It's a Friday night and I'm taking the evening to relax with my roommates. Watching some Food Network, drinking a smoothie, and casually flipping through a Cosmo that my roommate just bought. I flip through the first couple pages and I wonder "WHERE IS ALL THE CONTENT?!?"
I've never really been one to buy magazines (being a student, I just look at everything online), but wow, I forgot how many advertisements are in these things!
Right off the bat we got the one and only Ms. Natalie Portman, looking as lovely as always, laying next to a bottle of Miss Dior perfume. It isn't till about page 37 that I realize that most of what I just read or flipped through (cause there's nothing to read) are just advertisements of stuff that I can't even afford!
What. Is. Happening?! Who is the target audience for these types of magazines, I wonder. So of course, I do a quick ol' Google search. Ah! Just as I should have suspected, 18-39 year old, WHITE, UPPER CLASS women... Well, I fit two of those descriptions. My roommate doesn't even fit this description.
Part of me didn't even want to continue reading. What's the point? It's going to be filled with useless information because whatever they're selling me or the lifestyle they want me to live is one that is unaffordable and therefore unattainable! Yet, I find myself wanting to indulge and continue reading anyways. Can you blame a girl for wanting to know what the newest spring trends are even if I can't afford them? Or reading those hilarious confessions section of the magazine?
But really, there needs to be more of an emphasis on content as opposed to advertisements. Could this be a sign that the magazine industry might not survive much longer?
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About Me
- Rucha Patel
- Just a short girl with strong opinions on all things popular culture!
It's the same with the men's mags... I, somewhat shamefully, have a subscription to Men's Health >_> The ads build onto our fantasies of being as glamourous! We sadly then save money to make those fantasies a reality and blow it all on one or two of the items we see. I think magazines have had to slowly sell themselves more and more to marketing to keep themselves afloat. (side note: Also share a love of Natalie Portman lol)
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