Stereotypes Of Teenage Girls

Hollywood’s idea of a teenaged girl is very cookie-cutter; phone in hand, eyes that are constantly rolling when they aren’t texting, and copious amounts of drama with other girls. This degrading stereotype can be seen in films similar to Mean Girls, Clueless, and The Pacifier. Unfortunately for Hollywood, girls are more complex than this and cannot always fit into this stereotype. Teenaged girls like Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist fighting for female education and the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Prize, have no time to fit into Hollywood’s teen girl image with all the amazing effort she’s putting forth to make the world a better place. Many movies depict teenaged girls as addicts to texting, tweeting and drama of all kinds.

Arron Smith, an associate director at the Pew Research Organization, finds that, “Fifty-nine percent (of teens) say social media makes them feel more connected with what is going on in their significant other’s life” (Smith). Before the internet, girls could only see those they were romantically interested in face-to-face, but by using apps like Kik, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat teenaged girls can connect not only with their friends but also with people they are romantically interested in. Connection and communication is important for girls to have healthy relationships. He also argues that, “27% of online couples say that the internet has had an impact on their relationship, and most of them say the impact is positive” (Smith). Long-distance relationships were difficult before the internet. Only sending a letter every few weeks could make one become anxious in their relationship. Now that the internet is created, it can help connect these couples and can even bring the closer together by always having an option to call a loved one if they ever needed

A high school teacher named Beth Cafferty has a teenaged daughter and argues that, “I actually think they're closer because they’re more in contact with each other” (Cafferty). The instant communication can help in times of need. Hannah Kliot is a teen girl who is busy with academics, sports, and numerous other activities and uses social media to better connect herself with others. “Hannah says she relies on texting to make plans and to pass along things that she thinks are funny or interesting. But she also uses it to check up on friends who may be upset about something - and in those cases she will follow up with a real conversation” (Stout). Hannah, like many other teens, use the internet because their lives are so packed with activities that there’s no time in the day to set aside face-to-face conversations. She also understands when it’s time to put down the phone and make connections face-to-face when serious issues