The Perception, Aspiration and Reality of Teenage Culture

My finals for my Year 12 photography.

What I

SEE

What I

WANT

Who I

AM

Conforming to Stereotypes

Stereotypes are a big part of a teenage world, as the media, and many other superior sources are slamming unrealistic labels on different types of people as a result of a variety of different things. Whether it is the way someone is dressed or the type of music they listen to, the common knowledge of young people is that these factors mean that someone will be grouped into a category that may be untrue to themselves. Stereotypical labels and Conformity often come hand in hand, as many people choose to be viewed in a stereotypical way by conforming to the label that has already been set out for them. It is easy to become something once already being labelled it, so therefore teenagers everywhere are very segregated between cliques.

Emotion

Modern day society uses emotional appeal in everyday life in the media and it is so overused that many younger people have become immune to real emotion. Teenagers especially, have the tendency to be apathetic towards many emotional and important aspects in life; so much so that one of the main ways for teenagers to be perceived is as lethargic and bored. This is not true, as teenagers are often the biggest offenders of masking their true feelings in order to portray this apathetic, acceptable way of feeling to the people around them.

Model: Natt

Sanctuary

Nirvana

Jake

Josh

Ashna
Prue

Laura

Sometimes teenagers need a place to run away, be alone and feel safe, and more than likely the place to hide is in their own bedroom. A bedroom is a sanctuary; a place of safety and comfort in which one is sheltered from the pressures of the outside world. I think that a teenager’s bedroom truly defines who they are as a person and what they are comfortable with.

A Bit of Kisschasey in the Rain.

Push Over Festival 2010


The idea of who a person is is the music that they listen to and the way they act at festivals is very stereotypical yet sometimes, when at events such as this, many teenagers are able to relax and be themselves, without trying to appear desirable. When confronted with the music and the image of a favourite band, many teenagers forget about their situation, surroundings and previous emotions and let the feeling and emotion of the music control their bodies.

Body Image

Models: Nicola, Bella and Emily

Body Image is a type of Teenage Pressure that many teenagers, both girls and boys, face every day. Images are thrown at you in the media in the form of diet ideas, overweight statistics, models, celebrities and lifestyle changes. Many teenagers are seized into this brainwashing self-loathing and body pressure has soon become a way of life. Teenagers are always assuming that they are too fat or too skinny with too many curves or not enough. Being surrounded by media, telling teenagers who to be and what to look like, it is almost impossible to learn to be yourself and love your body.

Caught Between Two Worlds

Models: Emily, Bella, Nicola

Included in the theme of Teenage Culture and Emotion can evoke the idea of being entrapped in age, symbolizing the way teenagers are frowned upon and grouped into stereotypes that are not fitting of their true self. This awkward age could be understood as being trapped between the two main lifestyles; adulthood and childhood. Though not quite old enough to be trusted with all responsibility, teenagers are not children anymore, therefore their activities sometimes resort to dangerous activities to portray their rebellion towards the society in which they are not yet mature enough for.