In the digital age, media companies are making tough decisions regarding magazine production. Writing staffs have been slashed and replaced with video producers, teen magazines were combined with their adult counterparts and others have been discontinued altogether. The number of teen magazines placed on shelves each month is rapidly dwindling despite research from the Association of Magazine Media showing that young adults consume print media at higher rates than adults, all because of the perceived frivolity of their audience.
Throughout history, the interests of young girls have been viewed as inherently less important than those of adults, particularly adult men. Their magazines and contributors are the first ones on the chopping block because the content they’re producing is inconsequential. However, teen magazines are crucial to the social and intellectual development of teens, and I firmly believe in their lasting significance.
The most rudimentary purpose of these magazines is to help young women establish a sense of identity and confidence. Through printing diverse, relevant content with girls as the intended audience, their passions and experiences are publicly validated, often for the first time. While the rest of the world is telling girls that their interests are silly and their enthusiasm as something to be repressed, teen magazines do the opposite by giving them a distinct voice.
In addition, these magazines cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from summer makeup tutorials, to career inspiration, to poignant think pieces about current events. This allows girls to intellectually engage with our world and get directly involved in the issues that they care about while, at the same time, creating a space for boy band quizzes and cupcake recipes. In doing so, these magazines acknowledge the complexities of young adulthood, recognizing that girls are capable of enjoying both pop culture and worldly news, fashion tips and thoughtful dialogue, and that the two are not mutually exclusive.
Teen magazines often provide more comprehensive sex and body education than most school curriculums do as well. A study published in the BMJ Open medical journal found that students consider sex-education to be too narrowly focused on heterosexual relationships, abstinence and morals to be informative and engaging. Magazines, however, are free from the constraints of a state-mandated curriculum and are able to accurately cover sensitive topics such as birth control, STD prevention and the importance of consent without embarrassing the person seeking information.
While this may seem like a strange hill to die on, the interests of teens deserve to be respected and preserved. Teen magazines foster and validate the voices of young adults in a way that creates strong, vibrant leaders for our future.