Teen Magazines Cover Celebrities and their Effects on the Lifestyle of High School Students

Spotlight: Teen Magazine's Cover Celebrities and their Effects on the Lifestyle of High School Students

Abstract:

This thesis examines the effects of cover celebrity features of teen magazines on the lifestyle of female high school readers.

A content analysis of the cover photos and cover features of the 2008 issues of Meg and Candy magazines, combined with surveys and interviews, are the methods used to identify how teen readers are affected by articles about their favorite artists.

Most female teenagers depend on teen magazines to satisfy their needs. These are the needs for safety, esteem love, and belongingness. Teen magazines are their main source of information that helps them cope with the transformations that is part of their adolescent life. Moreover, teen magazines serve as a tool for teenagers to bond with each other. Issues about their favorite celebrities are one of their favorite bonding topics. It is interesting to note that the respondents, though united in their admiration of cover celebrities, appeared to be critical in processing the information that is fed to them by magazines.

They identified glitches in the presentation of cover celebrities such as edited pictures and extremely positive articles. Moreover, they conferred that despite their adoration of celebrities, and the strong temptation to imitate seemingly perfect women, they are very much in control of their own choice, and their own lives.

Teodosio, E.A(2010).