Adolescent Room Culture: Studying Media in the Context of Everyday Life

1. Adolescent Room Culture: Studying Media in the Context of Everyday Life J.R. Steele and J.D. Brown, 1995

2. The Questions What is the relationship of teens and the media? Why is media so important in the everyday routines of adolescents What do they take from the media

3. Concerns The effect of mass media on A’s Harmful messages Unhealthy behavior (early or unprotected sex/drug use)

4. The Research/Fieldwork All the research done was qualitative sex and relationships and how they are influenced by media (19 white middle class girls) 1987 Recorded tours of A’s room’s (6 teens, multi race/gender) 1991,1992 Interview each other on room contents and importance (20 H.S. seniors) 1992 Alcohol in media, A’s kept journal of alcohol use (5 college students) 1993

5. Developing a Media Practice Model Practice perspective Lived experience Identity formation

6. Developing a Media Practice Model Practice perspective - Everyday activities and media consumption Lived experience - Development stage, socio-cultural, relationships (family/friends) Identity formation – central task of adolescence, a sense of who they are shapes media use

7. The Media Practice Model

8. Media Components Selection - teens make choices (conscious/unconscious) Ex. First group of girls interview about sexuality Their room decoration and media use correlated to beliefs The girls were categorized into three groups

9. Disinterested – few to none sexual images in room Intrigued – many main stream sexual images in room Resisters – same media access as intrigued, but less main stream images. Also they tend to be more physically mature and sexually experienced

10. Interaction Identifying with characters and songs call on media for certain purposes or goals Interpreting and applying to their lives see harms/unrealistic standards still buys into the culture and consumerism

11. ApplicationWhy use media? To enhance mood Sort through cultural values/norms Make statements about identity Emulate admired behavior Fantasize about possible selves/situations

12. Application cont.Incorporation (internal application) Framing - through what perspective the adolescent sees the media Cultivation – active search for media to reinforce beliefs Emotional Conditioning – association/memory Ex. Girl hears song…

13. Conclusion Selection Interaction Application Identity

14. Strengths and Weaknesses of the study Qualitative research shows details for a small sample, but these findings do not apply to the general adolescent population. The self report data is a great way into the mind of the subject. On the other hand, the subject may skew their entries to escape embarrassment or reveal insecurities. The study does not follow drastic media exposure over time and show the possible repercussions. The studies were not recently conducted (’87-’92) A strength of the study would be that the Media Practice Model can be applied to all adolescents, as it focuses on identity formation.

15. Questions Explain how girls may select media content differently depending on whether they are “Disinterested,” “Intrigued,” or “Resisters.” Do you think similar categories exist for boys? Think about your current room. Are there any significant changes of media representation from your room in H.S.? If yes, why do you think these adjustments occurred?