Hook up? Gossip Girl says yes!

Most teenagers and young people in general watch series made for youth. Nowadays one of the most popular ones is Gossip Girl. I believe that most of you are familiar with this show so I will not spend much time on explaining its basic idea. Anyway, although it has been always told that this show is made for people who can objectively differ the fiction from reality, it is sometimes simply hard to do that due to presentation of certain life situations which are common in any person’s life. By stating that, I’m specifically concentrated on students and their everyday life. Some of the scenes within that show make viewers identify with characters and their situations. While 'being them' in some cases, it is hard to make a line where we go back to being ourselves.



In her article called “Some in Media Say ‘No’ to Promoting Hook Ups”, Colleen Raezler raises many questions among the influence of media on youth especially. Among many other examples, she mentions Gossip Girl:
“…programs like HBO’s “Sex and the City,” and the teen-oriented “Gossip Girl,” which depicted threesomes as one of the “15 Things Every College Student Must Do Before Graduating,” helped perpetuate the notion that sex outside a committed relationship, let alone marriage, is exciting, fun and utterly without consequences as long as all parties protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy.”



In mentioned scene, three good friends decide to do something that every college student must do. Really? Is that what we all should do? On this way, they manipulated youth minds by telling them it is normal to have intercourse in that age and also not to care about protection. They are practically teaching us what behavior and attitude is normal. Another thing about that particular scene – the image of friendship is ruined. Those people are friends so is that what friends do? Well, not in my world.
So, we should probably forget about our personal stands among these topics because they are obviously wrong and not normal.
I would now like to go back to the article I mentioned earlier. The idea of “hooking up”. Colleen Raezler writes about messages coming from the media which keep telling us that hooking up is normal and desirable. In my previous posts I mentioned the human fear of being rejected and socially isolated so this is also one of examples where humans are more likely to become as everyone else than to be different and follow what they believe it is right. Since we are being exposed to media influence, I believe that our personal beliefs become questioned and we lose our ideals and role models that we used to admire.
If you are willing to read the article yourself, I strongly recommend you to visit this page:
http://www.cultureandmediainstitute.org/articles/2010/20100421094258.aspx