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Online Gaming Ads

August 18, 2013
By EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
More by this author
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; <br /> I lift my lids and all is born again.<br /> (I think I made you up inside my head).&quot;<br /> -Sylvia Plath

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Dear TeenInk,


I was browsing your website when my eyes drifted to the ad at top of the screen. Instead of the usual salamanders and vitamin water, something else caught my eye.

Warning: This game is too hot to handle. Male gamers only.


This lovely piece of literature was accompanied by a barely dressed blond woman (complete, of course, with impossibly shaped breasts). As a leader in teen literature, you play a part in shaping the writers of the future. This makes you responsible, in part, for the future of our society. Writers are important. We communicate ideas across the boundaries of cities, countries, continents. No one writer holds the future of the world in their hands, but as a group, we play a major role in that future. In a sense, you do too.

But what kind of part do you want to play? Some of your recent advertisements have been sexist, not only alienating female gamers—a major problem in the male dominated gaming world—but objectifying women and placing upon them impossible standards of beauty. It is also uncomfortably sexual to see practically topless women on a website for teens, particularly one that is home to the occasional middle schooler.

I understand that TeenInk is a large organization and that it requires funding to continue creating a space for young people to highlight and explore their creativity, but I believe some of your recent ads cross a line, and to be frank, I find it disappointing. I hold Teen Ink to higher standards than that. I miss the salamanders and vitamin water.

© Kelly K., Fort Collins, CO

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This article has 9 comments.

flyingpinkgiraffes said...
on Sep. 20 2013 at 10:21 am
flyingpinkgiraffes, Chardon, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 103 comments
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I am so glad you wrote this! I constantly have to refresh the page to get rid of the awful ads that appear on the top and sides of the page. They almost always portray women in low cut outfits rolling around with shirtless men and it's disgusting that they have that stuff on a website with kids as young as thirteen using it!
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 15 2013 at 3:46 pm
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; <br /> I lift my lids and all is born again.<br /> (I think I made you up inside my head).&quot;<br /> -Sylvia Plath

View profile
Thanks for reading, and I'm so glad you agree with me. Those ads are not okay!
nelehjr DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 14 2013 at 9:57 pm
nelehjr DIAMOND, Lingle, Wyoming
60 articles 11 photos 379 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

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Yes, yes, yes, yes! I for one have learned to turn a blind eye to them, but I so agree with you! It not okay! The scams, self publishers, colleges, lizards with vitimin water, and the occasional clothing adds are perfectly acceptable but the gaming adds are raunchy! Thank you so much for writing this! It is my sincerest wish someone listens and perhaps you will get published!
Mckay ELITE said...
on Sep. 14 2013 at 2:13 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

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I know right. -_-
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 14 2013 at 11:21 am
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

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Hmmm, maaybe you should install some extensions in the browser that are ad blockers cause I have this one on Google Chrome and it reports that ads have been blocked, but still it is all very alarming that TI is supporting such obscenity.
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 13 2013 at 8:31 pm
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; <br /> I lift my lids and all is born again.<br /> (I think I made you up inside my head).&quot;<br /> -Sylvia Plath

View profile
Ah, there's one in the corner now. THIS IS NOT OKAY! XP
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 13 2013 at 8:28 pm
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; <br /> I lift my lids and all is born again.<br /> (I think I made you up inside my head).&quot;<br /> -Sylvia Plath

View profile
Annnd as I'm writing this I see another one in the corner. Irony... :P
Mckay ELITE said...
on Sep. 13 2013 at 6:33 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!  I AGREE WITH YOU! I'VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT THIS DILEMMA FOREVER. AND NO ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT. YES YES YES YES YES. 
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 13 2013 at 12:26 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

View profile
Sheeshh...Thank God I don't get any ads here much. Thank God.