Common Stereotypes- Age

Teenagers
There are many different varieties of the common stereotype of a teenager. The most
common perhaps is that teenagers are anti-social, immature and violent. Sometimes this
behaviour is portrayed through teens in TV dramas through underage sex, drugs and
partying. This representation of teenagers is explored through the character Rudy in Misfits,
who is immature and is intimidating to the younger, quieter teens in the programme.
However, there are other common stereotypes of teenagers that people forget as they just
focus on the anti-social behaviour side of some teens. Simon is another character from
Misfits who explores these other stereotypes, such as being self-conscience, quiet, insecure
and being bullied.
As a group they represent the first stereotype we mentioned, as they go out and party, they
cause violence, vandalise property and are generally anti-social. They have probation
workers which the teens do not communicate well with, this suggests that they have little
respect for adults, that they cant be bothered to listen to them and are generally lazy.
Across the group they represent the different common stereotypes of teenagers, how
theyre diverse and how they interact with others.
Middle-aged adults
There are plenty of different common stereotypes of this age group. Most commonly they
are represented as wanting to be young, and going through a mid-life crisis. This stereotype
is explored through characters in Eastenders such as Phil Mitchell and other adults who still
like to go to the pub.
As teens they can sleep around and party, whereas now theyre adults it is stereotypical that
some men still want the freedom they had when theyre young so they cheat on their
partners. This can lead to another stereotype of people getting divorced due to problems
such as this in their relationships. This is shown through characters in Eastenders such as
Max Branning & Tanya Cross (formerly Branning) who split up after Max cheated on her
with a younger woman (Stacey Slater).
These wannabe teenagers are now settled down in families and dealing with teenagers
themselves. It is stereotypical that by the time youre middle-aged your life is mainly
focused on your family. This is shown through Bianca Butcher (formerly Jackson) who has 4
children, including Whitney Dean, and her life is therefore mainly focused on looking after
them.
Elderly
Elderly people have many different common stereotypes. The most common perhaps being
that they are grouchy, have bad hearing and cant walk very well. They also dont like young
people as they find them immature, rowdy and intimidating. This stereotype is represented
through Grantley in Waterloo Road who was quite grouchy and had little tolerance for bad
behaviour from the teenagers.
Another common stereotype is that the elderly are the heart of the community, are caring
and wise. This is explored through the character of Dot Branning in Eastenders who is very
much at the centre of the community; many people visit her, care about her and go to her
for advice (showing that she agrees with the stereotype of being wise). She cares about
people in the community and tries to help them.
Sometimes the elderly are shown on TV to be the opposite of these stereotypes for comedy
value as it turns what the audience expects of them upside down, and that is humorous. But
overall they are portrayed in these common stereotypes mentioned before.

By Bekki Green and Sophie Marlowe