By Yasmine Reyna
Nowadays, stereotypes are a part of people’s lives. Stereotypes have the possibility to be positive or negative. They involve people and their emotions.
Freshman Nicholas Balkema said the first thing that comes to his mind when he hears the word “stereotype” is “people saying bad stuff about race or religion because of what they are known for.” Along with Balkema, sophomore Kennedy Snyder said, “people making assumptions about someone or something that may not necessarily be true.” Stereotyping happens on social media sites.
To junior Nicole McGriff, stereotyping is harsh because “it hurts others that surround me.” Usually on her social media sites, she sees posts that are targeted towards people in different ways, and sometimes the posts are unintentional. McGriff also said, “social media sites can start drama filled post which are targeted towards several people.” Gender roles are a huge part in society. McGriff feels that “gender roles are overrated in our generation.” Junior Trevor Platz said, “people who stereotype others is bad, and he doesn’t like it.” Platz says that “stereotyping can cause profiling on social media.”
In the cafeteria during lunch hour, students gather with their groups discussing among themselves about what is going on in their daily lives. Photo taken by: Yasmine Reyna
Whenever Snyder hears the phrase “gender roles” she thinks to herself, “the way the different genders are divided by the way they act, dress, and think.” However, Balkema feels that “a male or female can do each others jobs.” Snyder also says that “stereotyping can ruin someone’s self esteem and the way they look at themselves, permanently damaging their happiness.” She also said, “no one should have to change their ways or feel any less of a person just because of something someone stereotyped them to bed.”
Some common stereotypes that Snyder hears about are “jocks, preps, nerds, band kids, freaks, dumb people, smart people, druggies, people who just party, and etc.” Social media sites impact the world each and every day. People are unique in their own way simply because they are not like others. Platz says that people are being stereotyped on social media sites simply because they are different.
Latino students discussing the end of the 2014-15 school year and their up coming future plans for the summer. Photo taken by: Yasmine Reyna
Social media sites carry drama, and Snyder said, “that stereotyping can start by people posting about others that are no where to being true, and that post can spread fast and start problems.” Balkema said, “that a single bad post might lead to people saying things about religion, and race.” When someone is being stereotyped, it can affect their life in several ways. For McGriff she said, “that any type of stereotyping may affect them in a way that can cause them into thinking negative thoughts about life.”
These four individuals – Balkema, Snyder, Platz, and McGriff – all agree on the fact that stereotyping can cause profiling on social media sites. People can judge others simply because they think it looks “cool,” said McGriff. She also said, “that people judge because they think when they stereotype it makes them feel like that are above everyone else.” There are stereotypes simply because the world is full of different people, said Platz. Snyder said, “people in the art industry are being stereotyped because people look at them to be the free spirited gifted people but they are also always broke because they tend to lack practicality.”
Stereotypes are still apart of everyday life, and have the potential to be an issue in today’s society.