Teenagers who were at a conference designed to address the effects of the modern mass media criticised the local media for portraying them in a negative light.

The students from a cross section of schools expressed differing views on the way they thought the media should or could be and where the responsibility rested.

The Modern Mass Media ? the Influence of Information took place at CedarBridge Academy on Thursday and Friday, while their contemporaries were in New York at the United Nations.

A few students felt that it was up to parents to guide their children in what they could read, listen to, or see.

Others voiced that it was the responsibility of the media to show both sides of the coin and not just the negative.

Berkeley Institute student Kaurie Daniels, 17, said when there was an incident of a fellow student hitting a teacher recently ? the media were there to cover the negative, but she the next day the school had a day of spiritual healing and no one was there to see it.

She said: ?It makes us all look bad, but that was one student.

?No it shouldn?t have happened and he was not right for what he done, but the media also needs to cover what we are doing that is good.?

Dominique Anderson, 16, from CedarBridge Academy (CBA) said she understood the position of the media, but also would like to see young people covered more positively.

?Adults say, ?you are the future leaders?, but how do they expect that we are supposed to rise above all of the negative images that we are seeing everyday,? she said.

?Every morning and afternoon before we leave school we have to say the we are excellent ? Ms (Kalmar) Richards said we might be Generation X, but the ?X? stands for excellence. In a sense this influences us as well ? its media.?

Students were divided into six groups during the conference to look into subliminal advertising; manipulation of the press and media, media advertising in the promotion of violence to children; examples of medial and advertising which promotes a culture of peace; facts and figures of advertising that targets the teenage market; and who controls the media.

Berkeley Institute student Shieneil Furbert, 16, said the media impacts everyone?s lives.

Tiffany Smith, 16, from Bermuda Institute, felt most people focus on the media and its main focus is on sex, drugs and violence, but she felt that people had to take responsibility for their own actions.

A student suggested perhaps there needed to be restrictions on magazines like Cosmopolitan for younger readers because of the sexual content, but CBA student Erin Butterfield disagreed and asked how many ten-year-olds would be reading the magazine and also stressed that it was the parents responsibility.

Saltus Grammar School student Tyler Choiniere said it was all down to individual situations.

Sah-Shay Johnstone said they were all affected by the images on BET and MTV, but that at the end of the day it was up to them what choices they made.