BLOG POST 5: MODERN TELESERYES

Many children and teenagers now a day are watching and patronizing teleserye like “bagito”. Yes watching teleserye is one of our ways to relax, but for the teenagers and children teleserye have a big impact for them because they are in the stage of curiosity, the stage where they want to know everything and they want to try everything.

The main target of the teleserye like “bagito” is the teenagers who are in the stage of curiosity, and because of their curiosity they tend to have misadventures in life. Not only “bagito” can influence the way of thinking of the children and teenagers. Here in the Philippines there are many teleserye that are same storyline with “bagito” like “katorse”, “angelito:ang batang ama” and “rubi”. This kind of teleserye has a big impact for the teenagers and children specially when the actor/actress was the idol of the teenager/ children.

I read an article entitled “How Films Affect Teens' Behavior” from the site globalpost.com with its writer Angeliki Coconi.

The writer discus how film affects the behavior of teenagers. She discus here that  teenagers can get many things in watching movies/ teleserye like “Sexy Decisions” she  discus here that teenagers are involved in the sex related decisions, she also discus that because of this the teenagers are involved in multiple lovers and engaged in infidelity and even the lost of their virginity in early age. ” Negative Messages” because of the movies/teleserye that he teenagers watched they get/absorbed the wrong /negative messages. “Smoking's Cool” because of the movies/teleserye that he teenagers watched they absorbed the thought that smoking is cool. “The Scare Factor” it was discus there that when a teenager/children watched a horror/scary film they can have short- and long-term damage in their mind and can be traumatize.

According to Angeliki “Films are a major part of teenage life and culture” I agree with her because now a days teenagers can watch any time they want and anywhere because of their technology and gadgets.

Because of the earlier article I was curious on what is the effects of a movie in a tenager.

Luckily I found this slide entitled “Movies and their Effects on Teens” from the site slideshare.net with its writer Cody Maymon.

In his slides he discus the definitions, the positive and the negative effects of movies for teenagers. In his definitions he stated that “popular culture refers to the believes and practices and he objects through which they are organize, that are widely shared among a population” and “a theatrical released nonfiction motion picture dealing with creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects ”.

 The positive effects are movies can provide fun activity for weekend, watching movies can build child/teenagers imagination, watching movies can open the eyes of the teenager o see reality that shows real problems. The negative effects of watching movies are watching movies can cost a lot of time and lot of money for teenagers, watching movies can promote drug use, smoking, watching movies can cause violent behaviors and sometimes the way to solve a problem in movies are wrong.

According to Cody “As teens grow older movies become more special and being to have a positive and lasting impact on their lives” I agree with him because it is true that as time goes by more positive things that movies can give us, but there is also a negative things that we can get in watching movies.

With this blog post I conclude that watching movies can affect the teenager’s behavior in terms of Sexy Decisions, Negative Messages, Smoking's Cool, and The Scare Factor. I also learn that watching movies have negative and positive effects. Like in positive teenagers who watch movies can have extra ordinary imaginations, watching movies can open the eyes of the teenagers in what is happening in reality and they can see real problems. And watching movies have negative effect too. Like watching movies can cost a lot of money and time, and also some of the way of solving a problem in a movies are wrong that’s why some of the teenagers adopt that kind of wan in solving a problem

BLOG POST 4: TEENAGE ALCOHOL ABUSE

Here in the Philippines many people specially teenagers are finding comfort in drinking liquors and other alcoholic beverages. Just what I said in my first blog post it all started in curiosity. At first teenagers will try a small amount until one day they will find their self addicted to it and they cannot even stop themselves in drinking. Some teenagers drink because they want to escape from their problems and leave reality even in just a minute of time.

I read an article entitled “Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse” from the site HELPGUIDE.ORG with its writers Melinda Smith, Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal.

In this article the writers discuss about the “Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse”, “Signs and Symptoms of alcohol abuse”, “Signs and symptoms of alcoholism (alcohol dependence)”, “Drinking problems and denial”, and  “When your teen has a drinking problem”.

In “Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse” they discuss that Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse are because of the following factors. First is the “Genetics”, they stated here that it is connected on how you grow, what is your social environment and of course your emotional health. Second are “the Racial groups” like American-Indians and Native Alaskans. Third are “the People who have a family history of alcoholism” or people surrounded by heavy drinkers. Fourth is “the People who suffer from a mental health problems” like anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.

In “Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse” they discuss the signs and symptoms that a person is an alcohol abuser. First is the “Repeatedly neglecting your responsibilities at home, work, or school because of your drinking”. Second is the “Using alcohol in situations where it’s physically dangerous”. Third is the “Experiencing repeated legal problems on account of your drinking”. Fourth is the “Continuing to drink even though your alcohol use is causing problems in your relationships”. Fifth is the “Drinking as a way to relax or de-stress”.

In “Signs and symptoms of alcoholism (alcohol dependence)” they discuss the signs and symptoms of alcoholism in an alcohol dependent. First is the “Tolerance: The 1st major warning sign of alcoholism”. Second is the “Withdrawal: The 2nd major warning sign of alcoholism”, this includes anxiety or jumpiness, shakiness or trembling, sweating, nausea and vomiting, insomnia, depression, irritability, fatigue, loss of appetite and Headache. Third are the other symptoms like the lost of control over drinking, the desire to quit drinking, but can’t, the giving up of other activities for alcohol, alcohol gets the great deal of your energy and focus, drinking even if you know it cause problems.

In “Drinking problems and denial” they discuss how people who have a drinking problem denied that they have and they also give a guidelines on how to deny it. Like “Drastically underestimating how much you drink”, “Downplaying the negative consequences of your drinking”, “Complaining that family and friends are exaggerating the problem” and “Blaming your drinking or drinking-related problems on others”.

They also give the “Myths about Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse”. First myth is “I can stop drinking anytime I want to”. Second myth is “My drinking is my problem. I’m the one it hurts, so no one has the right to tell me to stop”. Third myth is “I don’t drink every day, so I can’t be an alcoholic or I only drink wine or beer, so I can’t be an alcoholic”. Fourth myth is “I’m not an alcoholic because I have a job and I’m doing okay”. Fifth myth is “Drinking is not a “real” addiction like drug abuse”.

In “When your teen has a drinking problem” they give some tips/steps that the parents can use for their drunken children. First step is “Lay down rules and consequences”. Second step is “Monitor your teen’s activity”. Third is “Encourage other interests and social activities”. Fourth is “Talk to your child about underlying issues. Drinking can be the result of other problems. Is your child having trouble fitting”. And the Fifth is “Get outside help”.

According to them “If your drinking is causing problems in your life, you have a drinking problem” I agree with them because I believe that drinking is not the solution to our problems, yes we can forget our problems because of the effect of liquor but when you wake-up the next day your problem is still there, and being drunk is not giving a solution to your problems in life.

After reading the article, there is another question that came into my mind and that was “What are the effects of alcohol abuse to the teenagers?”

With this I search through the internet to find the answer to my question, and luckily I found this article entitled “Alcohol and Teens” from the site MedicineNet.com with its writer Roxanne Dryden-Edwards.

In this article she discuss about Alcoholism means, how much alcohol do teens use, and  the dangerous effects of alcohol use in teens.

The definition of alcoholism that she discusses was the same as defined in my first article. For the question “How much alcohol do teens use?”, the answer, as written in her article that “14% of teens have been intoxicated at least once in the past year” and “8% of teens who drink say they drink at least five or more alcoholic drinks in a row (binge drink)”.

She also discuss in her article the effects of alcohol use in teens, here are some. First it decreases the ability of the teenager to pay attention. Second teenagers who experience alcohol withdrawal have difficulties in memorization. Third teenage brain that is exposed in alcohol has a risk that some parts of their brain will become smaller. Fourth teenager who drink was more likely engage in having intercourse with stranger.   And the Fifth it can cause emotional problems.

According to Roxanne “The younger a person is when they begin drinking, the more likely they are to develop a problem with alcohol” I agree with her because I believe that one’s a child is starting to drink, even a small amount of liquor/alcohol at first, the day will come that he/she is mot contented in a small amount anymore.

In teleserye and film/movies, there are many instances that they promote alcohol / liquor like in James Bond film entitled “Quantum of Solace” . These films/movies and teleserye are the one who makes the teenagers more curious in drinking liquor / alcohol that leads to alcohol abuse after a long time. Some of the children and teenagers tough that when you drink you are cool.

I found an article entitled “Alcohol in Movies Can Nudge Teens Toward Drinking” from the site  ncadd.org with its writer Jennifer Larue Huget.

 In this article the writer conducts a study. He interview more than 6,500 U.S. teenagers ages from 10 to 14 four times over two years, about the factors of their life including their parental behaviors, peer interactions, their own rebellious attitudes and behaviors and the movies they'd watched. As the result of the interview, it shows that in five years the children and teenagers see 8 hours worth of on-screen drinking.

According to Larue “perhaps regulating the uses of alcohol in movies could have an impact on teen drinking behaviors” I agree with her , the film makers need to minimize the appearance of liquor / alcohol in their movies/ teleserye because it has a strong impact that, teenagers and children can adopt.

Therefore I conclude that drinking liquor and alcoholic beverages is not the best way to escape from our problems. It is not the solution; yes it can make you forget your problems for a while because you are dizzy but when you wake up on the next day, it cannot deny the fact that your problem is still there and the alcohol cannot do anything to solve your problems.