Merchants of Cool

Today, teenagers are the largest generation, even larger than their parents; the baby boomers. Teenagers are willing to spend all their money on the latest trends. They have more money than ever before, thanks to their parents, grandparents, and high school summer jobs. Parents don't get to spend as much time with their teen as they would like anymore, due to their busy schedules, so they give their child what is known as "guilt money". Parents today are lending out their credit card to their child and letting them buy whatever they would like. Teens today are very lucky; 1/3 have a personal computer and spend an average of two hours per day on it, while another large portion own a television in their bedroom. Years ago, this was unheard of. Today, it's unheard of to not own the newest technological advances.
Teenagers are always exposed to marketing messages and process approximately 3,000 discreet message a day. Without knowing it, we are being exposed to different brands just by walking down the street. However, it is frustrating for firms because teens are unresponsive to brands. They only respond to what is "cool" at that moment, and "cool" is constantly changing. "Cool Hunting" is the search for "cool", where experts are hired in search for kids who are trendsetters and influencers. A correspondent is a person who finds teenagers who are leaders within their group and who are different from others their age. These type of teens are difficult to find because everyone wants to fit in with the latest trends. By the time marketers find the latest trend in teens, it's already gone and moved onto the next cool thing. Marketers have come up with a new way to market their products--using "anti-marketing" campaigns. Marketers search for ways to become cool themselves, so that teens will accept them and admire their product. Sprite paid "cool" teens to come to a rap concert and act like they are having a fun time, for their commercial. Sprite is now the number one selling soft drink.
Viacom, one of the big five of media corporations, made a billion dollars in profit off of the well known teenage channel, MTV. MTV is a youth marketing empire and commercial concept. The channel is a constant advertisement, between artists selling their records and hit songs, to upcoming movies, the trendy clothes worn, and commercials in between shows. MTV is geared towards learning about what teenagers want to see everyday when they come home from school. MTV producers visited fans at their homes in order to gain insight of their homes, family life, peers, relationships, and even their style of choice. "The Mook" is a character created by Viacom which includes Tom Green, Jackass, South Park, the Man Show, Howard Stern, and the spring break frat boys. "The Mook" is popular throughout teenage boys, along with professional wrestling. Males ages 14-24 are the largest target market for professional wrestling. It is played 15 hours a week on five networks, seen by 15 million people, mostly teenage boys. On the other side, the "midriff" relates to teenage girls. Pop icon Britney Spears was known for her flamboyant stomach and dance moves. Loyal fans, made of teenage girls, want to become models and look like the stars they watch on TV.
Shows such as Dawson's Creek and 7th Heaven raised the sexual stakes for teenagers, along with Undressed on MTV. Teens are consumed with sex on a daily basis. Movies such as Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer raise the issues of sex and violence. However, this is what teens want; they are not satisfied with PG13 movies, they want the blood and guts. They want to act and feel older than they really are. When MTV would host Spring Break, this portrayed teenagers acting completely out of control. Kids at home would watch and expect all college spring breaks to be wild and crazy like the show. Teens on Spring Break would flaunt themselves and perform sexual acts with strangers.
So, the major question to consider is if the media is reflecting the life of teenagers. Media watches teenagers and sells their image to them. Teenagers watch these images and want to be that image. Personally, I feel like the media has a huge impact on teenagers and their everyday lifestyles, and always will.