By
Miss Double Shot I was a big fan of teen magazines when I was a young teenager - it felt like I was reading something I wasn't supposed to see and could get a glimpse at what could potentially happen to me in the future.
But, to be honest, you can only read the phrase "play up your peepers" and "small town sweetie" so many times until you begin to think that everything you read in those types of magazines is garbage, including dating advice.
Cosmo is the adult version of the teenybopper magazines I lusted after when I was 14 - same relationship advice and everything! - but each issue contains about a metric ton of sex advice and juvenile terms instead of the clothing and college placement ideas in Seventeen. Searching for "horny" in Cosmo's website's search bar brings up "horny hyena," "horny houseguest" and "horny horror" as results . . . search for "hottie" and you'll find "choice hottie! expressive hottie! high energy hottie!"
If anyone called me a high energy hottie, I'd be out the door.
So, in short, I don't trust magazines to give me advice on dating or relationships; I usually rely on friends or anyone/anything that doesn't call me a "flirty femme".
Do you listen to dating, relationship or sex advice that magazines give you? Should you?
Comments (50)
I've never really taken anyones advice but my own, which is probably why i catch myself in so many sticky pardicaments. Sure i've read magazines, but mostly for the time waster part of it, and for anything to read. Usually i consult my friends, but their answers never seem well thought out, and change radically. So usually i do whatever my gut feeling tells me to do, without thinking about it. Not always a good idea, but gets the job done.
Nope! I personally prefer Glamour--and I only read that on planes when I feel like reading something relatively mindless to pass the time. I actually call it my "airport magazine."
I've actually found that most people's advice, including that of my friends, is relatively useless. People speak from their own experience, so unless they share your values and actually know what you are going through, the advice they give you will likely not be helpful. I've had friends who wanted to give me advice literally suggest that I do things that completely and totally are in direct conflict with who I am. Why on earth would I do something like that?
So ultimately, I don't directly solicit advice from people. If you are lucky enough to be someone who gets to hear about my situation in the first place, I will likely listen to what you have to say, compare it to what I was originally thinking, and then disregard it and do what I was already planning to do in the first place. Going with my own gut is the better solution every time.
In my sociology class, we discussed Cosmo and someone brought up a very good point about the magazine. They pointed out how the mass majority of the time Cosmo tends to frame the sex tips given around how to please "him", and what you as a female can do to sexually serve "him".
I'll admit I do read the tips from time to time if I pick up an issue but then I quickly remember that the tips they tend to give is the same recycled crap you see on a monthly basis. I really do try not to read it though.
No, I take my own advice, I just like reading magazines because they're a great laugh.
No, I trust myself on what I should do, and if not, then I talk to a friend or someone that can perceive where I'm coming from with the subject. I have nothing against magazines like that. They're funny to read at times, and you can get a laugh at some absurd stories.
no. the advice either are stating the obvious, or something completely out there. and it's not like all guys are programmed the same that they'd respond to the same thing. booring.
aish! i think these magazines are only good for entertainment value.... not advice.
i read cosmo all time lol i always thought i was being let in on some dirty little secrets haha
I used to feel the same way about Cosmo...it was something vaguely forbidden and all the sweeter for it...
Until I realized that each issue is the exact same thing over and over again.
I don't read to many magazines anymore, except maybe the occasional bridal magazine. And even those are all the same. I like the pictures, though. They're pretty.
-Katie
Aw, hell no. I do wonder, however, where they get the "guys" that participate in their surveys, "10 Things Guys [insert fluffy subject matter here]." Huh?
LOL!
I remember getting into Cosmo when I was in elementary school. Weird, huh? LOL :P At that time, I was into it mainly for the fashion columns and admiring the various collections. :) I didn't start actually reading the articles--particularly the relationship columns, sex advice, etc.--till I was about 14 or 15. >_>
Honestly, I don't pay attention to the advice columns because a lot of it is mere fabrication. :\ For dating advice, I mainly rely on my friends or my family members.
I stopped subscribing to Cosmo for the same reasons you listed. All in all, I think it's mostly female propaganda. Same thing with men's magazines like Maxim. I looked through my boyfriend's Maxim and most of their articles on females and such are a bunch of crap!
I read Cosmo religiously, but do I listen to what it says? No.
Most of the time the fluff contained in there fucks with my head.
No, I think getting advice from a magazine on a subject like that is pretty pointless. Every one is different and their advice more than likely won't apply to you anyways.
I really don't like the idea of relationship advice. I have no clue why I'm even part of this community. Haha.
its good for a laugh and an occaisional idea 4 the sex life...
i love reading magazines like Cosmo and Glamour but i think i am mature enough not to follow any advices...it's just relaxing way to feel positive energy:)
To me , especially Cosmo.. it's comic relief , not to be taken seriously even though to some women it is the bible.
Their advice is really hit or miss and mostly miss.
No doubt, I wish that there was an article I could read that would make something my sex life better but I think you're just better off talking to your partner.
NO I would never rely on the advice that they give me in magazines! Just like my life isn't a reality TV show or WHATEVER, my life isn't a magazine article! These editors or whatnot do their job right in that they try to sell an entertainment object. I, for one, shall not be a victim of these bibles for dunces.Â
sometimes the advice is true.
but i've never actually followed any of it.
but i would if it made sense. and the advice was perfect for the scenario.
Never! I knew all that was just junk reading even way back when.
GOD NO! If a person is following Cosmo advice seriously, then they're probably single (or have been for sometime). Cosmo has some of the most ridiculous "relationship" advice I've ever come across. I think what really killed Cosmo's credibility was when they suggested putting a glazed donut on your man's *hmmhmm* to spice up your sex-life. Seriously, I think Cosmo's writers must all gather at the office to think of the most idiotic things you could say to someone about relationships, love and sex...
Anyway, if I pick up a Cosmo, it's only to laugh. I actually prefer Maxim to Cosmo.
Wow, I'm glad you blogged on this subject. Either mags like Cosmo and Glamour have gone down hill drastically in the past 5 years or I'm just growing up. But it seems like they're accomodating a much younger set these days. Men's magazines are a stark contrast. Of course they include obligatory articles on how to get rock hard abs, but more often than not they also talk about practical subjects like investment advice in lamen's terms. Personally, if I buy any mag it's Men's Journal. Sorry Cosmo and Glamour, but I need a grown up mag. I've had enough blowjob and sex position advice to last a lifetime.
@xXLovelyDreamerXx@xanga - good for you! You were way ahead of the game! Wish I had caught on as early as you did.
I don't know what those magazines are for. I never find the content interesting or useful to me. You'll rarely find a beautiful, creative picture or creative ways to set-up outfits. It's a whole lot of advertisements and magazine content supporting advertisements. If someone is putting out a trend, they have to pay someone to put those clothes in their magazine to get exposure and say it's hip and awesome. It's one big advertisement that you're paying for.
I once saw and article in O on comfortable heels. Most if not all of those heels were way too expensive for the O audience to buy and they didn't look one bit comfortable. Getting an MD to support them still didn't change the fact that they were no better than other heels. She didn't even have a good explanation on why they were preferable to other heels. Seriously, it was one big advertising ploy and those who got supported were the big payers from the high end shoe stores. I'm sure there were free samples involved.