North East Teens Hit Back At Negative Sterotypes

19 February 2014, 06:36 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A new study has revealed the extent to which stereotypes are having a negative effect on North East teenager's self-esteem and employment opportunities.

The study, carried out by think tank Demos and National Citizen Service (NCS) found:

• Almost 9 in 10 (88%) teens in the North East feel they are negatively represented in the media.

• Four in five (78%) believe they are more concerned about social issues such as global poverty then previous generations.

• Nearly nine in ten (88%) feel that social media is an effective way to gain momentum behind social issue, one third (33%) having signed a petition while two thirds (68%) having used Facebook or Twitter to raise an awareness of a cause.

18 year old Rob Austin from Kenton in Newcastle's told Capital:
'Bad news sells more than good news.

You could have 100 good stories about teenagers but it only takes one bad story to wreck the good reputation of teenagers.'

Rob has set up a website called Teenwise.

Inspired by the riots in the summer of 2012, Teenwise is an online newspaper and platform designed to create a better understanding of teenagers by giving examples of their positive contribution to society.

7 volunteers now contribute to the site on a daily basis.

Rob says that teenagers now are more concerned with what's going on around them compared to previous generations:
'We are more engaged with what's going on because technology is more advanced.

We're always on social media so we have a better understanding from just looking at issues on Facebook and Twitter.'