Teen Magazine Analysis: Cosmogirl & Teen Vogue

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1. Select an assortment of teen magazines. Use your insights to describe the types of magazines selected, the various content within each, common threads, language, and how these magazines / articles may affect adolescent development. Be sure to apply any learning theories, such as Social Learning Theory, where applicable.

Please provide details on:

(a) Cosmogirl

(b) Teen Vogue

Let's take a closer look:

Studies suggest that adolescent girls are going online in droves and that the Web sites of teen magazines are among their top destinations. But, what are they learning? Labre and Walsh-Childers (2003) analyzed the Web sites of CosmoGIRL!,(see http://www.cosmogirl.com/) Teen People, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue ( see http://www.teenvogue.com/) magazines. They identified three major themes: Beauty is a requirement, beauty can be achieved only through the purchase of products, and we can help you find the right products. The use of youth-targeted language, combined with offers of expert advice in the management of beauty problems, suggests that these sites wish to present themselves as friends rather than marketers of beauty products. Like their print counterparts, the sites may play an important role-in a private, personalized, and interactive setting-in reinforcing the messages concerning the centrality of female beauty in Western societies.

For example, let's consider the language on the homepage cover of the February 27, website of Teen Vogue: "WIN A TOTAL MAKEOVER IN NYC! Just sign up for our 30 Days of Beauty style guide, and you'll be automatically entered to win a makeover weekend in New York!?The message her is one of beauty and perhaps a lack of acceptance of yourself, implying that teens somehow need a makeover, and it is ...