REPRESENTATIONS: What representations of young people does the Habbo Hotel news story offer? (12 marks)
The first most significant representations of young people the Habbo Hotel news report provides is that young children are vulnerable. The news presenter states how the Habbo game is used by "300,000" children in Britain and how the game is used as a source of paedophiles to manipulate young children to commit sexual acts via webcam. Ths links to Medhurst's short-hand theory, specifically how children are in danger and are victims who urgently need protection.
Furthermore, the news report reinforces the stereotype of children needing guidance. The guidance can be provided for them by the parents, carers or social workers who are watching the news on Channel 4. The news report is played at 7pm, around prime-time and the importance of this is to highlight how young children need to be supported by parents to stay safe online. Potentially, this decreases the risk of children being subject to commit sexual acts for paedophiles. The report is on before water-shed which helps children to not to be naive and more aware that the internet, particularly Habbo Hotel, is not all fun and games but in fact dangerous.
Another representation created is that young people are digital literate, which depicts how the older generation may constantly prompt young people to be more responsible online rather than easily manipulated. The news reporter himself, John Snow, and the expert in the clip are middle-aged, middle-class British men. This advocates how there are no young people in the report as the men are the one who asserts the audience about the dangers of Habbo Hotel. It also reflects how their perspective makes the news report more serious.
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