Most teenagers are glued to their computer screens for most of the time they spend awake, headphones plugged in and doing who knows what. Ever wondered what they’re up to? If it’s not social media, then chances are your teen is watching some sort of television show. The following is just a peek into what teens are watching today.
How I Met Your Mother
A sitcom that follows the story of Ted Mosby on his quest to finding love and the hilarious events that ensue involving his four best friends in Manhattan. After his friends Marshall and Lily become engaged after nine years of dating, Ted is set on finding his “true love” – a prospect that horrifies his friend Barney, the local Casanova.
Using a framing device, this story is told through a series of flashbacks from the future, as Ted explains to his children “how I met your mother.” Filled with love adventures (and misadventures), this show has been one of the top “go-tos” for teens (adults as well) in need of a rom com fill. The show has been going on since 2005, and its ninth and final season will be in 2013-2014.
Modern Family
All the joys and pains of parenting and families are concentrated in this award-winning mockumentary show. Phil and Claire Dunphy have perfectly complimentary personalities when it comes to raising their three very different children: Haley, Alex and Luke.
Claire’s father Jay Pritchett marries Gloria, a much younger and divorced Colombian woman, and relives his days of child-rearing with Gloria’s son Manny and their new baby.
Jay’s gay son Mitchell and his “trophy wife partner” Cameron adopt the adorable Vietnamese baby, Lily. With such diversified family members and unusual circumstances, hilarity is bound to happen and leave viewers gasping for breath. Teens love the silliness but also heart-warming family moments that occurs throughout the show, seeing how the “family” evolves over time through trials and tribulations. Very good for Friday nights curled up on the couch with a bag of chips and some laughs.
The Big Bang Theory
Five friends: four socially awkward geniuses and one aspiring actress. This sitcom features science (mostly physics) and geniuses with a lack of understanding for irony or sarcasm. Roommates Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter live across from Penny, who came to California chasing her dreams.
Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali are Sheldon and Leonard’s friends and co-workers at Caltech, and they often stop by their flat. The contrast between Penny’s social skills and common sense and Sheldon and Leonard’s lack thereof creates absolutely side-splitting moments throughout the show. Filled with references to quantum physics and string theory, this show has become an all-time favorite of many looking for a good laugh and the scene of some interesting intellectual debates, with a side of awkward romance and lack of common sense on the part of the four physicists.
The Office
An American adaptation of the BBC hit, The Office is a mockumentary that portrays the everyday lives of employees at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Michael Scott is the (ill-suited) Regional Manager of the Scranton branch; his social insecurity and incapability to cope with responsibility cause him to often (though unintentionally) offend others in his attempts at humor.
The cast grows as the seasons progress, starting with around four and expanding to more than 10 by the end of the ninth and final season. The varying personalities in the office make for good jokes and the occasional inappropriate behavior.
The short episode lengths of just over 20 minutes allows teens to take short breaks and enjoy some laughs before returning to tedious schoolwork, as well as get a general idea (though slightly comical) of what an office employees live through every day.
Community
Looking at the lives of a group of community college students in fictional Greendale, Colorado, this comedy series uses meta-humor and pop culture references to depict the diverse staff and student body. Centered around a lawyer who never earned his bachelor’s degree and ended up enrolled at a community college, this show features interesting personalities such as a millionaire, a former drug addict, a former quarterback, a single mother, and a film student in the same study group. The sense of community in a smaller college and the bonding that happens between these very different people adds the realistic factor of this show.
Now that you have an idea of what makes teens laugh, keep your eyes open for the next installment: Lands of fantasy and supernatural thrillers!
Photos courtesy from Kwintin, JamieMoVieSeRieS, and doobybrain of Flickr
Freda Zhao is a beijingkids intern (of the month) currently studying at the Western Academy of Beijing. She is one year from graduating high school. Outside of school work, she enjoys reading, painting, and mimicking cat sounds in her backyard (to draw strays to her house and feed them).
