Then and Now: A Comparison of 19th century Periodicals to Today's

Periodicals found today on news stands differ greatly from those of the late nineteenth century. While periodicals of the nineteenth century such as "The Girl's Own Paper" focus on self-improvement in terms of living up to societies expectations, today's magazines tend to focus on the individuals self-improvement. Although "The Girl's Own Paper" highlights ways in which the young reader can improve one's self intellectually, the intended outcome is for the young girl to learn how to be a good future wife and an overall proper lady in society. While it appears that modern magazines such as "Cosmo Girl" promote superficial standards of society, the magazine provides a message of self improvement for the individuals sole benefit and not for an intended group of people like that of the nineteenth century periodicals.
The intended purpose for each magazine is to improve one's self, however each periodical differs in terms of benefiting one's self rather than society. In the nineteenth cent...