Media's Impact on Youth

Traditional media is no longer the norm. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing a speaker at the International Association of Business Communications discuss the role of traditional media and communications, especially as it is targeted at the youth segment. His company had recently been involved with the sponsorship of bringing Al Gore to Saskatchewan and how they were able to get involved with Saskatchewan young people as a result.

The speaker's talk centered on the communications and media reaction to this sponsorship. News-media, instead of supporting a Saskatchewan company’s involvement in the Environmental movement, reported that it was a waste of money, Al Gore was just a failed politician, and that the environment didn’t need saving. Youth, however, had a different spin on it. Young people who were polled at the Al Gore event stated that they fully supported environmental initiatives, that Gore had inspired them to take action, and that the older generation was naïve to ignore the effects of climate change. Some young people went as far as to say that they just turned off the radio and television to escape the uninformed opinions of the reporters.

Along the same lines, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix today used Facebook, a social networking site, to describe a young man charged with assault. They report: “(Facebook) shows a happy and outgoing young man… (The suspect) describes himself as interested in women, conservative, and Catholic.” What an invasion of one’s personal space and privacy! How can Facebook be representative of a person? Additionally, I really don’t think Facebook is intended as a means to “check-up” on suspected criminals. This is another way the media is targeting youth in a negative light and forcing us to look to alternate means of gaining information, communicating with each other, or just posting our opinions.

It is such a shame that some journalists are continuing to alienate the younger population but using media in ways that it was not intended. I take comfort in knowing that journalists who alienate young people are just catering to their retiree demographics.