What's up with Pretty Little Liars and Unhealthy Relationships?

In most TV shows or movies centered around a teenage set of characters, these teenage characters are often portrayed by actors and actresses that are much older than the teens they are supposed to be representing. Somehow we are fooled into thinking that these actors and actresses represent what most teenagers actually look like. Media targeted for the teenage audience often uses a more mature set of actors and actresses which can make us think that we should look like them and lead to a unhealthy mindset surrounding body images when we can't make ourselves look the same way they do.

One show that sends this message is Pretty Little Liars. For the majority of the show, the characters are supposed to be in high school. The main characters are a group of girls who are underclassmen in high school when season 1 of the show begins. The actresses who play these teenage girls are much older than the 16-17 year olds they are supposed to represent. It looks as if a bunch of twenty-somethings were thrown back into high school. The girls are also extremely overdressed for school in every episode. Heels are a staple for them as they run around school and their fictional town of Rosewood. As a high school student myself, I can say that this is completely unrealistic. Though some people do dress up nicely for school, most people dress pretty casually and I have never seen anyone wearing heels unless they have an important presentation. I think that the age of the actors and actresses and the way they are dressed in Pretty Little Liars portrays an unrealistic ideal for the majority of teenage girls that watch the show. In reality, no high school age girl has the time to look as perfect as these girls do (or as old) but we have a tendency to believe what we see on TV even though we subconsciously know it can't be real.

Pretty Little Liars sends another disturbing message to young girls though it is often ignored by the viewer because the actors and actresses playing these teenage roles look so similar to the ones who are supposed to be playing adults. The story often leads the main characters to have relationships with older men. In my opinion, the worst example is that of Aria and Ezra. In the beginning of show, when she is supposed to be about 16 years old, she somehow manages to get into a bar and meet a guy (Ezra) who looks about the same age as she is. They end up having a conversation then making out in the bathroom. When school starts the next week, Ezra ends up being her English teacher. Written out, this scenario seems completely disgusting which makes me wonder how it managed to make it onto television. But, to the viewer, the two characters look the same age. Even though Aria is in a relationship with her teacher, it seems okay because they look the same age. It is concerning that this image is broadcast to an enormous teenage audience that may begin to rationalize  relationships like the one between Aria and her teacher.

Overall, television shows like Pretty Little Liars that use older actors and actresses to portray teenagers send unhealthy messages regarding body image and healthy relationships to their viewers. They can set unrealistic expectations for the young girls who watch these shows and make illegal relationships seem okay. I know that many people, including myself, have enjoyed TV shows like Pretty Little Liars but we must make sure to keep the flaws of these shows in the back of our minds so that we don't become too influenced by the questionable messages they send.