The Impact of Social Media and Textbooks on the Formation of Stereotypes in Adolescents. A Proposal to Normalise Diversity in the EFL Classroom

Abstract

[eng] Stereotypes are assumptions about a culture that are passed from generation to generation. These stereotypes started as a manner of searching for common traits of the people belonging to a certain group; today, they are unconsciously reproduced by all people to be considered part of a specific social group or community limiting one’s self-expression. These stereotypes have a damaging impact on adolescents given the fact that, at this stage of their lives, they want to belong in a social group just to be seen by society as “normal,” and will resort to any means to fit in. The purpose of this proposal is to deconstruct these stereotypes in a Secondary Education classroom and raise awareness of the under-representation of diversity in those classrooms. This thesis examines what stereotypes and under-representation are and what the power images have on citizens. Furthermore, an analysis of the different types of stereotypes which affect adolescents the most – gender, ethnicity, and physical appearance – will be addressed. This thesis aims at presenting a didactic proposal which consists of various activities that target the introduction to stereotypes and their detrimental consequences, the “reality” of social media pictures, the use of non-binary pronouns, and the implementation of body-positive strategies and healthy fitness habits