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’.