Teen magazines are
magazines aimed at
teenage
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include
posters
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...
,
stickers
A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...
, small samples of
cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
or other products and inserts.
The teen magazine industry is overwhelmingly female-oriented. Several publications, such as ''
Teen Ink
''Teen Ink'' is a monthly tabloid-format magazine which is marketed to, and written by, teenagers. It is based in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fu ...
'' and ''
Teen Voices'', cater to both male and female audiences, although publications specifically targeting teenage boys are rare. Many scholars have critiqued teen magazines, as the topics presented are narrow and only present a limited range of female roles, some believe that they are effective because of the relationship developed between magazine and reader. There is a distinct feminine space that is made by the text itself as editors of teen magazines focus on making the content of their text appropriate to the analytical ability of their readers.
Along with most mainstream magazines, teen magazines are typically sold in print at supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and newsstands.
History
Teen magazines first gained prominence in the United States during the 1940s, with ''
Seventeen'' magazine being the first known publication geared towards a demographic of teenage girls. Examples of popular magazines during that time include ''
Sassy'', ''
YM'', ''
CosmoGirl
''CosmoGirl'', also stylized as ''CosmoGIRL!'', was an American magazine based in New York City, published from 1999 until 2008. The teenage spin-off of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, it targeted teenage girls and featured fashion and celebrities. It ...
'', ''
Teen
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
'', and ''Teen People''. Nowadays, popular contemporary American teen magazines include ''
Seventeen'', ''
Teen Vogue'',
''J-14'', and ''
Tiger Beat
''Tiger Beat'' is an American internet teen fan magazine originally published by The Laufer Company, and marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition that was sold at stores until December 2018.
History and profile
...
''.
Teen magazines are produced in many countries worldwide, and are widely popular in
Australia,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Fleetway
Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...
's ''
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
'' (1960–1986) is regarded as having established the sector. Large-scale Canadian teen magazines include the ''
Faze
FaZe Clan (formerly FaZe Sniping) is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA. Founded on May 30, 2010, the organization has players from around the world, across multiple games, inclu ...
'' magazine.
Since 1972, teen magazines in the United States have reached out to the
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
market with publications such as ''
Right On!'' (produced by Sterling-McFadden, which also produces ''
Tiger Beat
''Tiger Beat'' is an American internet teen fan magazine originally published by The Laufer Company, and marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition that was sold at stores until December 2018.
History and profile
...
'') and ''
Word Up!''.
In the United Kingdom, changes in the way teenagers spend their money (and the fact that there were fewer of them, though they had more cash) led to many casualties in the 1990s because titles were unable to compete with mobile, digital and online media. Magazine publishers have moved down the age range with publications for "tweenagers" (those aged 9 to 13) gaining popularity, such as ''It's Hot'', ''
BOP'', ''
J-14'' and ''
Tiger Beat
''Tiger Beat'' is an American internet teen fan magazine originally published by The Laufer Company, and marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition that was sold at stores until December 2018.
History and profile
...
.''
Audience
Although in the United States, adolescence is generally considered to be the period between the ages 11 and 19, and teen magazines usually cater to people within that range, many readers comprise an even wider age range. According to a 2006 report by Magazine Publishers of America, 78% of teens read magazines. Of the media that adolescents refer to for information about sex, teen magazines are particularly important because they influence knowledge, attitudes, and values about sex and sexuality, especially for teenage girls.
According to Amy S. Pattee, author of ''The Developmental Appropriateness of Teen Magazines'', the experience of reading teen magazines can result in heavy psychological impacts on their readers. The covers and content of the latest teen magazines promise adolescent girls dates, beauty, and success. Compared to the rich superstar singer, and the skinniest model shown and praised in the magazine, the reader is most likely to be left with a negative self-image and a heavy desire to aspire to be just like the women they read about.
Subgenres
Teen magazines tend to be categorised as lifestyle (e.g. ''
Sugar''), entertainment (often based on music), or comics.
While some teen magazines focus almost exclusively on music and film stars, others feature more extensive coverage of lifestyle issues and are virtually junior versions of magazines such as ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' or ''
Cleo Cleo may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand
* Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999
* ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...
''. ''Cosmopolitan'' is more focused on readers between the ages of 18-25, whereas ''Seventeen'' and ''Teen Vogue'' are geared towards teenagers and focus more on the bubbly teen gossip, celebrity culture, and newly stated trends on fashion and beauty.
On the web
In recent years, rapid technological advancement and the rise of the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
has led to the emergence of online teen magazines. Examples include ''
Faze
FaZe Clan (formerly FaZe Sniping) is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA. Founded on May 30, 2010, the organization has players from around the world, across multiple games, inclu ...
'' in Canada, which is published in both web and print versions, and ''
Rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
,'' an independently run online magazine and book series founded in 2011 by Editor-in-Chief
Tavi Gevinson
Tavi Gevinson (born April 21, 1996) is an American actress, writer, and magazine editor. She came to public attention at the age of 12 due to her fashion blog Style Rookie. By the age of 15, she had shifted her focus to pop culture and feminist d ...
, which publishes writing, photography, and other forms of artwork by and for teenagers. With a digital format, the accessibility of teen magazines has also greatly increased, reaching readers from a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities.
In the UK, sales in the teen magazine sector peaked in 1998. Teenagers had many more attractions competing for their cash and their attention, such as media delivered on the web and through mobile phones. Also, the booming celebrity weeklies attracted more teens from ever-younger ages (driven by celebrity TV series). In response to this, in April 2007, National Magazines - publisher of ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Cosmo Girl!'' - launched a digital weekly magazine for teens, ''Jellyfish'', in a trial. This was the second attempt in the UK to establish a new online business model, the first being ''Monkey'' from
Dennis, which aims to sell to men aged 18 to 34. In both cases, readers sign up to be sent the 'eMag' by email. Each issue features interactive elements and 'pages' that can be 'turned'. However, National Magazines closed ''Cosmo Girl!'' in June and the ''Jellyfish'' experiment was drawn to a close in August.
Critical reception
The experience of reading teen magazines can result in heavy psychological impacts on their readers. The covers and content of the latest teen magazines promise adolescent girls dates, beauty, and success As teen magazines are full of images of society's definition of physical perfection, compared to the rich superstar singer, and the skinniest model shown and praised in the magazine, the reader is left with a negative self-image and a heavy desire to aspire to be just like the women they read about.
Teen magazines overtly suggest through content and pictures, how women should look, dress, and act; they more subtly suggest, through exclusion of pictures and content what women should not do, be, or think. The teen magazine, with its images of corporeal perfection and promises of social success, can be seen as evidence of a social ideal to which developing teens may aspire when reading the magazine. Self-development is influenced by an individual's alignment with a social group. Such identification may lead an adolescent to form a mirror group, or clique of her own. As teens seek refuge in a socially safe category; teen magazines in particular offer monthly images of social promise.
Childhood is commonly considered to be a time/space of innocence. Research shows that the over sexualisation in teen magazines is believed to be a contributing factor of pushing girls into adolescence prematurely. Premature adolescence has proven to lead to a wide range of issues including body image, eating disorders, sexual violence, and self-esteem. Teen magazines are not only over sexualized, but sexually ambivalent as well—that is, messages about sex and sexuality contradict each other. For example, Carpenter noted that Seventeen magazine offers traditional scenarios of sex by urging teenage girls to refrain from intercourse until love or marriage is present, yet the same magazine simultaneously offers recreational scenarios of sex in which teenage girls are encouraged to explore their sexuality before marriage and with multiple partners.
Research shows that teen magazines are also having cultural impacts on its readers. Kelley Massoni, author of ''Modeling Work'', considers teen magazines as a possible source for girl's perceptions about the work world, including their own career futures. The labor market in Seventeen-land is heavily skewed towards professional occupations, particularly in the entertainment industry. A close reading of the text reveals four primary messages about the world of work: entertainment careers are a viable and prestigious option, men are the norm as workers, men hold the power, and fashion modeling is the pinnacle of "women's work".
The embarrassing stories column that is popular in most, if not all, teen magazines, is constructed not only to entertain the reader but also to offer behavioral guidance. The texts of these columns, titled, “Say Anything” in ''YM'', “Trauma Rama” in ''Seventeen'', and “Why Me?” in ''Teen'', consist of a collection of embarrassing incidents in the magazine readers’ lives. Readers are encouraged to write to the magazine's editors with their own tales, which, if published, are rated by the magazine staff. These ratings imply an mutual empathy and personal interaction between the author of the story and the reader. When reading of a fellow teen's traumatic experience involving a leaking maxi-pad and a light-colored dress or the humiliation involved in passing loud gas during a silent chemistry test, it does seem as if no barriers exist between the personal and the publishable. These texts included in teen magazines are socially instructive. Clearly, teenaged girls caught “out of control” (making out with a partner, showing off to attract attention, applying makeup with a heavy or an uneducated hand) risk embarrassment and social alienation. The teenage reader, made aware of the risks of certain behaviors in certain scenarios can, by studying these columns, develops a certain understanding of societal rules.
See also
*
List of teen magazines
*
Teen drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
-
list of teen dramas
This is a list of teen dramas, which are dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. Some shows on this list are also comedy-dramas.
Argentina
* ' (2005–2006), Canal Trece
* '' Aliados'' (2013–2014), Telefe
* ''A ...
*
Teen film
Teen film is a film genre targeted at teenagers, preteens, or young adults by the plot being based on their special interests, such as coming of age, attempting to fit in, bullying, peer pressure, first love, teen rebellion, conflict with paren ...
-
list of teen films
*
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
By region Asia
East Asia possess ...
*
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
*
Teen sitcom
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people. In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 11 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters inv ...
-
list of teen sitcoms
This is a list of teen sitcoms that are originally targeted towards teens aged 13 to 18.
Argentina
* ' (2000), Canal Trece
* ' (1997–1998), Telefe
* ''Champs 12'' (2009–2010), América TV
* '' Consentidos'' (2009–2010), Canal Trece
* '' ...
References
MagForum.com A comprehensive guide to teen magazines covering the last few decades* The first cover of Jellyfish can be seen at .
''Teen Life'' - Bulgarian lifestyle teen magazine* 'Jellyfish closure is another blow for teen sector,' ''Guardian'', 14 August 2007
External links
''Enverdo'' - online magazineMonthly V SHINE International''Faze'' Magazine''Relate'' Magazine''Stunnazine'' Magazine
{{Authority control
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.
Works about adolescence
Youth culture
Magazine genres