Abbie Shuttleworth

Introduction –

In this research I am going to be looking at how young people are represented in soaps. I will look at a range of characters from Eastenders and show how they are represented in the programme. I will find out if young people are only represented badly in the media .

Eastenders

In Eastenders Lauren is represented as a alcoholic. She is shown through many episodes drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. When she isnt drinking lauren is shown as innocent. Lauren issues at home cause her to keep drinking, for example her mums cancer. Lauren is shown in a negative way towards the media.

Liam butcher is represented as a well behaved young boy however he gets involved in a gang. Liam is represented as a thief in the programme as he steals things from places like the chicken shop. This shows that young people are represented badly in the media.

Whitney is represented as a gobby chav in EastEnders. We can tell this from her costume , she tends to wear big earrings with a tracksuit. She is also shown to be a liar, for example she gets involved with Bianca's boyfriend Tony. Whitney has been represented as a prostitute in some of the programmes, this shows that young people are represented badly in the media.

The media shows that it is normal for a teenage girl to have a kid. Lola is represented as a teen mum. This implies to the people watching it that it is normal for a 16 year old girl to have a kid after a one night stand. This is representing young girls badly.

Conclusion –

In conclusion young people are represented badly in the media. Young people are recognised for the bad things they do and not the good. In EastEnders the young characters are represented badly for example Lauren, she is represented as an alcoholic. This is shown as everyday life so the viewers seem it to be normal.