent form supplied by the SCCSF. I made sure that the students filled out the form in privacy and anonymously so that their answers would not be influenced by peers or parents. I collected a total of seventy-nine surveys. Results Fifty to eighty percent of students don't like suggestive clothing. I found that ten to twenty-five percent of adolescents do like suggestive styles based on the influence of peers and the media. My surveys showed that forty percent of adolescents don#t play video games with ratings; Teen, Mature, or Adults Only, while forty percent like and play those games, but don#t pay attention to the ratings. Twenty percent played games with those ratings when with friends. Ten to forty-five percent of adolescents watch MTV and "R" movies either just with their friends or because they#re popular. For the last question of the survey, "Do you at times feel cultural or peer pressure to dress or behave in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable?" Forty-four percent respondants said "A. Never", forty-one percent said #B, Sometimes# and fifteen percent said "C Often". My hypothesis was correct; adolescents do feel pressure from peers and current media dress and behave suggestively. Conclusions/Discussion Adolescents feel pressure from the media and current culture. Many parents do not discuss with their children cultural pressures. I believe my project helps to raise awareness of the pressure that adolescents feel and can encourage parents to discuss issues with their adolescents while encouraging the values that are upheld in their home.

Awards (1)

• Second Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2010 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry J0311

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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