"Cool"

One thing that I would want the media to know is that how “cool” a person is is subjective to what others think about that person. In establishing an image of “cool”, the media is setting a standard that is sometimes unattainable or unnatural for the majority of people. The media is marginalizing people into two basic classes: “cool” and “un-cool”. With this division comes much animosity towards people from the two different classes many times causing bullying in all forms. The media needs to take responsibility for creating this ideal of “cool” and dividing people, subjecting some to brutal treatment. The media also uses stereotypes in creating the image of someone who is “cool”. By doing this, the media overlooks people who are different from these stereotypes and instead of realizing that people are different and don’t always act the way the “stereotype” is, they are marginalizing those people as not a part of the stereotype and therefore not as “cool”. Many people view their friends as “cool” people, no matter which stereotypical clique they fall into. If the media would uphold the idea that all people are “cool” based not on the stereotype the media portrays, but on how they are viewed by their friends and how they view themselves, many teens would gain the self-confidence and self-esteem boost they need especially in this self-seeking stage of their life. I believe that many, if not all people are influenced by the media’s standard of “cool”. Whether we like it or not we become painfully aware of the media’s image of “cool” and either strive to become it, or reject it. Either way the media has influenced us and ultimately marginalized many.