Teen magazines are

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

s aimed at

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters,

stickers A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, Polyvinyl chloride, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, dependi ...

, small samples of

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

or other products and inserts. The teen magazine industry is overwhelmingly female-oriented. Several publications, such as '' Teen Ink'' and ''

Teen Voices ''Teen Voices'' was an intensive journalism, mentoring, and leadership program for teen girls in Boston, and published the first magazine in the United States with alternative content created by and for teenage girls. Its mission was to support a ...

'', cater to both male and female audiences, although publications specifically targeting teenage boys are rare. Many scholars have critiqued teen magazines, as the topics presented are narrow and only present a limited range of female roles, some believe that they are effective because of the relationship developed between magazine and reader. There is a distinct feminine space that is made by the text itself as editors of teen magazines focus on making the content of their text appropriate to the analytical ability of their readers. Along with most mainstream magazines, teen magazines are typically sold in print at supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and newsstands.

History

Teen magazines first gained prominence in the United States during the 1940s, with '' Seventeen'' magazine being the first known publication geared towards a demographic of teenage girls. Examples of popular magazines during that time include '' Sassy'', '' YM'', '' CosmoGirl'', '' Teen'', and ''Teen People''. Nowadays, popular contemporary American teen magazines include '' Seventeen'', ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'', ''J-14'', and '' Tiger Beat''. Teen magazines are produced in many countries worldwide, and are widely popular in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies t ...

's ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

'' (1960–1986) is regarded as having established the sector. Large-scale Canadian teen magazines include the '' Faze'' magazine. Since 1972, teen magazines in the United States have reached out to the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

market with publications such as '' Right On!'' (produced by Sterling-McFadden, which also produces '' Tiger Beat'') and '' Word Up!''. In the United Kingdom, changes in the way teenagers spend their money (and the fact that there were fewer of them, though they had more cash) led to many casualties in the 1990s because titles were unable to compete with mobile, digital and online media. Magazine publishers have moved down the age range with publications for "tweenagers" (those aged 9 to 13) gaining popularity, such as ''It's Hot'', '' BOP'', '' J-14'' and '' Tiger Beat.''

Audience

Although in the United States, adolescence is generally considered to be the period between the ages 11 and 19, and teen magazines usually cater to people within that range, many readers comprise an even wider age range. According to a 2006 report by Magazine Publishers of America, 78% of teens read magazines. Of the media that adolescents refer to for information about sex, teen magazines are particularly important because they influence knowledge, attitudes, and values about sex and sexuality, especially for teenage girls. According to Amy S. Pattee, author of ''The Developmental Appropriateness of Teen Magazines'', the experience of reading teen magazines can result in heavy psychological impacts on their readers. The covers and content of the latest teen magazines promise adolescent girls dates, beauty, and success. Compared to the rich superstar singer, and the skinniest model shown and praised in the magazine, the reader is most likely to be left with a negative self-image and a heavy desire to aspire to be just like the women they read about.

Subgenres

Teen magazines tend to be categorised as lifestyle (e.g. ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

''), entertainment (often based on music), or comics. While some teen magazines focus almost exclusively on music and film stars, others feature more extensive coverage of lifestyle issues and are virtually junior versions of magazines such as ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'' or '' Cleo''. ''Cosmopolitan'' is more focused on readers between the ages of 18 and 25, whereas ''Seventeen'' and ''Teen Vogue'' are geared towards teenagers and focus more on the bubbly teen gossip, celebrity culture, and newly stated trends on fashion and beauty.

On the web

In recent years, rapid technological advancement and the rise of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

has led to the emergence of online teen magazines. Examples include '' Faze'' in Canada, which is published in both web and print versions, and ''

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

,'' an independently run

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...

and book series founded in 2011 by Editor-in-Chief Tavi Gevinson, which publishes writing, photography, and other forms of artwork by and for teenagers. With a digital format, the accessibility of teen magazines has also greatly increased, reaching readers from a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities. In the UK, sales in the teen magazine sector peaked in 1998. Teenagers had many more attractions competing for their cash and their attention, such as media delivered on the web and through mobile phones. Also, the booming celebrity weeklies attracted more teens from ever-younger ages (driven by celebrity TV series). In response to this, in April 2007, National Magazines - publisher of ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Cosmo Girl!'' - launched a digital weekly magazine for teens, ''Jellyfish'', in a trial. This was the second attempt in the UK to establish a new online

business model A business model describes how a Company, business organization creates, delivers, and captures value creation, value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-pub ...

, the first being ''Monkey'' from

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...

, which aims to sell to men aged 18 to 34. In both cases, readers sign up to be sent the 'eMag' by email. Each issue features interactive elements and 'pages' that can be 'turned'. However, National Magazines closed ''Cosmo Girl!'' in June and the ''Jellyfish'' experiment was drawn to a close in August.

Critical reception

The experience of reading teen magazines can result in heavy psychological impacts on their readers. Teen magazines may give implicit suggestions on how women should or should not behave. The teen magazine, with its images of corporeal perfection and promises of social success, can be seen as evidence of a social ideal to which developing teens may aspire when reading the magazine. Self-development is influenced by an individual's alignment with a social group. Sexualized content in teen magazines, including contradictory advice of abstinence and sexual exploration, has been criticized for its effects on teenage girls. Teen magazines may influence teenage girls' understanding of work, with emphasis on professional occupations and the entertainment industry. The embarrassing stories column that is popular in most, if not all, teen magazines, is constructed not only to entertain the reader but also to offer behavioral guidance. The texts of these columns, titled, “Say Anything” in ''YM'', “Trauma Rama” in ''Seventeen'', and “Why Me?” in ''Teen'', consist of a collection of embarrassing incidents in the magazine readers’ lives. Readers are encouraged to write to the magazine's editors with their own tales, which, if published, are rated by the magazine staff. These ratings imply an mutual empathy and personal interaction between the author of the story and the reader. The teenage reader, made aware of the risks of certain behaviors in certain scenarios can, by study these columns, and develop an understanding of societal rules.

References

MagForum.com A comprehensive guide to teen magazines covering the last few decades
* The first cover of Jellyfish can be seen at .
''Teen Life'' - Bulgarian lifestyle teen magazine
* 'Jellyfish closure is another blow for teen sector,' ''Guardian'', 14 August 2007

External links

''Enverdo'' - online magazine

Monthly V SHINE International

''Faze'' Magazine

''Relate'' Magazine

''Stunnazine'' Magazine
{{Authority control 01 . Works about adolescence Youth culture Magazine genres