Negative Youth Portrayals In Media

Negative Youth Portrayals in Media and the
Subsequent Consequences

In a modern age where the media retains a strong influence on the general population, many youths across the globe are feeling the effects of being misrepresented by media. The characteristics often forwarded by media frequently links youths with that of criminals and gangs. Similarly, depictions of teenagers being ignorant and haughty is now a widespread stereotype. These inaccurate depictions, which are sometimes taken for granted, are causing detrimental damages to the lives of youths and their futures as members of society. Despite the media’s likelihood to portray modern youths negatively, evidence suggests the opposite; that modern youths are in fact responsible,

An article by Stafford (2014) which covered the the research experiment found conducted by russler and Soroka found that audiences exhibit a stronger and quicker reaction towards content with negative meaning. Stafford additionally stated:
There's some evidence that people respond quicker to negative words. In lab experiments, flash the word “cancer”, “bomb” or “war” up at someone and they can hit a button in response quicker than if that word is “baby”, “smile” or “fun” (despite these pleasant words being slightly more common). We are also able to recognise negative words faster than positive words, and even tell that a word is going to be unpleasant before we can tell exactly what the word is going to be. (Stafford,

Statistics however, have proven that youths are in fact hardworking and responsible with a large portion of the demographic participating in online petitions, charity donations and awareness campaigns. The negative portrayal used by mass media is a leverage for gaining greater attention and more views. From research conducted on the effects of negative versus positive media, researchers have found that individuals exhibit greater attention towards negative information. In addition, as a result of the negative bias (negativity effect) negative information have a tendency of perpetuating for much longer periods of time compared to positive information. As a result of these factors, stereotyping and negative depictions have made it increasingly difficult for teenagers to find opportunities of employment. Furthermore, as a result of the continuous negative labeling, many youths are beginning to depict a lack in optimism and confidence which, if not properly addressed, may result in severe mental health issues. While mass media is very likely to continue their coverages on negative news, many youths however, are demanding change to the system. With continuous activism demanding equal representation, it is possible that the media will revoke their current approaches in the foreseeable