Its main aim has been consumption - of goods advertised on the station, of music, and of the station itself. Videos resemble commercials and commercials resemble videos. It is also a time of limbo, when adolescents are neither looking to family nor adult sources for socialization and direction. Adolescence is a time when youth are trying to figure out the world, and how they fit into it. They are experiencing drastic bodily and emotional changes, and look to the media for answers and guidance.
Advertisers realize, however, that today's youth have grown up with television.
They often seem as though they have no point, no connection to the product, just a strange story. These alternative methods of advertising have sparked new interest among young viewers, drawing them in, grabbing their attention. Concern over MTV's influence on young people has accompanied its growth and monopolistic practices. MTV hails its viewers as embodying all of the qualities discussed above. MTV cleverly taps into young people's desire to be delivered from their in-between status and accepted into a world of their own.