“I was watching TV last night and saw some kids at the east-side high school got arrested. Kids at that school are such trouble-makers.”

“Ewwww, I saw her picture in a magazine, and she has pink hair! Why would such a great singer do that? She must be weird.”

Have you ever said anything like that about someone you’ve seen on television? If you have, you’re making a judgment based only on what you see.

Television, newspapers, magazines, even the Internet—together called “the media”—help us form judgments and opinions. Because the media brings us pictures from around the world in an instant, it has a powerful influence over how we think.

Sometimes those images aren’t very flattering or kind. For example, if a television news program shows a short video of Asian teenage boys being arrested after a fight, it would be easy to think, “Asian boys are violent.” The truth is much different, but because you saw it on television you might be influenced to believe it.

Right now, many cities and states are having their annual Gay Pride celebrations. The media doesn’t usually show pictures of families with children attending Pride. Oftentimes television and newspapers show Gay Pride attendees who are in the minority or might be considered extreme. For example, they will show a large, loud motorcycle ridden by a woman wearing army-style boots with a brush haircut, a ripped sleeveless t-shirt, and tattoos all over her arms and legs. Or it might be a group of men wearing dresses, high heels, and feather boas riding in the back of a convertible. What one person might think of as “extreme,” of course, another person might think of as “normal” or “cool”!

What do you think about the images of Pride you see on TV and in the newspaper? How would you feel if the picture was of your parent(s)?

Have you ever appeared on television or been in the newspaper alone or with your parents? If so, do you think the media was fair to you and your family?

Whenever we see something or someone new, it’s easy to form an opinion based just on what we see. Relax! Everyone does it. It’s part of human nature to judge things based on what we see. What’s more important is how you act and what you say after you make that judgment.

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