How are teenagers and young people in the media portrayed?

i have chosen to look at the TV series 'The Inbetweeners' because i believe it is quite a contraversial tv series and depicts a strange portrayal over teenagers and the youth of today. It follows 4 teenage boys who think about one thing, girls. except for Will who is interested in his studies. Will represents the youth of today who are interested in their education and are able to balance out their social life along with their working life. He is immidiately classed as a 'nerd' as he wears the typical glasses and holds a briefcase in the very first episode. He doesnt show an interest in girls because he doesn't think he can get anyone due to his looks and the clique he is with. They are embarrassing and get picked on by some of the bigger boys which shows that they hold no dominance unless its 'behind closed doors'. One of the characters, Jay is portrayed as a woman hungry teenager. He spends a lot of time talking about girls and tries showing off to his friends about what he has done in his sex-life but his friends know hes still a virgin and this is shown clearly to us as an audience too. This portrays teenage boys as a typical sort as we'd expect them to boast about the prettiest girls as they try to increase their 'rep.'
Furthermore, the boys decide to show a rebellious side as they bunk off for the day. They try and get served with alcohol also but are unable to do so, and in effect get caught bunking too. This portrays young people as the stereotype that they expect us to be which is exxaggerated and makes us assume that all teenagers are like that, and gives older viewers a negative view of the youth.
Throughout the series we see their identities change to fit into other groups and to be popular. This supports Jacques Lacans theory of the 'mirror stage' which holds the concept of imitating what we see around us and
adopting a new identity which we believe is the 'real us'. For example, in one series, to impress a girl, Simon tries to change his ways to be more noticed. He also starts making more time for her and less time with his boys which is the typical expectation when some you like is on your life.
The boys hold a collective identity even though they have completely different lifestyles. They interact with each other so much like going on a lads holiday in the movie that affinity is formed between them.