Merchants of "Cool"

It seems that these many companies and agencies are really taking strides to successfully target teenagers and young adults. It seems that teenagers and young adults can be easily influenced through trendy advertising campaigns, and the need to fit in and be "cool".

It also seems that the media sure is keeping tabs on how to keep up with the evolving mind and needs of today's teenager. Although it seems that many kids today are turning their eyes and minds in a more rebellious direction. This can also provide some serious obstacles for many companies and conglomerates attempting to reach such an audience. For instance, from a musical perspective, many teenagers are turning to hardcore rock and profanity saturated rap music. It seems tough to advertise such harsh concepts without exposing what it truly is, for example profanity and violent images can not be used through public mediums.

Yet, the media seems to prove to be successful in invading the mind of society's youth. For example, there are clever ways that advertisers reach teenagers. The Internet seems to be the easier outlet, for example, many websites can feature polls to help engage its viewers (research can be achieved, and sometimes we don't even know were being targeted). This seems rather sneaky. But then again, how are they going to reach kids who are not concerned with voluntarily participating in polls and observations groups (etc.)?

Personally, from viewing and examining the news methods in which media professionals are using to target teenagers, I feel that it could eventually spiral out of control. For example, could media conglomerates and professionals eventually be given access to our computers to view the types on websites that we view and to see what exactly it is we do online. This would not surprise me in the near future.