It is a really great piece and incredibly disturbing… its interesting that after reading it I too wanted to go and have a shower which is an impulse expressed by many of the people who commented below the article.
This debate, about the influence that nasty little…well words actually fail me here for an accurate description…’creatures’ like this- have over the rather vulnerable and malleable minds of teenage girls, is certainly worth pursuing.
We live in a completely uncensored and decentralised society, yet few if any of us have ever been that completely independent to have never experienced the usual pangs of teenage angst about our own image, how we look to other people and whether we have a peer group that is supportive of us and we can ‘fit in’ with.
I have to give it to Lauren Greenfield and her explorations of teenage behaviour for at least giving it a ‘go’ but I think that the modern media, with all of its Facebooks, Tweets and blogs is still failing to accurately assess the state of mind of the new generation that grew up on a diet of Big Brother. These kids are just the same as we were and just probably more exposed than ever before to exploitation.
So we in the media need to become responsible parents for a new generation. We do need to enable teenagers in their quest to make the right decisions by getting information to them in a world where the dissemination of information is one of the greatest leisure activities in the world. The question is how do we do it effectively?
Perhaps it is the Sarah Palin’s of this world that are doing the damage.. what sort of message does it send out to young girls if someone’s well presented ‘mother’ type figure starts demanding Julian Assange’s head on a platter?
Is it because the modern day media is suffering from turgidity and self absorption? Where are the questions being asked and who by? I am finding less and less and less actual journalism out there and more and more spurious opinion. Of course this is a well worn lament now, but how has the media allowed itself to become so irrelevant as to allow commentators like this ‘Tong’ character to arise? Perhaps its because the number crunchers that took over the world of journalism a decade ago actually encourage sociopathic personalities in their staff as the kinds of traits that ensure that there is never any of the wastefulness of being human beings.
I am glad to have read a decent journalistic piece that in fact exposed him for what he is and I hope that at some level that editors realise that to be relevant to a new generation that you have to engage with the hearts and the minds of the people they will need in the future to create a base for sustainability.
Wow! I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing if it wasn’t for the harm this guy will somehow continue to inflict, no matter what he does. It’s surprising somebody hasn’t as of yet just slapped the guy silly. And I find it incredibly hard to imagine the guy convincing any woman anywhere to do anything (if they actually meet him and it doesn’t involve money).
Discussion (2 Comments)
It is a really great piece and incredibly disturbing… its interesting that after reading it I too wanted to go and have a shower which is an impulse expressed by many of the people who commented below the article.
This debate, about the influence that nasty little…well words actually fail me here for an accurate description…’creatures’ like this- have over the rather vulnerable and malleable minds of teenage girls, is certainly worth pursuing.
We live in a completely uncensored and decentralised society, yet few if any of us have ever been that completely independent to have never experienced the usual pangs of teenage angst about our own image, how we look to other people and whether we have a peer group that is supportive of us and we can ‘fit in’ with.
I have to give it to Lauren Greenfield and her explorations of teenage behaviour for at least giving it a ‘go’ but I think that the modern media, with all of its Facebooks, Tweets and blogs is still failing to accurately assess the state of mind of the new generation that grew up on a diet of Big Brother. These kids are just the same as we were and just probably more exposed than ever before to exploitation.
So we in the media need to become responsible parents for a new generation. We do need to enable teenagers in their quest to make the right decisions by getting information to them in a world where the dissemination of information is one of the greatest leisure activities in the world. The question is how do we do it effectively?
Perhaps it is the Sarah Palin’s of this world that are doing the damage.. what sort of message does it send out to young girls if someone’s well presented ‘mother’ type figure starts demanding Julian Assange’s head on a platter?
Is it because the modern day media is suffering from turgidity and self absorption? Where are the questions being asked and who by? I am finding less and less and less actual journalism out there and more and more spurious opinion. Of course this is a well worn lament now, but how has the media allowed itself to become so irrelevant as to allow commentators like this ‘Tong’ character to arise? Perhaps its because the number crunchers that took over the world of journalism a decade ago actually encourage sociopathic personalities in their staff as the kinds of traits that ensure that there is never any of the wastefulness of being human beings.
I am glad to have read a decent journalistic piece that in fact exposed him for what he is and I hope that at some level that editors realise that to be relevant to a new generation that you have to engage with the hearts and the minds of the people they will need in the future to create a base for sustainability.
Wow! I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing if it wasn’t for the harm this guy will somehow continue to inflict, no matter what he does. It’s surprising somebody hasn’t as of yet just slapped the guy silly. And I find it incredibly hard to imagine the guy convincing any woman anywhere to do anything (if they actually meet him and it doesn’t involve money).