Helping girls think critically about media

I was driving in to work the other day and tried to take notice of every ad I encountered on the way. I lost track. There were too many. Billboards were screaming for my attention to listen to that radio station, watch that TV show, or purchase that brand of alcohol.

At one time, out the window of my office, I was treated to a view of a woman in a bikini advertising a breast enhancement Web site. Nice. (insert sarcasm and rolling eyes here)

It's almost enough to overwhelm you, even if you have discernment to recognize that every one of those ads is trying to persuade, convince, entice, and lure. For teens, the pressure is even worse since they have not yet learned the skills to evaluate the messages they hear, see, and experience.

So how can we help girls learn to think critically about media?

1. Help girls understand that EVERYTHING has a messge. Nothing is neutral. The music, lighting, sound, characters, and even the colors are designed for a specific purpose...to get us as consumers to buy into their message. The next time you're with your girls and a commercial comes on, notice the color scheme, the music, and the characters all dovetail together to create one overarching emotion or theme.

2. Explain to girls that advertisers, producers, and those in the "business" are experts. They know the tools to grab their attention, pull at their heartstrings, and open their wallets. Here's just a few things advertisers will use:

Hype—"lose 20 pounds in 10 days; eat whatever you want and lose weight."

Humor—if you can get someone to laugh, you've created a possitive experience that they will remember when they go to the store.

Deception—How many TV shows or movies have you shown in which the hero is shot, beaten or stabbed, and yet can still get up and defeat the bad guy? (any of the Die Hard movies)

Testimonial—If Shaq uses that muscle pain relief, why wouldn't every teen athlete?

Simple solution—In what world can a major problem be solved in an hour? Yet every TV show is...

3. Be proactive and intentional about teaching teen girls to evaluate what they see and hear. The next time you watch a movie, a TV show, or listen to a song, ask your girls the following questions:

—What is the message? Who created it and why?

—What techniques are being used to grab your attention? (sexy guy, cool graphics, etc.)

—What values, worldview, or lifestyle is being presented?

—What is story is NOT being told? What is intentionally left out? (i.e., birth control may prevent pregnancy, but it doesn't prevent the other negative consequences of premarital sex!)

—What does the Bible say about this message? Or what's being omitted?

You may even want to consider bringing the girls together for a special Bible study on this very subject. Gather magazines, TV ads, movie clips and other forms of media and walk them through the questions above to help them begin to see the pattern. Allow them to work in groups to evaluate a particular ad using the questions. Talk about it. Teach them to think about it. Seize teachable moments to reinforce it.

Advertisers want teen girls to remain ignorant. They want teen girls to take the bait. Our job it to teach them to watch out for the sharks in the water.