Wise Words from Dr. Seuss

Young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you would learn!
The most wonderful stuff! --Dr. Seuss

I stumbled upon this quote as I was searching Google for things Dr. Seuss related, since I was The Cat in the Hat (Pats in the Hat, rather) for Halloween.

Dr. Seuss’ words here are very applicable to my current research on adolescents’ susceptibility to environmental influences. He concisely suggests that being “young” is a time for learning – learning things from what we see. I have read a lot about how TV shows present a narrow image of females: female protagonists seem to be young, beautiful, and limited to certain occupations. Because young girls are indeed keeping their “eyes open” to this media, they may begin to copy their favorite characters’ behavior and develop sexist attitudes. Our environment seems to be a powerful force that makes us act in certain ways, but research also shows that we do not necessarily become what we see. Teenagers may experiment and take on the appearance of a TV character, but no more than that. Teen girls may dress like Blair from Gossip Girl, but not necessarily become the drama queen that she is.

It’s kind of like dressing up Halloween… we take on a new role, but our inner selves are different from what’s on the outside.