To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications they offer?
It can vary as to how much a magazine can be held responsible for the social ramifications they offer. The result depends on the readers personality and vulnerability.
Magazines like OK and Heat can offer a different ramification to another magazine. These celebrity lifestyle magazines can have different effects. Some people may become fantasised by them, and aim to be like the celebrities included. A woman under the age of 40, the target audience for these magazines, may want to dress similarly to the celebrities. This will mean her spending a lot more money on the desired clothes, and depending on her financial background ay leave her less well off economically than she could have been. Perhaps this will lead to her not being able to go out and socialise as much with her friends because she hasn’t got as much money available. This may seem an extreme circumstance of reading a magazine but it is possible. Additionally, it may lead the woman to fixate on their weight and figure. More vulnerable people will just not eat in order to reach their set weight. By doing this, people can put a strain on their physical and mental health, which is likely to have social repercussions if someone, is not well. To conclude, some people can become very alienated by what they read in a magazine. However, this does depend on age. A younger girl’s more likely to become alienated than an adult. Most women who are settled down are less likely to want to impress as much as a younger girl so may just read the magazine for a case of escapism. Celebrity lives are generally more interesting than that of a normal person so people may read it for the excitement factor. Or, in extreme cases like Katie Price, Kerry Katona or Britney Spears, people can take solitude in knowing their lives aren’t very bad at all.
Other magazines are completely based around advice like Cosmopolitan. These sorts of magazines offer huge social ramifications as they offer advice on sex, dressing and make up. Some women may follow this advice, in which case they have fulfilled the purpose of the magazine, which is to advise. If women do follow this advice then they are meeting new social ramifications. For example, fashion may change due to the influence of a magazine, which means they have a huge influence in the way people think, act and behave. The aim of the magazine is to cause social change.
Magazines aimed at younger girls have similar effects. Those aimed at teenage girls have similar layouts to those aimed at young women. It’ll give advice on how to dress and present yourself. Obviously they won’t include sex tips, but it may include revision tips to suit the age group and avoid complaints. Moreover, there are likely to be many idols of a similar age like Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez. Selena Gomez would be what the girls aspire to be like will act as a role model; Justin Bieber is something for the girls to look at and talk to their friends about. But these magazines can also offer social ramifications as some girls may follow this advice and consequently think they are better than other girls of that age who do not follow the trend, hence leading to social inequality.
Some magazines are also held responsible for indoctrinating really young girls. Those that give free gifts like lip-gloss have been criticised for making young girls grow up too quickly. These magazines also offer dress advice, which will indoctrinate girls as young as 11 to wear make up and make themselves try and look more attractive. This will evidentially lead to social ramifications if people are changing at a younger age.
Harry, I can tell you have given the issue some thought but your response is quite generalised. To improve, you should focus on one genre of magazine and refer to specific examples from that genre. You could also use evidence from researched articles.
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