Eureka girls highlight media influences in online mag

Transition year students at Eureka Convent of Mercy in Kells are producing an online magazine which highlights how the media influences young people. The 26 students involved are taking part in the Young Social Innovators competition and have been busy in recent weeks writing articles, conducting surveys and interviewing people. The girls are launching the online magazine in mid-March and have a strong message for their readers: 'People are constantly being pushed to be a certain way but it is important to be yourself." Teacher Carmel Briody explained that the magazine will be available on an online link from the school"s website and will feature work by the students on how the media and celebrity affects young people. The students involved recently attended a 'Speak Out" in the Knightsbrook Hotel in Trim, which is part of the Young Social Innovators Programme. At that event, the girls performed a dance which they created on the theme of the media influencing young people and they produced a huge banner on the same theme. For the online magazine, the students involved took an in-depth look at how television and magazines, particularly celebrity magazines, affect young people. They carried out surveys of students on how they were influenced by these television shows and magazines and also carried out interviews and wrote articles. They are currently putting the finishing touches to their online magazine which they hope to officially launch in a month"s time.