AND so another year is almost over. It seems the older you get, the quicker the years fly by.

This is a time we take to reflect on what’s been. The things we achieved, or didn’t achieve, in 2014, and the exciting things to come.

Yes, we may have ruined our New Year’s Resolution at approximately 00.01am on January 1, 2015. But here’s a chance to start again.

After you’ve scoffed as much turkey as possible and are sitting in front of the TV specials wondering if you might burst, your mind turns reflective.

And to sum up this mood, Twitter users have been using #2014in5words.

Some used it to celebrate their achievements – weight loss, degrees, promotions. Others used it to mark huge events like the sad loss of Robin Williams, Malala Yousafzai winning a Nobel prize and the disappearance of flight MH17.

But soon the Twitter tag became somewhat hijacked – by One Direction fans.

Now, I like to think of myself as a hip-and-happening youngster. I like going out and dancing the night away to the latest chart tunes.

But I can’t help but wonder – when you’re putting out tweets on a ‘year in review’ hashtag like, for example, ‘the changes in Zayn’s hairstyles’, what sort of message are you sending about teens today?

Others simply reposted the names of the five lads in the band. Do I really need to tell you what they are?

Of course, boy band hysteria is nothing new. I only have to mention the B word (The Beatles) for certain aunts of mine to go all misty-eyed.

But teens so often get a bad rap in the media, being portrayed as apathetic and insolent, more concerned with pop culture than who we’re going to vote for in the general election.

An article in The Independent last week summed this up, saying how teens are still regarded by some as ‘Vicky Pollard’ and ‘Kevin the Teenager’ types when the debate over lowering the voting age to 16 arises.

I know these generalisations aren’t true. The majority of people know they aren’t true.

But when we hijack movements that are intended to be a celebration of culture, achievements and news with statements about a boyband member’s hairstyle, are we really challenging the stereotype?

By Grace Harper