Today's Media | Teen Ink

Today's Media

February 3, 2009
By PK4evr ELITE, Allen, Texas
PK4evr ELITE, Allen, Texas
105 articles 5 photos 107 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons, make grape juice, then watch everyone wonder how you did it!


I don't think that there's been a day where I've gone on You Tube and wasn't offended by something. I haven't turned on the TV to age-appropriate material in ages. I don't think I've ever listened through an entire song because they always talk about drugs, sex, money, etc. I'm even disgusted with books, which I used to love when they were appropriate. It drives me insane. Sometimes, I think I'm the only moral teenager around anymore, fighting the change from becoming someone else that I don't want to be. But why are the other youth of America the exact opposite of me? Am I a freak?

I don't know today's celebrities. I haven no clue of today's music artists. I get weird looks when I say that I never turn the TV on or use You Tube. But there are good reasons for this. I don't want to be corrupted- because what you listen to is eventually what you live out. I definitely don't want to live the kind of life portrayed in these songs- I don't want them to become my life. I like mine the way it is. You could say that I'm over-conservative, but no one put these ideas in my heads- nobody influenced them. It's just something that I've come to realize and something I've come to hold on to, something that makes me different.

I do listen to music and play music- classical and Christian hymns or Christian rock. But once I try to cross those lines I drew, I have to withdraw back into my self-created bubble of protection. People know I'm different and I tell them why- I'm a Christian and I'm not corrupted. At school, people tell dirty jokes and I'm the only one not laughing. I'm known for having 'an innocent mind.' But what do I do to make that happen? It doesn't come easily- but I just control one thing- the media I watch. What you see is what you think about, and so is what you hear. You can't just 'see the good parts' and overlook the bad- it's like intermingling trash with your food and still eating it. It just isn't done.

It's frustrating to think that I'm the only one that bothers to be so cautious. But no one's going to listen to me if it's just one person. I need help. If we don't change things, soon the youth of America will be entirely corrupted- and corrupt our country in the next generations to come.

Please.

Don't let this be America's future.

The author's comments:
I'm not sure I explained this well, but I want other people to realize how serious this is.

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This article has 37 comments.


Sparaxis GOLD said...
on Mar. 9 2017 at 8:44 pm
Sparaxis GOLD, Saint Marys, Georgia
13 articles 1 photo 307 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you keep on picking on me, I'll mess up again. This time, on PURPOSE."

I can't tell you how many times I try to find something good on the Internet only to get shot in the eyes in the process. And to make matters worse, the good stuff I used to be able to find have been replaced by obscene garbage. And celebrities? I sincerely DON'T CARE what kind of repulsive crud they got themselves into.

Julia said...
on Mar. 21 2016 at 5:39 pm
Hi there, do you mind if I comment on your post only five years too late? I hope you don't because I'd really like to chat with you about your comment. I promise I'm not about to be a creepy internet jerk. As a Christian young woman, who has just read this article I have to disagree with your response. No one can be completely innocent: life affects everyone. No one can live without receiving a scar or two. However why when the world already is so corrupted, why should I choose to fill my mind with more inappropriate, disrespectful, disturbing thoughts or images? You can very well be educated without exposing (purposely) yourself to unrighteous ideas. I'm educated because I know that the world is a dark place but instead of studying these dark things and allowing my thoughts and entertainment to inform me, life does. Experiences and people reveal these things to me not I purposely filling my mind up with them. It's okay to be concious and censor your thoughts.

on Aug. 26 2013 at 1:29 pm
TheIdealist SILVER, New York City, New York
7 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We all die. The goal is not to last forever. It's to create something that does."

You, my friend, are sooooooo right. I barely watch TV anymore. It just hasn't been the same the turn of the decade.

on May. 18 2012 at 11:31 am
I dont know a lot of the songs teens mostly listen to either to tell you the truth i didnt know how to pronouce Justin Bieber's name and i thought Taylor Swift was a guy 

Ddog said...
on Jan. 29 2012 at 3:19 pm
I loved this article. And don't worry... you are not the only one in the world who thinks about this. I am one too. But there are some TV programs out there that you could watch and that are not inappropriate. I watch these all the time.

rockyraccoon said...
on Jun. 26 2011 at 2:23 am
rockyraccoon, Fort Wayne, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
today tommorow next month next year all look remarkably gray.

okay as a book nut, tv watching, music loveing kind of person i have to say this article is almost completly wrong admittadly some songs are quite vulgar but there are tons that have no curseing or such. all most all YA books have nothing more than some violence and okay most of todays cartoons suck but thats for other reasons. i do agree with you on the dirty jokes that can be annoying.

on Mar. 27 2011 at 7:33 pm
pheebz88 BRONZE, Concord, New Hampshire
2 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart

I like the article...it was very well written but I don't necessarily agree with it.  Not only are Christan's not all moral, but I don't think that you can go through your teenage years without being subjected to some kind of indecency.  If you do...you will be in for an even bigger suprise when you enter the adult world.  While I think that teenagers shouldn't be watching or reading or listening to everything out there...you need to have some of that in your life to prepare you.

on Oct. 5 2010 at 2:47 pm
Phantom_Girl GOLD, Ft. Carson, Colorado
14 articles 0 photos 279 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If it comes out of the lion's mouth...it will be on the test."
-Mr. Bala

While I understand your opinion on the media (yes, it has gotten corrupted), you can't just not pay attention to any of it. That's censorship, even if it's self-inflicted. It doesn't mean you have to like it, but if you want to be educated you have to be exposed to offensive material. Sorry, but that's life.

on Sep. 30 2010 at 9:07 am
CountryGothic GOLD, Somersworth, New Hampshire
16 articles 2 photos 206 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Once something has been said, it cannot be said in other words." -Aristotle

Read "Though None Go With Me" by Jerry B. Jenkins people!

on Sep. 30 2010 at 9:03 am
CountryGothic GOLD, Somersworth, New Hampshire
16 articles 2 photos 206 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Once something has been said, it cannot be said in other words." -Aristotle

I agree and support you!

on Sep. 10 2010 at 5:57 pm
spiritualrevelationrevealspainandrevolution PLATINUM, Eugene, Oregon
23 articles 0 photos 212 comments

1. our country is already corrupt,  but not exactly by your standards

2. listen to immortal technique, and i mean REALLY listen, preferably point of no return, please

3. life is about seeing the good parts through the bad

4. and our media is definitely corrupt, but again not how you necessarrily suggested here


on Sep. 10 2010 at 4:10 pm
I agree with this. What one thinks is "corrupt" is not so for another. I have a tattoo...does that make me a "Bad Person"? Because that is not my definition of bad.

on Jul. 6 2010 at 6:23 pm
MicksedReviews SILVER, Arklow, Other
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments
I disagree almost completely with the article, the mind is like a immune system, you gotta be subjected to some amount of indecency to be fully equipped for the life that's ahead of you. There's no better time to develop this immune system than in your teen years. You don't have to go to extremes but its important to gain these kinds of experiences

Meago GOLD said...
on May. 1 2010 at 7:59 am
Meago GOLD, Spring City, Tennessee
17 articles 2 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
How come when you need something the most- that's the time when you have to fight the hardest to receive it?

Tell me about it. Everyone in my school claims to be Christian and holy but yet.... There's 10+ pregnant, and I couldn't tell you how many that do immoral things... It's amazing. It's like they think-- I can do whatever I want during the week then! I'll go sit in Church and my sins will be washed away.... OH! Except for my Uhh.. 3 children and the 3 mothers... Oh! I can't wait to graduate.

Meago GOLD said...
on May. 1 2010 at 7:57 am
Meago GOLD, Spring City, Tennessee
17 articles 2 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
How come when you need something the most- that's the time when you have to fight the hardest to receive it?

Yeah, I agree with this article... My article, Vanished Morals, is about the same stuff. Trust me, you're not alone in this. My high school right now has 10+ graduating seniors with children.. I think it's repulsive. The only thing I have to slightly disagree with, is the whole Jesus thing. You don't have to be a Christian to have morals. I mean, I don't believe, but yet, I have morals. It just depends on how you've been raised and what you expose yourself to. Like MySpace and FaceBook-- I think it's dumb and just a way for preditors to find children. And the whole Twitter thing-- It's like an update of what you're doing for preditors. lol! I've cut my cable off and I don't listen to anything on the radio. I just recently went to prom and have never heard 90% of the songs. I listen to my own stuff. Everyone thought I was dumb because I didn't know the songs, but I know who'll amount to something in the end. lol

Keep up your beliefs and don't ever lose them. =D


on Mar. 18 2010 at 4:00 pm
forrestthecat BRONZE, Wexford, Pennsylvania
2 articles 2 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sonnet 17

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

in which there is no I or you
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand
so intimate that when you fall asleep it is my eyes that close


Pablo Neruda

True, it is good to have Christian morals and not joke about dirty things, but not all music that is popular is bad music. In fact, I would disagree and say Youtube is full of videos that are not only informative (so informative almost all of my teachers use Youtube in their lectures at least once a week) but there are all different types of music that you have not discovered. Just because there are a lot of terrible songs does not mean all the songs on Youtube are terrible; and, just because you listen to certain types of music does not mean you mind will be infiltrated with bad judgement and morals. Go on Youtube and you can find your Chirstian Rock and other older songs that are not vulgar. Oh, but just because a song does not scream bad lyrics does not mean the artist has written a PG song. Some current artists I listen to today are U2 (although they are from the 80's, they are still popular among the younger generation today), The White Stripes, Damien Rice, OneRepublic, Lifehouse (very Christian oriented), Josh Groban, Goo Goo Dolls (although they were the most famous in the 90's), and Evanescence, which started out as a Christian band. As previously stated, just because MTV and Vh1 show immoral videos does not mean today's society is necessarily all the way down the tubes. Yes, I do fear for the future of America at times, but don't judge a book by its cover. :) However, your article was nicely written, I just happen to disagree with you.

Montherieth said...
on Mar. 13 2010 at 4:46 pm
Montherieth, Hyattsville, Maryland
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have many favorite quotes, but I'll list just one for this site...

"The whole thing is a f**king illusion."
-Peter Joseph

@ Previous commentators: Lol, being a Christian does not make you morally right, but anyways...
@ Author: I agree with your sentiments about how messed up our media is. Blatantly spouting b/s like a pierced cow's intestine.
Good work, and stay strong. You're not alone with your train of thought.

on Feb. 2 2010 at 5:18 pm
bound4life4ever PLATINUM, Jamaica, New York
32 articles 0 photos 111 comments

Favorite Quote:
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

THIS IS THE BEST ARTICLE EVER! U R NOT ALONE! NO MATTER WHAT PPL TELL U ....DO NOT BACK DOWN! IM SOOO GLAD THAT I FOUND U! I ALMOST CRIED WHEN I READ THIS ND RELIZED IM NOT THE ONLY ONE OUT THERE! JESUS IS MY KING ND HE ALWAYS WILL BE! plez keep writing more! i pray fro u nd that by them many ppl will relize what a perverted world we live in and that if we dont stop....nothing good will come out of it! plezplezplez email so i can share my work with u. i put up 2 pieces of work on teenink. the r titled GOD IS WORKING... and JUST ACCEPT ME

on Jan. 11 2010 at 1:47 pm
dirinity SILVER, Clayton, North Carolina
9 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Certain things catch your eye,
But pursue only those
that capture your heart.
"

I respect you for saying your truth, though I find it a major fallacy that because the media displays less than savory images, words, ect. that it will cause you to be immoral.

on Aug. 9 2009 at 3:21 pm
I like your article. It is true there is a lot of garbage on tv and other media but that doesn't mean that we should avoid the media. I'm a Christian and I still go to Youtube and read and watch tv. Does that make me a bad person because I like these things? No. I realize what is right and wrong. I'm just so close-minded I don't pay attention to the bad things very much. It's how I stay innocent. I like being innocent.