Media Representation of Age, Social Class and Ethnicity

• Sociologists are interested in the way in which various age groups are represented in the media, in particular children, youths and the elderly
• Stereotype


  Certain generalisations or assumptions made about groups
• Stereotypes of childhood


  • Cute
  • Consumers
  • Little angels
  • Little devils
  • Victims
  • Prodigies
  • "Accessories"
• Representations of childhood are generally quite positive, even if they are stereotypical
• Babies and toddlers, in particular, are generally represented as being very cute and appealing (particularly in television advertisements)
• Children are often represented as "cheeky monkeys" or worse, which is still often a reasonably positive representation: these characters are funny and appealing, yet naughty
• In the news and also in drama series, children are often victims of crime, including murders and abductions
• Children in the media are also often brilliant at something, such as maths or a musical instrument
• Celebrity reporting often includes children, not as interesting individuals in their own right, but as "accessories" or "extras" alongside their famous parents or guardians
• Representations of youth tend to be much more negative than that of children
• How the media socially-constructs "youth"


  Since at least the 1950s, a youth media industry has sought to create youth culture through its media products, and this industry has grown and grown and expanded into other areas<|>Popular music is often associated with a particular subculture, so becoming a fan of the music tends to go alongside fashion choices, and certain norms, values and attitudes<|>Social media platforms today are hugely influential on youth identity and lifestyle
• How the media attacks "youth"

  Moral panics - the media presents youths engaging in "bad behaviour" of various sorts (underage drinking, drug taking, petty crime, etc.)<|>Young people's own perspectives or views on a news item are only sought in 1% of cases
• Stereotypes of old age

  • Grumpy
  • A burden
  • Infantile
  • "Demented" or confused
  • Second childhood
• Often elderly people are represented as a burden. The ageing population is often discussed in news and current affairs programme as a problem
• Elderly people are often presented as being mentally challenged in various ways, either being a little muddled or confused right through to suffering from dementia
• An alternative to showing elderly people as confused or a burden, is that older adults are often represented as enjoying a second childhood
• Media companies and marketing agencies are beginning to see older adults as a section of society with more money and leisure time than most, and therefore it makes sense to present them positively and in such a way that attracts them
• Media representations of the very rich

  The media takes significant interest in the very rich, often treating them as celebrities<|>The very rich represent a very small proportion of the population and yet media coverage of luxury cars and luxury holidays, that are only of practical interest to this small minority, is considerable
• Media representations of the middle class

  The middle class is probably even more over-represented than the very rich<|>The characters in sitcoms and dramas are overwhelmingly middle class<|>The middle class are also often represented as being anxious about contemporary society and prone to moral panic
• Media representations of the working class

  Working-class individuals are often represented and stereotyped as a problem in the media<|>Working-class people are also represented as being unintelligent or shallow<|>There is also the "salt of the earth" representation: working-class people as simple but decent "normal" people
• Media representations of poverty


  Poverty is often dealt with in the media in a very impersonal way, focusing on statistics rather than individual stories of living with poverty<|>At other times, poverty is used as entertainment
• The main sociological concern about media representations of ethnicity is that they contribute to and reinforce racist stereotypes about minority-ethnic groups
• Stereotypical negative news stories about black people

  • Black people as criminals
  • Moral panics about black people
  • Black people as threat
• Van Dijk found that black people were often represented as a threat to the majority population, and this representation is also clearly applied to other minority-ethnic groups and is increasingly applied to asylum seekers and to Muslims
• Tabloid newspapers tended to portray black people as criminals, involved in gangs and drugs
• A number of moral panics are generated by media representations of black people
• There is a representation of black people as a threat to the majority population
• There is a representation of black people as dependent
• Black people are presented as abnormal, with minority-ethnic groups presented as abnormal in various ways
• Media reports imply that black lives matter less than white ones
• Black people are largely absent from the media, other than in negative ways
• The media industry is ethnocentric, with many managers, editors and journalists being white and middle-class
• The media deliberately demonises minority groups in order to create scapegoats and establish false class consciousness
• The media reinforces prejudice in society, but it also reflects it