The contemporary increase in globalization, immigration and social engagements have contributed to the creation of a more culturally and socially diverse society. People are migrating from their countries of birth to new nations while others are communicating from different parts of the planet hence the world is gradually changing into a global village. When culturally and socially diverse societies are created, changes in behavior and cognition are created leading to the development of prejudices, stereotypes and discriminatory traits among people. Stereotyping refers to the process of judging or attributing a particular group of people which is different from you in particular manner based on generalized views and opinions leading to negative perception about that group ( Kidd, 2016 ). Stereotypes can be based on racial attributes, nationality, sexual orientation and or gender among other characteristics. Stereotyping can be benign especially when it positively affects the targeted group ( Kidd, 2016 ). For instance, common positive stereotypes include; African Americans are good in sports and athletic undertakings and Asians are good in mathematics. However, when stereotypes drive a negative agenda, they negatively affect the wellbeing of the targeted group of people. A perfect example is when terrorism is associated with Islam. Such negative stereotypes lead to conflicts between people, religions and other social institutions.
On the other hand, prejudice refers to the negative attitude and feeling that a person develops towards a particular person or group of people based on their membership. Prejudice may entail having a negative perception about a person due to their social class, gender or age bracket ( Fiske, 2016 ). Prejudice can lead to unreasonable hate, conflicts and misunderstandings within a given society. On the other hand discrimination refers to the process by which a person treats another unfairly because of who they are and the characteristics they possess more specifically based on gender, race and or social class ( Fiske, 2016) .
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The media plays a major role in shaping the views and perceptions people have towards others. For instance, the media can positively create perceptions about people when they adopt positive reporting which does not associate individual actions with their general membership groups ( Fiske, 2016 ). For instance, when a Black American is involved in crime, the reporting should not be generalized that an African American person has been involved in crime but their individual name should be used to avoid generalized perceptions against all black Americans. Subtle stereotyping leads to a disintegrated society where social change cannot be realized. If prejudice and stereotyping are not reduced, a more disjointed, conflict-prone and crime-prone society will be created. Moreover, incidences of bullying, mass shootings, radicalization, terrorism and low-self-esteem will augment.
References
Fiske, S. T. (2016). Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. NOBA Project .
Kidd, M. A. (2016). Archetypes, stereotypes and media representation in a multi-cultural society. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences , 236 , 25-28.
