Helen Marie/Listen Up! Youth Media Network

Listen Up! Youth Media Network

This website is dedicated to certain teenagers who try to make a difference in their lives. The videos that they post on the website portray the high and low points in their lives. This is their way of "talking back" to people. Out of all the videos I watched, there are two that really stand out for me. The first video is on a boy named Will Quinones who is eighteen years old. He had a very difficult childhood which caused him to cut school. Now, he attends the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology. He still has the urge to cut school but the decision to cut school does not come entirely from him. He is mainly influenced by his peers. It is that certain peer pressure from his friends that drives Will into making his decision. As time goes on for Will, he wonders if his life will ever be on the right track.
The second video is on young teenage girls from Baltimore, Maryland. They speak about different topics such as fashion, music, and fun activities. A couple of girls expressed their love for music. One girl said "My favorite song is "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown". A couple of other girls expressed what they like to do for fun. One girl said "On my spare time, I either watch YouTube or draw cartoons". I found that to be interesting because drawing is considered to be an old-fashioned activity. YouTube has only been around for a few years. One would think that young girls would be more interested in coloring pictures and designing their own art. However, in our world of advanced technology, things have changed.

When I was watching the videos, nothing confused me at all. I completely understand what this website represents. For the most part, I was looking into the lives of different teenagers and hearing what they had to say about certain things in their lives.

The first video relates to Thomas Hine's "The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager". Both of these stories emphasize the struggles that kids face in their lives. The second video relates to Lauren Greenfield's "Fast Forward Ten Years". Both of these stories emphasize different influences on young teenagers.

Overall, I feel that Listen Up! Youth Media Network is a great website for teenagers because they are able to share their perspectives on what their lives are like. Whether they share positive or negative stories, they represent who they are to the fullest.