The Representation of Youth in the Dutch News Media

Abstract

Research in social psychology shows that looking into the nuances in stereotyping is of vital importance due to unique emotional and behavioural reactions the different clusters of stereotypical representations may evoke. Media analysts, however, rarely apply a framework that would allow a systematic deconstruction of stereotypes conveyed in the media productions. In the current study, the Dutch news media representation of native and non-native youth is analyzed and compared. The results show considerable differences in news media portrayal of the two groups not only in the amount of (negative) attention they attract but, especially, in the content of their descriptions. While native youth is more frequently evaluated with reference to competence, non-native youth is more readily evaluated with respect to benevolence. The results of the study and the social consequences of Dutch news media representations of younger citizens are interpreted in the light of literature on social distance and (social) practices of ‘othering’.

Youth climate activists meet environmental governance: ageist depictions of the FFF movement and Greta Thunberg in German newspaper coverage

“…Westman's argument has been widely confirmed, in research on the marginalization and exclusion of young people from public spaces (Moris and Loopmans 2019) and the criminalization of youth (Lepianka 2015a(Lepianka , 2015bLevinsen and Wien 2011;Welch et al 2002). Gendron et al (2016) point at the complexity of ageist language, which includes unintended as well as well-intentioned ageist remarks, ranging from contempt, derogatory expressions to positive images of youth.…”

“…Ageist media representations of young people have received much less scholarly attention. Some scholars have detected negative media depictions of youth as lacking warmth (Lepianka 2015b) or focussing on crime especially for non-native youth (Lepianka 2015a;Welch, Price, and Yankey 2002). While others have found neutral representations and an increase in quoting youngsters (Levinsen and Wien 2011) or positive portrayals in terms of competence (Lepianka 2015b).…”

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“…For example, during protests in 2010 against increased tuition fees in the United Kingdom, the media emphasized violence and internal conflicts within the movement creating a dichotomy between good and peaceful protesters on the one hand, and bad and violent protesters on the other (Cammaerts, 2013). General media coverage of young people also tends to focus on crime and violence (Lepianka, 2015; Levinsen & Wien, 2011). Likewise, the limited research on Youth for Climate indicates that young protesters are positioned as truants of which the motives to skip school can be doubted; in so doing, they are presented as the deviant ‘other’ and dysfunctional troublemaker who disrupts order (Bergmann & Ossewaarde, 2020; von Zabern & Tulloch, 2021).…”

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“…Selbstwahrnehmungen von Jugendlichen sind somit in Verbindung zu setzen mit der fehlenden bzw. teilweisen Misrepräsentation von Jugendlichen als politische Akteur*innen in Massenmedien (Lepianka 2015;Levinsen/Wien 2011).…”