Youth and Media
- Andy Ruddock - Monash University, Australia
New Media and Communication Technology | Popular Culture (General) | Sociology of Culture
Exploring key issues in politics, technology, celebrity, advertising, gender and globalization, Andy Ruddock offers a fascinating introduction to how media define the identities and social imaginations of young people. The result is a systematic guide to how the notion of media influence 'works' when daily life compels young people to act out their relationships through media content and technologies.
Complete with helpful chapter guides, summaries and lively case studies drawn from a truly global context, Youth and Media is an engaging and accessible introduction to how the media shape our lives. This book is ideal for students of media studies, communication studies and sociology.
The relationship between youth and the media is one of the most frequented areas in media and cultural studies, but rarely has it been so judiciously, thoroughly, and productively examined as it is in Andy Ruddock's excellent and most useful book.
Professor Graeme Turner
The University of Queensland
'In addition to the provision of a new slant on media power and youth to the existing wealth of studies of media and the young Ruddock achieves a genuinely absorbing scholarly read. By using thought-provoking pertinent case studies underpinned clearly with wider questions posed by sociologists and those working in cultural and media studies before highlighting why this is important, he achieves with enthusiasm and skill what many other scholars fail to do. Ruddock achieves the unusual in that he has written a research text that is also useful and accessible teaching tool for undergraduates and even postgraduates. He structures his book through an accessible process of asking a question, establishing why it is interesting, what has been written in the area, providing an insightful case study, and deliberating what can be said on the basis of evidence before considering what this contributes to understanding media influence. It could easily be used to help dissertation students struggling with creating a structured research piece from an interesting idea they have had. [...] It is a study of the here and now that will still offer insight when the cases have passed from immediate memory.'
"This volume attempts to study youth and media beyond a myopic media effects paradigm that problematizes use as antisocial and deviant....Ruddock pleads for the study of youth and media beyond "something that is bad" and provides several points of departure to move beyond this perspective. Summing Up: Recommended."
Using a series of case studies running the gamut from Kony 2012 to the life and times of Jackass star Bam Margera, Ruddock discusses how and why youth media studies matter, how it should be studied, and what we can learn from the findings. The book covers the influence and effect of media on youth in several contexts; in addition to the examples already mentioned, he covers the Ryan Florence and David Cameron incident, Insane Clown Posse and censorship, the Columbine high school shootings, child soldiers, and much more. The book does provide a good introductory discussion of a variety of key topics in the study of youth and the media, and does an excellent job of revealing the complexity of the relationship between youth and the media.
Throughout his ten chapters Ruddock frames his discussion in a recurring cyclical figure that flows in the following cycle: Research Question, Underlying issue about media influence, Relevant literature, Exemplifying case study, Outcomes, and Lesson for understanding media influence. This consistency in presentation is a strength of the book, adding some structure to a large and varied subject matter. This is a particularly good structure for students, Ruddock’s intended audience...Youth and Media is a good introductory text on the subject and students of media, sociology and violence will find it an excellent place to start.
A great source for insight into the media influence on the youth - providing an honest yet realistic view of just how much of an impact the media has on todays society.
It will give students more understanding into youth culture and social media.
A very insigtful analysis of social media and its relationship to contemporary youth, the books draws from international examples across the globe. It is partly driven by social policy consents and theoretical application.
Since the students' project has youth as target/users, the book has been very important not only to the understanding of youth culture and media role on it, as well media effects theory.
In this book Andy Ruddock gives a historical overview of youth and media, from sporting events to changes in the political landscape. While young people have historically embraced media culture, the youth of today are more than just consumers; they are collaborators. This book provides an accurate portrayal of the influence of modern media on the youth of today. The writing style grabs attention with the historical context within which the phenomenon has evolved. The author navigates the reader through the historical context, theoretical models and various case studies to illustrate his viewpoint. The result is a fascinating account of the impact of modern media on today's youth. Well recommended although not central to our syllabus.
