Stereotypes Today

Teenagers are extremely violent, they are lazy, and they cause trouble almost everywhere. Is this really true, or are teens being unfairly stereotyped? Stereotypes have been around for a very long time and they are oversimplified perceptions of groups of people that suggest that everyone in that group behaves in the same way. This essay will argue that in most cases, adults on the basis of their appearance, negative media representation, and the fears adults have of younger people unfairly stereotype teenagers.

Most of the time many adults judge teenagers only in a matter of seconds by their physical appearance. Although a teenager looks a certain way, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they appear the exact way you see them in the media. Teenagers have many different personalities and they express it through the way they dress. A person can look tough or intimidating to an adult, but they are probably nice and kind on the inside. In many situations, adults would probably assume that a teenager walking into a convenient store with a hood on is a robber or someone dangerous. There are many reason to explain this, such as the teen might be cold or have personal reasons to have it on. The teen who is perhaps smart, hardworking, and responsible, is now treated like a dangerous criminal. Stereotypes make adults believe that someone dressed or looking a certain way is dangerous, mischievous, or not well behaved. This is unfair and disrespectful for teens that look similar to the ones in the media, but act completely different and are still given a bad reputation nonetheless. Teenagers are being judged by what’s on the outside but not on the inside, and no one should be judged that way, just like how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

The media often represents teenagers in a negative way. In the newspaper or the news on the television, we would probably see teenagers as dangerous or obnoxious people that are involved in car accidents, robbery, shootings and drugs, etc. You would rarely see a teenager doing a good deed or something kind in the news. On TV shows or movies, it also shows similar things such as teens dressed fashionably and nicely or are considered “cool,” usually act mean and harsh to others, like a bully and they tend to get involved in bad things that are usually against rules or the law. The media also shows people wearing glasses and dressed formally are usually very smart and are responsible teens that don’t get into trouble. This is not always true, it is possible that someone who dresses a certain way could be intelligent or have a great personality. The media is the main thing causing many people to believe that all teenagers act a certain way and they are no different from each other. It is unfair for the teenagers as they are only trying to be themselves but they are unpleasant and awful teens according to the media.