Charity Nacro and We Are Social Uncover Media Bias Against Young People

Global socially-led creative agency We Are Social has been tasked by social justice charity Nacro to dismantle the dominant myths, stereotypes, and narratives surrounding young people under 25 in the UK.  

We Are Social’s Cultural Insights team conducted linguistic analysis across national and local newspapers to identify the key conversations surrounding young people, revealing key themes in how young people are portrayed in the media. The study also looked at the framing of under 25s and the extent to which their voices are included in the articles.

This analysis works in tandem with Nacro’s Young People Survey, creating a body of research that highlights the biases in media portrayals of young people. The findings - such as the fact that 28% of articles from UK news outlets were negative in their sentiment towards young people - have sparked conversation, earning press coverage in leading national press titles. 

Campbell Robb, CEO of Nacro said, “It was great to work with We Are Social to shine a spotlight on this important issue. We hear from the young people who we help in our services that they often feel judged and stereotyped, and that this impacts how they feel about their place in the world. It is great that we now have the evidence of how young people are negatively portrayed by the media and as a result, seen by the general public. From this evidence base we can work to make changes.”

Oona Hewitt, cultural research and insights director at We Are Social said, “It was great to be able to partner with Nacro on this study. Using linguistic analysis we were able to detail the precise narratives shaping the stereotypes of young adults in the UK today. The study highlighted some really interesting findings, including the lack of representation of young voices within British traditional media.”

The full research is now available on Nacro’s website.