Generation Likes and Teen Culture Industry - Paper Example

The Generation Likes Video talks about the social media in todays teen's lives. The social media can influence the lives of the teens today directly as they interact with their culture which includes watching movies, celebrating, brands, artists as well as the communication and interaction with one another in various ways which were never possible before. The real question here is; is this true empowerment or do marketers have the upper hand? A generation like explains how todays teen's pursuit of connection and identity has shifted to the social media.

The various social media corporations are not being fair to these young generations as they tend to play the game of cat-and-mouse as the teens are used to create a great consumer market. These corporations do not care about the adverse effects the social media has on the lives of this young generation. The kids may never know they are being used, however, even if they knew they would not care as they think they may become the next star through the social media. Generation likes is a film that explains how the relationship between the teens and various corporations that are increasingly targeting them is continuously evolving.

The interesting thoughts and the discussion question that this movie provokes can take many forms. One may say it is the number of readers in your blog, likes that you get or the retweets that you get. It can also be said to be the number of followers or friends that you have. What brings people to your page and how do you benefit from it? The film Generation Likes answers these questions and gives various examples and supporting evidence. The documentary argues the more followers, likes, re-tweets, and readers you have, the more social media success you have.

Reading 1: Teen Culture Industry

Technological advancements and social specialization have caused social chaos. Films, Magazines, and radio all have a uniform system in all ways. What we see as enlightenment is mass deception. These platforms have stopped entertaining or informing, and all they show is violence as movies, and radio ceases to be art but just a form of business to justify the crap that they show people.

The public has become a part of the system and favors it blindly especially the teens who will enjoy everything that is thrown their way. The culture monopolies are what has taken us, hostage, as we have no say in choosing what we want or what is good for us. Those in power choose us and show us what they want us to see.

Interesting and thoughts provoking discussion is that is those in power justified to unify the various social platform and show us what they want us to see? The social monopolies should be broken and these media to be once again art instead of just being a business.

Analysis

The video and the reading of the week are similar as they all talk about the negative impact of the mass media, especially in the teens. The unsuspecting public enjoys these mass media without knowing that the corporations are not out there to entertain them or make their lives better but to make profits. There are no contradictions between the movie and the reading. They both support that though the social and mass media may have some benefits, the adverse effects, in particular on the teens, are far reaching and therefore something needs to be done to reduce the disadvantages and increase the benefits.