The Role of Media on the way Teenagers Perceive Themselves

Many people want to look like their favourite celebrity. They are everywhere, from billboards to magazines and television adverts - there’s no escaping. People look up to celeb’s and their rich and famous lifestyles, including their success and beauty. Some can only help but imagine what it would be like, others work hard to become a success; others would literally take action on trying to become like someone else.

Something which I find quite worrying is when teenagers, predominantly those who are females, begin to look at celebrities and models on the TV and in magazines and then become critical of their body and physical features. When those affected begin to starve themselves they are doing more harm than they are doing good. An eating disorder is a serious thing, because the body becomes malnutritioned and will eventually begin to malfunction. To think that people want to look good, yet they know that starving themselves will eventually cause illness and ultimately deteriorate their figure.

It’s a matter of how desperate they become to look like their favourite celebrity. Some will put looking thinner as a priority over looking healthier – and size zero models are very peculiar, unnatural, a bad influence not to mention unattractive.

I recall there was TV a programme (I think hosted by Alesha Dixon) which I had unfortunately missed, about models being airbrushed in magazines and how they influenced the teenage readers to become obsessed with looking ‘perfect’. The show looked further into the matter and created a magazine with non-airbrushed images and did all the photos without any effects or tweaking the images.

Natural beauty is the best beauty. Be yourself. Be happy with who you are, the way you look and what you have.

Alesha: Look But Don’t Touch - http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/jul/08/lastnightstvaleshalookbut

Nutrition

I think it’s vital that schools start teaching primary school children about simple nutrition, as part of the national curriculum. They say that ‘prevention is better than the cure’. In terms of prevention of bad nutrition, when kids finally grow up and learn what is good and what isn’t good for their health, it may be a little too late to break them out of their eating habits. Why not educate them beforehand? Of course, parents play a major role in this too, they are the ones who make the meals after all.

People think low fat foods are good. Quite the opposite in fact, those low fat foods still have high amounts of carbs and many ready made foods are pumped with artificial chemicals such as additives and preservatives. Many people are not aware that carbs = sugar (even if its potatoes – they are complex carbs, and therefore still high for its calorific content just like sweets with their simple carbs). Sugar = calories = excess calories stored as fat if not burned.

What people lack these days is variety in their diets. Healthy eating is not necessarily just eating salads and avoiding fatty foods with fat. I think people are being narrow-minded about the superiority of food to their health. It is not a miracle, and don’t expect to lose weight just by eating right. You need consistency and need to maintain a consistent balanced diet in combination with exercise at the right intensity. (High intensity cardio is to get fit, low intensity is to burn fat – however, it doesn’t work the other way round). You have to believe in yourself. Again, not magic. Research into health a bit more.

Balanced diets are important people!! If you’re inactive, you should aim to have about 51% carbohydrates of your daily intake, about 25-30% fat and around 20-25% protein. It is all about the percentage of nutrients contained in the food you eat, not just the grams. A good free website I used as part of my Nutrition course was fitday.com – a decent way to track your daily intakes over long periods. You can input the foods you eat and it analyses the nutrients and presents the data in the form of graphs and charts. It is also useful to see the calorie intake and the burned calories for weight loss/gain.

I think something else worth a mention is takeaways. Many of these takeaways which you can buy from shops are very easy and much healthier to make at home. Not too long ago I saw a TV programme called ‘Chinese Food Made Easy’ on the BBC. It shows how takeaway dishes can be made with ease, taste better, are healthier and more natural (and you know what goes in it). At the end of the show, the host challenged guests to cook the dish and serve it to the public and compare it to the takeaway. Notably, the homemade one was almost always preferred.

Evidence has also been found to suggest that ready-made meals are likely to cause mood swings and depression in people that eat them. People who avoid such types of ‘artificial’ foods are likely to be happier. Organic is the way to go.

Is Violence Derived From Hip-Hop?

It was never about the money, the fame, bragging or the glorification of violence. Hip-hop was a culture, a way to escape the acts of violence in the suburbs of New York. Instead it was supposed to encourage people to be more creative. The four elements of hip-hop (emceeing, deejaying, break-dancing and graffitiying) were ways for people to put their talents to use by means of utilising their creativity. Emceeing, commonly known as rapping, was used for people (or emcees) to rhyme on the mic over a beat comprised by a DJ (can be done without beat). Break-dancing on the street, showing of your moves and skills and having contests (even emcee battles were contest where people would take turns to cipher against each other) would dissuade people from physical violence and rather encourage them to express themselves in another, more positive manner by participating in such activities.

With the increasing popularity of gangsta-rap through the late 80’s and early 90’s through prominent groups and artists like N.W.A., Compton’s Most Wanted, Ice-T and Public Enemy, the image of guns and gang violence had been hyped up and influenced people to become a ‘menace to society’. Even, politically, if it meant standing up for your rights or what you believe in, the media regarded it as being out of line and therefore against society and the norm.
Rap fans who looked up to their favourite artists and were perhaps influenced by such gang-related and violent lyrics in songs and possibly transferred that mentality into real life (which was going on in the first place – just the way the ghetto is: repping your side of the city and the colours you wear) and committing crimes which would be deemed as anti-hip-hop; which defeats the object in the first place.

Like most other things over time, hip-hop has evolved and has attracted different audiences ranging from children without a clue what an AK really is, to adults who are actually aware of what the message in a song portrays. Gangster rap is about gangs, violence and how it relates to the struggle that people went through whilst growing up in a ghetto where they were trapped in the ‘system’; not going out to kill innocent people. This genre is like a true story in which the narrator (rapper) reports daily events that go on in his or her life. It paints a picture and gives us an insight to the tale. In my opinion, it can be something to relate to, possibly an inspiration to strive for success, to look on the bright side and make it in the real world.

The infamous beefs that take place in rap are renowned for including violent lyrics and mocking the opponent. What would be classed battles are now ‘diss tracks’ (diss means to disrespect) which are sent back and forth between those involved, but in a more aggressive and provocative manner. Some of the high profile beefs included 2Pac vs. Biggie, Eminem/50 Cent vs. Benzino/Ja Rule (Shady Records vs. Murder Inc), 50 Cent vs. The Game, Death Row vs. Ruthless Records, and N.W.A. vs. Ice Cube. Although these were quite entertaining as a rap fan, threats were made. At least the Nas and Jay-Z beef was kept in the music and not taken too far, by threatening the lives of other people. One thing I found shocking and was when Ja Rule brought Eminem’s daughter into it, why?

Conversely, not all rap is like this because nowadays you hear more people trying to make peace and forget all the violence. This is a good sign and a step forward in the right direction. Artists are now trying to reach out to others and make an effort to unite in order to concentrate on the music, which is the main priority afterall. It now looks as though the days where record labels were dictating the music are well and truly over. People now have the choice of the route in which they want to go down; giving us fans a larger range of music to choose from. It’s just a shame that the majority of the mainstream is rubbish and the only music that people know is how to do the stanky leg, shouting at the top of their voice saying “YAHH!” Hip-hop needs a breath of fresh air or a return to its roots.

Hip Hop Is Dead

Hip-hop is not what is used to be and this is why you hear the controversial phrase ‘Hip Hop is Dead’ popularised by the Hip-Hop great, Nas. The genre has become oversaturated by artists such as Akon, Lil Wayne and T-Pain who do nothing for the genre but further ruin it. In terms of the mainstream, I believe that hip-hop is dead (in the charts), but it still has life in it – you just have to look in the right places to find the real stuff now. I mean, what the hell is the ‘stanky leg’ dance? I don’t give a F about snapping my fingers to this BS, I want real music with the substance to it!

Whatever happened to the days of an emcee rapping over the beat produced by a DJ? Rhyming for fun and enjoyment? Battling against each other just to see who was the best freestyler (freestyling means to rhyme from the top of the head; non-written lyrics) is where it was at.

Many artists have sold out, opting for the big cheques from major record companies and then don’t have the freedom to make the actual music they want to, because they have sold their rights to the label who care about their image and will not let their protégés go all out to express themselves and say anything they like on a record. The A&Rs mould the artists into something they are not and the message they send out is not quite what they had intended – there’s nothing the artists can do about it, because legally they have signed on the dotted line. Hence why many artists are going the independent route for the benefit of freedom. The money? Well, they will earn their money by doing live shows, gigs, self-promotion, releasing mixtapes, demos and album sales etc…

Hip-hop pioneers such as Ice Cube, Common, Grandmaster Flash and Wu-Tang Clan amongst, sent out messages and set the standard for hip hop and others followed. I have to give praise to Mos Def and Talib Kweli, two artists who have kept it real and are not following the trend of killing real hip-hop, they are more original. Now everyone is trying to bring the West back or put New York back on the Map, but the south is dominating the scene right now with wackness (Ludacris, Scarface and Stat Quo are the exceptions).

Countless Hip-Hop legends have died over the years, and coincidently it seems to be the best ones, who made the most meaningful music that have left us:

R.I.P. to Tupac, Aaliyah, Proof, Big Pun, Big L, Notorious BIG, Jam Master Jay, J Dilla, MC Breed, Bugz, Left Eye, Johnny J, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E.

I guess the good die young… and now we’re left with dumb downed lyrics, predominantly sex, money and alcohol related, aimed at kids around 10-16 years old. Is this any better? Do we really want kids to ‘pop bottles’ or ‘superman that ho’ at 12 years old? Music which is intended to have a message behind it should be more positive and educational, not the other way round where it encourages them to behave egotistical, selfish and immoral.

The genre is on a serious decline but I sort of have a feeling it may just have a little bit of life left in it and be resuscitated. But not quite the way it once was, the damage has been done forever…

In the end, there are different kinds of music for different purposes; I like different kinds for instance, party music, g-funk etc… I just don’t want reality rap and hip-hop in its purest form to be ruined.

Branded Clothing

What is it with people being brainwashed by clothes which have a logo on them? Clothes are clothes, regardless of what they have on them. The majority of people have had a pair of nike or adidas trainers before - the only difference is the cost, the company that promotes their product more and hence more people wear the same type of clothing. In schools, children may be bullied if they appear to be different by wearing 'different' shoes or clothing - so it is understandable why children want the 'best' brands to fit on with the rest at school and not feel like an outcast.

In my opinion, i like branded clothing ranging from designer wear (versace, diesel, D&G) , to sportswear (nike, adidas) and hip-hop brands (makaveli, shady, rocawear) - but i also wear clothes which have no logos or anything on them, from shops such as M&S and Primark. they are perfectly fine, value for money and i am happy wearing them. It all depends on when people come to a stage in their lives where they may realise that they should do what they want and not worry about what other people think of them - of course in a good way; so not showering etc is out of the question, hygeine is a must!

What i tend to do is pull any top and any jeans or trousers out the wardrobe, mix and match (so long as it looks right) and wear the trainers or shoes i want with them. Who cares what anyone thinks? i am happy for sure.

10 Cool/Useful Websites

Here (in any random order) i am going to list 10 websites (excluding the obvious ones) that i find are quite good or useful. the number allocated is just random and for my reference, not particularly for order of my prefrence.

1. tinyurl - as the name suggests, it transforms any large website link into a smaller, more compact URL which looks neater and friendlier to the eye. - great to include in posts and more convenient share with other people.

2. afterdawn - for your technical problems queries - a great forum to discuss and solve your problems with technology. also quite good to keep up to date with the latest technology news and guides to software/gadgets.

3. google maps/streetview - this is quite good for projects and to check certain places before visiting them, i.e. checking the location of a place for a meeting and seeing what the scenery looks like for a particular postcode so that when you get there in real life you know you are in the right place. i think this would be ideal for things like going to a place to have a meeting or an interview and to arrive in time. also, it can be used to just browse and check out the streets. apparently, people have been busted drug dealing in california, urinating at bus stops in the midlands etc... peoples faces are blurred out and so are the vehicle registration numbers. like many other things, people may be for or against this kind of service - and the great thing about google is all of their stuff is open source, so its all free.

4. google blogsearch - great way to find music and videos, good for news and other peoples blogs too.

5. file2hd - this is for the clever people that know a file is on a website and will use this site to decrypt the encrypted file to extract and download it from the site.

6. mediaconvert - good site to convert any file online either by upload or by URL

7. adrive - online storage website. you get 50GB free storage which you can manage in your account. i'm using mine to back up family pictures which are priceless and i'd be kicking myself if i lost those 'memories'. i personally use it to back up rare music too. area 51.

8. wikipedia - great for educational purposes because anyone can edit it. this means you are more likely to get someone who knows about the topic and give you information. as ideal as that sounds, its not because it may be misleading - but still a good site to give you basic knowledge, nevertheless. i like the way they try to cover many different aspects of the world and their random facts section.

9. urbandictionary - hilarious explanations which actually translate slang to the reader. you will find some funny stuff on here, guaranteed.

10. globalgrind - i discovered this whilst watching an episode of run's house where russell simmons was making an investment in the company. ive only visited this site twice now. but i know it brings news etc... from several entertainment sources and websites into one convenient location. i think this is quite good for people who like to keep themselves acquainted with the entertainment and showbiz world.


those were 10 from the top of my head, i know there are probably more useful sites around the net somewhere. but as the title states - this is a post regarding 10 sites not the 10 best sites.

thank you.

Gettin Started

Okay, just created the Blog because ive not had the chance to create one. Its been a prolonged process of actually getting to register on this site - which i now have finally managed to do.

Not into posting that much, besides on the StreetHop, DUBCNN and Afterdawn forums (mainly SH).

Gotta admit, this will be quite addictive to say the least. Exams around the corner, so i better keep it to a minimum as advised by my thoughts. This is like talking to oneself. Have i gone mad?