Media’s exaggeration of spring break is unattainable

Brea Jones/ Staff Writer

When people mention spring break most people think of constant partying for a whole week, but that is not everyone’s experience. Whether it be high school, love or spring break, mainstream media often overemphasizes reality causing people to mistake fiction for reality.

I was 14-years-old when the movie “Spring Breakers” came out in 2013. I knew that the movie was an extreme exaggeration of what the average college student’s spring break is like. The movie created an unnecessary need to have a ridiculously memorable spring break for me and most other college students.

College students aren’t the only ones being fooled by the media’s deception. The depiction of college students’ behavior can cause local resorts and shops to be wary of college students during spring break. No one really wants to have large groups of drunk young adults inside their establishment.

Students often feel the need to travel to a new place during spring break. The fact that people are in a new place causes them to lose control of themselves. Not only do they not have respect for the area they are in, they no longer have respect for themselves.

“The fact [is] that you get to be the filthiest version of yourself,” said Alexia LaFata, a writer for Elite Daily.

In my opinion, whatever image you have in your head when you imagine the filthiest version of you doesn’t even scratch the surface of how most student behave during spring break.

Movies and social media has made places like South Beach, Key West or Daytona Beach seem like ideal places to go during spring break, causing prices to increase.

While there is some truth to the spring break that appears on television, there is still a lot of exaggeration. If your spring break ends with you having a shoot out with a drug dealer, you might be doing something wrong.

Instead of media depicting extreme unrealistic situations, it should highlight the reality. The amount of litter that people leave around after spring break should be the focus of mainstream media.

Students end up creating this unattainable goal in their head for what spring break should be like. Yes it is possible for students to have a fun spring break experience, but they should also want to face the problems — littering and pollution — that come with all that fun.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash.