Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls - 1
Consumption of Teen Magazines by Adolescent Italian Girls:
Reading Patterns and Motives
Britto M Berchmans
Universit Pontificia Salesiana
Piazza Ateneo Salesiano, 1
00139 Roma, Italy
Tel: 39-6-8729-0635
Fax: 39-6-8729-0536
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Paper presented at the Magazine Division of the Annual Convention
of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,
August 5-8, 1998 in Baltimore, USA
Abstract
Research on teens' use of teen magazine is meager even though magazine reading
is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents. Basing itself on a theory of
media use uniquely suited to the specific developmental exigencies of teenagers,
a survey of 903 adolescent Italian girls inquired into their reading habits and
their motivations for reading teen magazines. This paper proposes that
teenzines are an agent of broad socialization that assists teens in their
identity formation, identification with other teens, and entertainment.
Implications for future research directions are outlined.
Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls -
Consumption of Teen Magazines by Adolescent Italian Girls:
Reading Patterns and Motives
In an article entitled, "Sex Tips for Teen Girls: Take a look at what your
12-year-old is reading," William Underhill (1997) voices the concerns of both
teachers and parents who are outraged by the sexually explicit material dished
out by popular teen magazines in Great Britain. Teenzines such as Mizz, Bliss,
Sugar and Minx vie with each other to attract readers as young as 10. In most
countries of the West, comparable periodicals have mushroomed in recent years,
peddling the same kind of literary fare. Spain boasts of such titles as Bravo,
Nuevo Vale and Super Pop. Italian newsstands feature such titles as Cio , TV
Stelle, Beautiful Magazine, and just recently, Top Girl. American teens have at
their disposal magazines like Young Miss, Sassy, and Seventeen. The titles may
be different. The content, however, is the same.
In order to respond to the concerns voiced in the popular press, we undertook a
two-pronged study[1] of Italian teenagers' engagement with these youth
magazines. This paper presents the principal findings of the survey that was
administered to more than 1200 teens from various parts of Italy. It inquires
into the reading habits of Italian female teens and attempts to understand why
these teen magazines are so widely read and so avidly followed, and proposes
some type of theory to explain this widespread teen phenomenon.
The Situation
Italy has a robust magazine industry that has demonstrated a keen interest in
the youth market in recent years. It is not possible to list all the teen
magazines out there because this market segment is in a state of constant flux.
Table 1 presents those that commenced publication in the last twenty years.
Only those that are sold at newsstands are included in this list.
Five types of magazines dominate the market: those that revolve around
celebrities and the media, sports and auto magazines, periodicals for girls and
cartoons. Certain publishers such as Edizioni Cio publish more than one
magazine for young people. For these publishers, these magazines are money
machines. Lured by the growing teen market segment, they see huge potential for
advertising revenue from advertisers who want to promote such products as
designer clothes, cosmetics, perfume and cars. In addition, these magazines are
also the privileged instruments for cultivating future readers and consumers.
In many cases, these publishing houses produce periodicals targeted at every age
segment (for instance, Edizioni Cio ).
Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls -
TABLE 1
Youth magazines in Italy
Periodical
Year of Publication
Periodicity
Publisher
16 Anni
1988
bimonthly
Edizioni Cio
Beautiful Magazine
1990
weekly
Editrice Universo
Big Star
1983
monthly
Sirio
Blu and Blu
1986
monthly
Athena 2001
Cio
1979
weekly
Edizioni Cio
Cio Girl
1989
monthly
Edizioni Cio
Cle
1985
monthly
Edizioni Cio
Debby Pi
1986
weekly
Edizioni Cio
Dolly1
1977
weekly
Mondadori
Hall !
1986
weekly
Editoriale Tuttogiovani
I Bellissimi
1992
monthly
Masters Edizioni
I super belli
1992
fortnightly
Forte Editore
Mattissimo
1986
monthly
Edizioni Cio
Mia
1992
weekly
Edizioni Mia
Mini
1991
bimonthly
Edizioni Cio
Motor Boy
1992
monthly
Forte Editore
Pi
1994
monthly
Edizioni Mia
Pupa
1983
bimonthly
Edizioni Cio
Ragazza In2
1978
weekly
Editrice Universo
Rock Star
1980
monthly
Edizioni Actual Media
Rockissimo
1987
monthly
Athena 2001
Rosa Shocking
1987
fortnightly
Play Press
Segreti
1993
monthly
Edizioni Sirio
Star
1994
monthly
Masters
Starter
1984
weekly
Editrice Universo
Stelle e star
1995
weekly
Officina Editoriale
Super!
1985
monthly
Edizioni Cio
Tutto Musica
1977
monthly
Mondadori
TV Stelle
1993
weekly
Edizioni Cio
ZIP
1993
quarterly
INEDIT
1 In 1988, Dolly was re-born as Dolly Big. It ceased publication definitively in
1990.
2 Ragazza In ceased publication in 1987.
Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls -
Around the world, marketers and advertisers are beginning to consider teenagers
as one huge market (Belch & Belch, 1995). Young people everywhere consume
similar products and offer an attractive alternative to the stagnant or
shrinking adult markets in the US. In 1990 US teenagers spent a total of $79
billion, and of this amount, $29 billion was discretionary (Mogel, 1992).
Italians as a whole spend much more today than they did a quarter century ago.
It is interesting to note that spending on groceries decreased from 36% of the
total spending in 1970 to 18% of the total in 1995. During the same period,
spending on other items (such as clothes, cosmetics, and other non-grocery
items) went up from 64% in 1970 to 82% of the total in 1995 (EURISPES, 1997).
Italian women are a potentially lucrative market segment, particularly for
fashion. Women's magazines such as Marie Claire set the fashion agenda not only
in Italy but in other European countries as well (Chauvel & Klapisch, 1995).
For instance, in 1990 Italian women outspent US women in the purchase of
lingerie, even though the French spent more (Hetzel, 1995).
Publishers of teen magazines are prepared to do whatever it takes to win
readers. They are not afraid to push the boundaries. McRobbie writes (1996:
p.183): "...in a field which is overflowing with titles, new possibilities are
continually being explored. ...[O]ne theme which has emerged comprises sexual
representations which breach the boundaries of what in the past has been
considered appropriate for girls or young women." By insisting on beauty, the
body and romance, they instill in young women a sense of insecurity which they
may attempt to fill by consuming the right products (Chinello, 1997). Similar
trends have been noticed by researchers who have studied the phenomenon in other
Western settings (Evans, Rutberg, Sather & Turner, 1991; McRobbie, 1991;
McRobbie, 1996).
The Literature
Teen magazine use by Italian adolescents
The history of communication is replete with research projects undertaken out
of fear of the deleterious effects of a new medium on young people. For
instance, in the 1930s the Payne Fund Studies (Lowery & De Fleur, 1988) were
launched because the American society at large was preoccupied with the possible
adverse impact of movies on youngsters. Such concerns were reiterated in the
case of cartoons and television (Wartella & Reeves, 1985). While there have
been extensive studies on the effects of electronic media particularly
television (see, for instance, Center for Communication and Social Policy,
University of California, Santa Barbara, 1998; Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988;
Rosengren & Windahl, 1989), research on the use of print media by teenagers
seems to be limited.
There is even scarcer research literature available on the consumption of
popular teen magazines. Even the few studies that have been conducted on teen
magazines are mainly content analyses and are narrow in focus (see, for
instance, Evans et al., 1991). Studies that examine the reading habits of
teenagers or inquire into their motives for reading teen magazines are hard to
come by. As far as the Italian situation is concerned, one is left with meager
primary research data. As Mancini and Wolf (1990) acknowledge, due to certain
unique factors, the empirical research tradition is not highly prevalent in the
Italian academy whereas a distinctively Italian semiotic approach to media texts
can be identified.
In a study of 2,364 Italian youth (between the ages of 15 and 22), the
respondents listed the various pastimes on which they spent their free time (De
Rita, 1995). Slightly more than one in three (33.6%) chose "reading a magazine"
as one of their five most favorite pastimes. They also spent 8% of their
financial resources on buying magazines. More than half the respondents (57%)
read cartoons regularly while one in four read a magazine on a regular basis.
In the same study, reading a book was found to be more prevalent among girls
than boys (Vigini, 1995). In a similar study of 2,393 high school students, the
researchers (Manna, 1996) found that about one in four read newspapers daily.
Many of the magazines that the students cited as the ones they read regularly
were general consumer magazines (Chessa, 1996).
TABLE 2
Readers of weeklies and monthlies
by gender and age
Weeklies %
Monthlies %
Men
63.6
56.1
Women
68.7
55.0
14 to 17 years
83.0
70.5
18 to 24 years
78.5
73.5
25 to 34 years
71.7
69.3
35 to 44 years
70.5
60.6
45 to 54 years
65.0
53.1
55 to 64 years
56.2
42.8
65 years and above
50.3
30.2
Source: Audipress, 1995, vol. 1, p. 50.
According to Audipress data, 83% of those between 14 and 17 years read
weeklies, while 78.5% of those between 18 and 24 years read them. Magazine
reading peaks between the ages of 14 and 17, and after that slowly tapers off
(Table 2). That teens pay much attention to magazines is evident (Audipress,
1995). In the most recent study undertaken in Italy (ISTAT, 1997), in a
national sample of 60,000 individuals, 55.4% of the women and 44.3% of the men
said that they read weekly magazines. Magazine readership is predominantly
female. Even if one controlled for differences in geographic area and age, more
women read magazines than men. Only in the case of news or general interest
magazines and sports magazines, more men read than women. Other studies confirm
that females are more interested in reading than males (Morcellini, 1995; Tonolo
& De Pieri, 1995).
Other questions arise. What characterizes the readers? Why do they read these
magazines? What benefits do they derive from reading them? Tonolo and De Pieri
(1995) found that teens read these magazines out of curiosity or to pass time.
Morcellini (1995) avers that teens read for diversion and to pass time.
According to a marketing study conducted by RAI (Radiotelevisione
Italiana), the government-supported radio and television network, 88% of the
respondents (between the ages of 14 and 19) had read at least one weekly
magazine in the last 30 days (Valentini, 1994). Many magazines that are
typically teen magazines (such as Sorrisi e Canzoni TV, Dylan Dog, Topolino, and
Cio ) are quite avidly consumed by teens. The study segmented these teens into
six groups of which one shows the greatest likelihood of reading the teen
magazines that are the focus of this study. This group, labeled as "Dreaming
about life" in this market segmentation, comprises mostly females (aged 14-15
years), hailing from the southern and the central parts of Italy. These are in
transition and pass their days dreaming about life as proposed by the media, and
window-shopping. They hold the private values of the little bourgeois: health,
serenity in the family, and beauty. They are in conflict with their families
who do not understand adequately their dreamy approach to life.
Similarly, using marketing research data, Morcellini (1995) segments
adolescents into six ideal groups and proposes one group ("The Curious") as avid
consumers of teen magazines. They are mostly girls (between 14 and 17 years
old) who hail from the middle or lower middle class. They subscribe to such
values as a secure job, family, physical beauty, well-being and comfort. They
are swayed by peer groups and they want to belong by using the right clothes and
fashions.
Towards a theory of teen magazine use
Even though there is some empirical data regarding teen magazine use, the
larger picture is scattered and confusing. We need to develop a consistent
theory of teen magazine use. The first premise of such a theory should be that
teens should be viewed as active rather than passive users of the media.
Writing in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, a group of scholars insist that
we adopt the Uses and Gratifications approach as the underlying paradigm for a
tentative theory of teen media use (Arnett, 1995b; Arnett, Larson & Offer,
1995). This approach replaces the image of audience members as passive
recipients with one of individuals who can actively bend programs, articles,
films, and songs to their own purpose (Tan, 1985). Such a change is justified
also by the ideas put forward by developmental theorists such as Lerner and
Scarr who assert that "children and adolescents actively select the environments
that influence their development" (Arnett, Larson & Offer, 1995: 513). If
adolescents are viewed as active users, then we must inquire into the kinds of
needs they seek to satisfy through their media use. In order to adapt the Uses
and Gratifications approach to adolescent media use, we must understand clearly
the developmental tasks that face the teenager. A brief inquiry into the period
of adolescence is in order here.
The period of adolescence
According to Esman (1990) the period of adolescence is a cultural invention
designed to extend young people's period of training and to keep them away from
the work force so that adults can continue to work. In general, teens share the
values of their parents. Not only are they affected by culture, but they also
affect culture. The young person going through his/her teenage years is faced
with many major developmental tasks as he/she attempts to adapt to many aspects
of life.
Parents and friends play different roles in teens' development. Whereas they
look for approval from their parents regarding their values, goals or standards,
they talk to their friends about their problems in dating, views on sexuality,
personal experiences, perspectives, interests, and doubts. They are more open
in their self-disclosure with their friends than their parents (Savin-Williams &
Berndt, 1990). Teens usually have the same party affiliation as their parents
(Corbett, 1991; Hennsessy, 1981). Peer influence seems to decrease with age and
is inversely proportional to the individual's social skills. Even when teens
acknowledge peer influence, they do not let it dictate their behavior. They
maintain some element of agency. They spend twice as much time with their peers
as with parents or other adults. As they begin to distance themselves from
adult influence, they also draw closer to peers of the opposite sex (Brown,
1990). It is important to point out that these young people are not gullible.
For instance, consumer researchers have discovered that as they grow older,
adolescents turn more and more skeptical of advertising (Boush, Friestad & Rose,
1994).
One factor that affects the way an adolescent feels about him/herself the most
seems to be his/her physical appearance. Among teens, this element consistently
correlates with global self-esteem, and it is particularly true for adolescent
girls (Harter, 1990; Torney-Purta, 1990). The next significant factor is peer
social acceptance.
Identity formation is crucial during adolescence including preparing for a
future career, evaluating moral and religious beliefs, formulating a political
ideology, and selecting a set of social roles including a social sex role
(Harter, 1990). Consumer researchers have argued for the inclusion of the
development of consumer identity among these identity tasks (Feinberg et al.,
1990). In an attempt to achieve distinctiveness and uniqueness, teens tend to
become self-absorbed. Some of them immerse themselves in peer identification
and conformity to stereotypes because they are left with few alternatives in the
face of pressure to give up parental identification (Harter, 1990). In this
context, Johansson and Miegel (1992) assert that in studying youth culture, one
should pay attention not merely to adolescents' identity but also to their
lifestyle.
Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls -
A tentative theory of adolescent media use
Arnett (1995a, 1995b) proposes a tentative theory of adolescent media use.
According to him, the Uses and Gratifications approach can be applied to
adolescents, however, with certain modifications. Many of the studies done with
this theoretical approach in the 1970s and 1980s were conducted with samples of
adults (for example, Katz, Gurevitch & Haas, 1973; Kippax & Murray, 1980).
Taking into account the unique developmental tasks that face teenagers, Arnett
(1995b) suggests, we should develop a different typology of needs. He
identifies five uses of media by adolescents: entertainment, identity formation,
high sensation, coping and youth culture identification.
Just like adults, teens often use the media simply for entertainment, as an
enjoyable way to spend their free time. Among all the media, music listening
stands out as the one that provides them maximum entertainment. They like to
retire to the seclusion of their rooms where they immerse themselves in the
music of their favorite singers and groups (Larson, 1995). Television and music
videos are also used to escape from their daily concerns with school, work or
family.
In their central developmental task of developing their own proper identities,
teens look for help. They are confused about their gender identity and often
they do not understand how to relate to the opposite sex. Impelled by these
needs, they turn to the media which they utilize for identity exploration and
identity formation (Ward, 1995). Teens also consume news media to develop
political values as they learn to become active participants in the democratic
process (Arnett, 1995b).
Unlike adults, teens seek high sensation and stimulation in their use of the
media. Some media products appeal particularly to adolescents. Besides
"action" films whose audience is dominated by adolescent males, there are
certain types of music such as rap and heavy metal that are listened to by teens
with great interest. All these media products can be described as powerful or
intense (Arnett, 1995b).
When adolescents encounter negative emotions in their lives, they turn again to
the media to cope with them. Some teens have reported that sometimes they use
heavy metal music to purge themselves of the anger they feel (Arnett, 1995b).
Thus it would appear that music is the preferred medium to satisfy coping needs.
The young are also looking for ways to connect with the larger youth culture
that is characterized by its own specific values and interests. With increasing
globalization and the growing diffusion of American media products, this
identification with the so-called "youth culture" is available to adolescents
everywhere. Particularly music enables teenagers feel one with other
adolescents and sometimes even helps them create a sub-culture of their own
(Arnett, 1995b; Hebdige, 1989).
One of the ultimate goals of the period of adolescence is socialization, the
process by which "adolescents acquire - or resist acquiring - the behaviors and
beliefs of the social world, the culture, in which they live" (Arnett, 1995b, p.
525). We can distinguish between broad and narrow socialization. The former
stresses obedience and conformity whereas the latter encourages individualism
and independence. Most countries of the West can be considered to be societies
of broad socialization and in such a context, teens are permitted and even
stimulated to pursue their own preferences (Arnett, 1995a, 1995b).
The media act as agents of broad socialization as they flourish by encouraging
the consumers to follow their desires. Whereas other sources of socialization
such as the family, the school, the legal system and religious authorities have
a vested interest in socializing the teens in the right way in order to promote
social order, the media have no such desires. Driven only by economic concerns,
they provide whatever the young want. As a result, the teens enjoy a large
diversity of media choices over which the adults very often are unable to
exercise proper control (Arnett 1995a, 1995b).
A theory of teen magazine use
Applying Arnett's (1995a, 1995b) theory to the reading of teen magazines by
adolescent females, we need to make certain modifications. As we discussed
earlier, teen magazines are moved mainly by economic concerns and will do
whatever they will to win over young readers (McRobbie, 1996). They promote
broad socialization by providing diversity but making available material that
appeals to the largest body of teenagers. Well aware of the specific needs of
teens and their fascination with the body, sex, romantic relationships and
friendships, they sell their wares with great skill. The truth of these claims
has been borne out by a number of content analyses conducted by researchers on
these teen magazines.
One of the first to study this popular media genre in a systematic fashion was
Angela McRobbie (1991) who engaged in a critical reading of the content of such
English teen magazines as Jackie. She points out that in the 1970s the magazine
portrayed the teenage girl as a "romantic individualist" who was out to win her
man in constant competition with other girls. McRobbie identifies four
principal themes around which the magazine content is organized: romance,
personal/domestic life, fashion and beauty, and pop music. The magazine
propounds what it means to be a female teen. For instance, it tells them that
appearance "should be designed to please both boyfriend and boss alike and
threaten the authority of neither" (McRobbie, 1991, p. 125).
Returning to the same theme a few years later, McRobbie (1991) investigated the
content of both Jackie and Just Seventeen in the 1980s. She notes that while
romance as a theme received much less coverage, a new form of femininity was
being projected. The young woman is no longer weak and needy; she knows how to
assert herself, how to stand up for herself. The magazines encourage teenage
girls to create their own personal style by following the fashion and beauty
agenda that they set for them. McRobbie points out that the theme of beauty has
become dominant both in terms of the space allotted and its pervasive presence.
The theme of sex is much more obvious "especially in Mizz and Just Seventeen
where it is assumed that many under-16-year-olds will indeed have sexual
relationships" (McRobbie, 1991, p. 183).
Evans et. al (1991) studied the three most popular teen magazines in the U.S.,
based on their 1988 circulation rates, namely, Sassy, Seventeen, and Young Miss.
Using content analysis, they examined primary articles, regular columns, and
fiction, advertisements, and photographs. Their global conclusion is that the
magazines suggest self-improvement to these young women principally through
fashion and beauty, with some counsel on improving heterosexual relationships.
Their content as well as the advertisements published "mutually reinforced an
underlying value that the road to happiness is attracting males for successful
heterosexual life by way of physical beautification" (Evans et al., 1991, p.
110).
Based on our literature review, we propose that teen magazine use will be
highly prevalent among teenage girls. Even though Arnett (1995b) proposes five
uses for teen media use, it is easy to see that not all of them apply to
magazine use. Obviously, unlike Rap and heavy metal music, teen magazines do
not qualify as producers of high sensation. Similarly, music, rather than
magazines, has been used by teens to cope with negative emotions. Therefore, we
suggest that Italian female teens will use teen magazines to obtain three sets
of gratifications: identity formation, identification with youth culture, and
entertainment. In this connection, the media dependency theory maintains that
the degree of a person's dependency on a particular medium hinges on the number
of functions that medium serves. The degree of dependency deepens also when
there is uncertainty (Griffin, 1994; Littlejohn, 1992). Since the period of
adolescence is a time of confusion regarding roles, identity and relationships,
and since teen magazines serve multiple functions, we can expect teens'
dependency on teen magazines to be significant.
We propose three sets of research questions based on our theory of
adolescent magazine use:
RQ1 Do Italian adolescent females consider these magazines to be
important in their lives? In other words, do they spend much time reading
it? Do they keep it for future consultation? When they do not receive
it, do they miss it? Does the consumption of these magazines become a
private affair wherein they give their undivided attention to reading them?
RQ2 Do these teenagers use them to fulfill their needs of identity
development, identification with other young people their own age, and for
entertainment? Do they turn to these magazines for taking away their
uncertainty as they face the challenges of growing up? Do they consult
them when they encounter a problem? To what degree do these magazines
become effective tools for diversion and escape?
RQ3 If as Arnett (1995a, 1995b) proposes, media act as agents of
broad socialization, do these teen magazines compete with other agents
such as the family and the school in their socialization? Do these
magazines become as important, if not more important, in the various ways
in which teens attempt to achieve this socialization?
Research Design
Departing from the theoretical perspective outlined above, we undertook an
exploratory study of Italian teens and their use of popular teen magazines. A
survey was used to investigate teens' reading patterns and their motives for
reading these magazines. With the help of teachers, the survey was administered
to entire classes of students in schools from different parts of Italy. The
study thus used a convenience sample. Even though the original sample of 1,224
included both boys and girls, the present study has isolated only the female
teens. The reason for the choice of adolescent girls as the subjects of this
research is that they pay far more attention to these magazines than boys. The
male teens are interested in cartoons, and in auto and sports magazines. The
survey data were collected between September and December 1996 from private
schools in northern Italy (Novara, Lecco, and Milan), central part of the
country (Bologna, and Rome), and Sicily (Messina, Catania and San Cataldo). In
order to have a more representative sample, questionnaires were administered
also to students in two public high schools in Rome in April 1997.
Measures
As this is an exploratory study that has no hypotheses to prove, one cannot
speak of dependent and independent measures. The questionnaire asked the teens
to identify the teen magazines that they knew about and followed personally, and
it inquired into their reading habits. The students were questioned as to the
time they spent reading their favorite magazine, with whom and where they read
it, and with whom they talked about it. Questions also inquired into what they
did with the magazine after they read it, and into the various themes and
problems the magazine discussed, and into the various features of the magazine
that they were most interested in. In order to confront the role played by
these magazines with those played by the family and the school, certain items
were developed which were graded on a three-point scale (not at all, a little,
much). Some of these items are: "My favorite magazine helps me strengthen my
friendships, it helps me make new friends, it helps me improve my relationship
with my boyfriend, it helps me daydream, and it helps me solve my problems."
The same items were repeated in the case of the family and the school. In order
the gauge the uses they derive from reading the magazine, the respondents were
asked to indicate to what degree (not at all, a little, much) they find within
the pages of the magazine such benefits as understanding themselves,
information, support in front of uncertainty, advice, comfort, possibility of
interacting with others, escape, and approval of their behavior. Measures of
media exposure were also included.
Sample
The sample of 903 female teens was drawn from the final year of grade school
(13-14 years old), the two following years of high school (15 to 17 years) and
the professional or technical school (17 years and older). Whereas 87.8% of the
students go to a private (religious) school, the rest (12.2%) are enrolled in a
public school. The sample is predominantly urban as 54% lives in the city and
19% in the suburbs while the rest hail from the countryside. Economically the
group is diverse. Only 6% belong to the rich class and 3% label themselves as
poor. The great majority (61%) belongs to the middle class and 30% to the lower
middle class. Also from the point of view of father's education, the group is
varied. A little less than half (47.5%) the fathers have grade school education
or less, whereas 21.1% have university education. The remaining 31.4% have
completed high school. The sample includes every age group. While 21.7% are
aged below 14 years, 20.6% are 18 or older. The 14-15 age group is rather large
(37.7% of the total) and 20.1% of the sample belongs to the 16-17 age group.
Thus, even though this research used a convenience sample, it is quite diverse
and as such, probably representative of the population from which it is drawn.
Results
From the data we have collected it is clear that teen magazine reading is quite
prevalent among these female teens. When the students were asked to choose the
one magazine that they love and read on a regular basis, the respondents chose a
variety of magazines, most of them that can be labeled as teen magazines. Cio ,
the oldest teen magazine in Italy, commands the greatest number of readers.
More than one in three (34.4%) chose Cio as the magazine that they love and
read regularly. Cartoon periodicals such as Topolino, Dylan Dog and Manga
Giapponesi, also have significant readerships (5.7%, 3.7% and 2.1%
respectively). Only 18 respondents (2.1%) chose a sports magazine as their
favorite. Two other magazines, TV Stelle and Beautiful Magazine, have a
significant following (3.7% and 5.7% of the respondents respectively). Along
with Cio , they qualify as the typical female teen magazines. Thus we can say
that the three most avidly followed female teen magazines are Cio , TV Stelle,
and Beautiful Magazine.[2]
RQ 1 The importance of the teen magazines
A number of questions addressed the issue of the importance of teen magazines
in the lives of these students. They take reading these magazines very
seriously. They spend a lot of time in reading them and do so in private. More
than one in three students (38.7%) spend more than one hour daily in reading the
magazine of their choice. Another 33.9% dedicate between 30 minutes and an hour
daily to this pastime. Reading their favorite magazine is an important activity
that must be carried out in the privacy of one's room and alone. Nine out of
ten teens say that they read the magazine alone. Three out of four read often
in their room. Only 8 individuals (0.9%) never read in their rooms.
Almost two out of three (60.3%) buy the magazine when the new issue comes out,
either every week or every month. The rest (37.9%) buy it when they remember
to. The students themselves buy the magazine (61.8%) and in some cases the
parents buy it for them (16.7%). After they finish reading the magazine, they
discuss the contents with someone. Less than 10 percent (9.6%) say that they
speak to no one about what they read in the magazine. More than half the
respondents (57%) talk about it to a friend and one in five (21.8%) discuss it
with someone in the family. A little less than half (44.4%) did not respond to
this question.
After they are done with reading the issue, only 4.9% throw it away. A great
majority (54.1%) keeps it for future use. A good number gives it to someone, a
family member or a friend (34.7%). More than half the respondents keep the
whole issue (56.6%) while less than one in twenty (4.9%) does not keep any part
of it. It is evident that these magazines play a significant role in the lives
of these teens. In fact, 381 students (42.2%) admitted that if they did not
receive a particular issue, they would miss it.
RQ 2 Roles played by these magazines
As we proposed in our tentative theory of teen magazine use, this research
sought to measure the various uses which readers derive from these magazines.
From table 3, it is clear that these students receive certain benefits from
reading their favorite teen magazines. Obviously these magazines are a source
of information for these youngsters who are probably unable to find such
information elsewhere. Almost two out of three (63.9%) indicate that they find
much information on the pages of these teenzines. Another 32.5% find "some"
information while only 3.6% find no information at all. Similarly, more than
half the respondents (53.4%) find much counsel while 40.9% find some. More than
7 out of ten students (77%) indicate that these magazines allow them to dialogue
with others much or to some extent. On several functions (understanding,
support in the face of uncertainty, and approval of their behavior) significant
numbers of students find at least some help from these magazines. It is clear
then that these magazines do indeed serve several functions. Counsel,
information and approval of their behavior are functions geared towards identity
development, while possibility for dialogue evidently helps them identify with
the ideas and views of other young people. Curiously, these magazines do not
function as an escape to many respondents.
Table 3
Question: In your favorite magazine, what do you find above all?
Not at all
Some
Much
Understanding
19.4%
56.7%
23.9%
Information
3.6
32.5
63.9
Support in the face of uncertainty
29.7
52.1
18.2
Advice
5.7
40.9
53.4
Comforting
45.1
41.3
13.7
Possibility for Dialogue
23.0
47.0
30.0
Escape
51.8
28.2
19.9
Approval of their behavior
32.3
54.6
13.0
The respondents were also questioned as to the extent to which teen magazines
help them in various other ways. The magazines, above all, help these teens to
daydream. Almost three out of four say that they do to some or to a great
extent (73.2%). They also help them to identify with the larger youth culture
by allowing them to interact with others (to some or great extent, 77.1%) and to
feel accepted (to some or great extent, 45.9%). A little more than half the
respondents remark that the periodicals help them to make new friends (54.2%) at
least to some extent. Less than one in five (18%) maintain that these magazines
do not help them at all to know themselves and to grow. Almost two out of three
admit that they help them to solve their problems at least to some extent
(63.2%).
TABLE 4
Question: To what extent does your favorite magazine help you:
Not at all
Some
Much
To know yourself and grow
18.0%
46.5%
35.5%
To live your relationship with your boyfriend
47.9
36.3
15.8
To solve your problems
36.7
45.0
18.2
To make new friends
45.8
34.6
19.6
To interact with others
22.8
50.4
26.7
To feel accepted
54.1
29.9
16.0
To daydream
26.8
29.9
43.3
Thus taking tables 3 and 4 together, we find that these magazines serve a
variety of functions in the lives of these teens. Whereas they seem to fulfill
to a significant degree the teens' need for identity development, the need for
identification with the youth culture is also served, even though to a slightly
lesser degree. An important way in which these teenzines serve as escape is
help teenagers to daydream.
RQ 3 Confronting the magazines with the family and the school
As Arnett (1995a, 1995b) claims, the media serve as agents of broad
socialization and in the context of the Western culture where individualism and
autonomy are cultivated, the media may even pose a challenge to such other
agents of socialization as the family and the school. In order to investigate
this possibility, our questionnaire included the same items to measure the roles
played by the three agents of socialization: the family, the school and the teen
magazines. When mere frequencies are run, both the family and the school emerge
as the stronger influences in the lives of these students. As table 5 shows, in
every function, a greater number of teens admit that their families help them
more than the magazines except to daydream. When confronted with the role
played by the school, teen magazines help more teens in their daydreaming as
well as in their relationship to their boyfriends.
TABLE 5
Question: How much does the following agencies help you:
FUNCTION
Family*
Magazines
School*
To know yourself and grow
96.3%
82.0%
95.8%
To live your relationship with your boyfriend
56.7
52.1
31.0
To solve your problems
95.7
63.2
80.7
To make new friends
69.0
54.2
94.2
To interact with others
88.1
77.1
96.2
To feel accepted
67.8
45.9
75.0
To daydream
39.9
73.2
26.5
* All percentages indicate the sums of those who responded "some" or "much" to
each item.
Table 6
Paired-Samples T-Tests
How far each agent has helped the teenagers:
Function
Agent
Mean
S.D.
No. of Pairs
t-value
df
2-tail sig.
To know yourself and grow
M
F
2.1695
2.7666
0.712
0.619
814
-17.83
813
0.000
To live your relationship with your boyfriend
M
F
1.6818
1.7462
0.732
0.746
792
-1.88
791
0.061
To solve your problems
M
F
1.8144
2.6856
0.722
0.550
808
-27.97
807
0.000
To make new friends
M
F
1.7406
1.8872
0.767
0.703
798
-4.69
797
0.000
To interact with others
M
F
2.0377
2.3354
0.703
0.680
796
-9.54
795
0.000
To feel accepted
M
F
1.6175
1.9593
0.746
0.774
787
-10.35
786
0.000
To daydream
M
F
2.1572
1.5133
0.822
0.690
789
19.40
788
0.000
M = Magazines F = Family
In order to ascertain whether individual students give more importance to
the magazines to the family and the school, we need to conduct some other
analysis. By conducting paired-samples t-tests on each of these items across
these three agents, we are able to determine whether the magazines are gaining
significance in the lives of these teens with respect to the family and the
school. Tables 6 and 7 present the main results of these t-tests.
From table 6, it is obvious that in almost every function the family plays
a more significant role in the lives of these teenage girls than the magazines.
In the case of daydreaming, the periodicals are far more powerful. In one other
function, namely, in facilitating their relationship with their boyfriends,
families do not play a more significant role since the difference in the means
is not statistically significant (p < 0.05). We can say then that the challenge
posed by the magazines to the role played by the family in the lives of Italian
adolescent females is not so pronounced.
TABLE 7
Paired-Samples T-Tests
How far each agent has helped the teenagers:
Function
Agent
Mean
S.D.
No. of
Pairs
t-value
df
2-tail
sig.
To know yourself and grow
M
S
2.1705
2.6748
0.711
0.845
821
-13.12
820
0.000
To live your relationship with your boyfriend
M
S
1.6784
1.3555
0.730
0.566
796
11.44
795
0.000
To solve your problems
M
S
1.8112
2.0720
0.722
0.665
805
-8.87
804
0.000
To make new friends
M
S
1.7392
2.6119
0.766
0.593
809
-27.18
808
0.000
To interact with others
M
S
2.0409
2.6079
0.705
0.555
806
-19.17
805
0.000
To feel accepted
M
S
1.6166
2.0832
0.745
0.756
793
-14.86
792
0.000
To daydream
M
S
2.1555
1.3274
0.822
0.589
791
25.31
790
0.000
M = Magazines S = School
From table 7 we can see that the results are similar to the ones we found
earlier in the confrontation between the family and the magazines. In all
functions but two, the school wields a greater influence on these students.
Unlike in the case of the family, here the role played by the magazines in
enhancing these girls' relationships with their boyfriends is significantly
greater than that played by the school. The same holds true in the case of
helping the respondents to daydream.
Discussion and Conclusion
That these magazines are important to these teenagers is evident from this
study. Other studies have come to the same conclusion. For instance, Klein et
al. (1993, as cited in Arnett 1995b) found that in the U.S., three-fourths of
white females aged 12-14 read at least one magazine regularly. Besides
fulfilling certain important functions for these teens, these magazines also
evidence certain other characteristics that make them even more appealing.
Berchmans and Chinello (1997) list the following as particularly appealing
features in the case of three Italian youth magazines (Cio , TV Stelle, and
Beautiful Magazine):
1I These magazines speak in the language of the teens.
2I They discuss problems that are of great interest to them.
3I They feature photos in the place of too many words.
4I They champion the cause and concerns of teenage girls.
5I They treat them like adults.
6I They become their friends and confidantes.
These teens are dependent on these magazines also because they fulfill a
variety of functions: information, understanding, advice, comfort, approval of
their behavior, support in the face of uncertainty and escape. Formulating
these functions in terms of Arnett's (1995a, 1995b) proposed theory, we can say
that these teenzines assist teenage Italian girls in their identity formation,
identification with other youth, and entertainment. According to the media
dependency theory, the greater the number of functions served by a particular
medium for an individual, the greater will be his/her dependence on that medium.
If these magazines play a significant role in their lives, educators and
parents contend, they must have some effect on these teens. There is hardly any
study that investigates the effect of the content of these teenzines on young
people. Such a study (Harrison & Cantor, 1997) found a strong relationship
between the beauty agenda set by these magazines and certain attitudes and
orientations of teens, particularly, girls. The researchers conclude that media
use, particularly magazine reading, "predicted disordered-eating symptomatology,
drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and ineffectiveness" (Harrison &
Cantor, 1997:40).
Even though these teen magazines occupy a significant place in the lives of
teen who read them in the privacy of their rooms and alone, communication
research has paid scant attention to this teen phenomenon. While studies on the
effects of television and even of new media technologies continue to grow, print
media seem to be neglected by communication researchers. If one takes seriously
the theory of agenda setting, one cannot overlook the possible effects of this
appealing medium.
The type of female identity proposed, especially in terms of sexuality,
beauty and heterosexual relationships, is not only limited, but also to some
extent pernicious (Berchmans & Chinello, 1997). With large numbers of their
readers below the age of fifteen, the sexual explicitness of these magazines is,
to say the least, highly inappropriate. With the number of young women
dissatisfied with their bodies and of those with eating disorders on the
increase in many parts of the Western world, one wonders as to what negative
impact the insistence on look and beauty so clearly evident in these magazines
may have on these young women. In her best-selling book, Reviving Ophelia:
Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, Mary Pipher (1994) dedicates more than
twenty pages to her discussion on anorexia and other eating disorders. To a
significant degree, she maintains, the media are contributing to the situation.
However, a word of caution is in order here. Just because these magazines
propose certain images and values on their pages does not mean that their
readers automatically absorb them. If we subscribe to the idea of differential
decoding (Fiske, 1989a, 1989b), we have to admit that these teens may interpret
the message of these magazines according to their respective subject positions.
We must pay attention to the type of concerns that Michel de Certeau raises in
his book, The Practice of Everyday Life (1984:31):
_once the images broadcast by television and the time spent in
front of the TV set have been analyzed, it remains to be asked what
the consumer makes of these images and during these hours. The
thousands of people who buy a health magazine, the customers in a
supermarket, the practitioners of urban space, the consumers of
newspaper stories and legends - what do they make of what they
"absorb," receive, and pay for? What do they do with it?
Thus in order to establish possible effects, we must first of all conduct an
inquiry into how these teens "interpret" these texts.
Arnett's proposed theory with our own application of it to teen magazines seems
to offer a viable explanation of teen magazine use. We need to conceptualize
better the various functions served by these periodicals and formulate in more
precise terms the confrontation between these magazines and other agents of
socialization such as the family and the school. Arnett's claim that adult
approaches to media use cannot be used without proper adaptations is totally
valid as this modest study points out.
Teen Magazines and Adolescent Italian Girls -
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[1] We administered a questionnaire to these teens and carried out a systematic
content analysis of over 400 articles appearing in the three most popular teen
magazines chosen by the subjects. This paper presents only the findings from
the survey.
[2] A significant number, 76 respondents (8.9%), chose another teen magazine,
Primavera, run by the Catholic nuns who manage the private schools of the
majority of the respondents. Since it does not fit the classic description of a
female teen magazine on the market, it was not used for the content analysis.
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