“Adults in their 30s cause a lot of body issues, wondering ‘Why don’t I look like that,’” sophomore Sophia Hallenbeck said. Young actors constantly go on social media begging to be noticed for their talents instead of their bodies and sexuality.Īn example is Millie Bobby Brown, an actress from the popular show “Stranger Things,” commenting that when she was only 16 how uncomfortable she felt constantly being sexualized by the public and how she wished people would focus more on her performance instead of her body. While it may seem like no big deal for a fictitious character to be shown this way, when fantasy and reality start to blend together, the treatment of the character may bleed over onto the actor personally. When characters are put into situations uncommon for their age, the line between a kid and an adult and what’s appropriate for each blurs, and it makes it hard to remember that viewers are watching children participating in these scenes, not adults. “We are taught that is not right, so I think we mentally see them as ‘mature for their age,’ which can get very dangerous because people could start using that logic in real life,” sophomore Savannah Hallenbeck said.
However, whether noticeable or not, sexualizing teens in the media has its effects on how teens are perceived, how younger actors are treated for it and how viewers watching will see the show, and it is time to start talking about why it should be stopped. It’s something viewers are so used to seeing in the media that they barely recognize how it can be harmful to its young audience.
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see a show where little girls are forced to put on suggestive clothing or a teen is encouraged to flirt with a much older person.
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