Teenagers are consuming media more than ever in the technologically saturated world of 2017. Shows and films are created to bring people in, and there is no shortage of both that are geared towards middle school and high school age students.

As a teenager, when I watch TV or a movie, I want to see someone like me on the screen, not a cliche or stereotype. The problem is that many TV shows and movies aren’t representing us in the right way, shape or form.

One major problem with the TV and movies showing normal teenage life is the age of their “teenagers.” Dylan Minnette, star of the Netflix’s teenage drama series “13 Reasons Why,” was 20 when he played high schooler Clay Jensen and his costar Katherine Langford, who played deceased Hannah Baker, was 21. Teenagers can’t be represented if studios cast non-teenage actors in a high school set show or movie.  

Shows such as “Pretty Little Liars” and movies such as “Mean Girls” make it seem as if girls are a constant source of drama and limit people by being in cliques. Another stereotype of girls is the airheaded female shown in characters such as Karen Smith in “Mean Girls” and Brittany Pierce on “Glee.”

Girls aren’t the only ones that are stereotyped in media; guys get it pretty bad, too. On pretty much every show geared toward teenagers, you get the usual male characters: the jock, the geek, the bad boy etc. From Zach on “13 Reasons Why” to Reggie on “Riverdale,” the jock/bully archetype seems pretty commonplace nowadays.

The thing about those archetypes are that while they do exist in the real world, they are usually not as cliched or dramatic as in these shows. “Riverdale” is a show that — while I praise it — seems to be beholden by having to use the usual characters that have been used since the dawn of television.

I feel as though media thinks that any show or movie that is geared towards teenagers must have the standard cast of characters and should stick to the usual formula but that isn’t true.

A show that seems to have beaten the usual format is “Friday Night Lights.”

The show is great in showing a likeable cast of characters that seem like they would actually go to school and you would see them in the hallway. They mess with the “usual” type of characters such as Jason Street not being your standard run-of-the-mill jock and his girlfriend Lyla Garrity not being an airheaded idiot. Relationships seem real and the things the characters encounter seem like they could happen to anyone, even the viewer.

A movie that I feel is a great representation of teenage life is “The Perks of Being A Wallflower.” The movie, like “Friday Night Lights,” has a cast of characters that are not the usual fodder that can be seen in every teen movie or TV show that Hollywood cranks out. We see characters dealing with issues of fitting in, identity and emotional trauma, and it doesn’t seem phony or fake.

I feel that this is a constant thing that people feel about the media of the time they grow up in.

I hope that when the most popular shows and movies of my generation are discussed,  they will be the truest and most real representation of growing up in the world of 2017.