What if my friends and I use stereotypes to pick our friends, even when we sometimes don’t mean to?

Many times we pass judgments without really thinking about it. There is a developmental theory that explains how people are always trying to put things into categories so they are easier to understand. This is something our brains just do, even from the time we are born. This works for people, too. They remind us of someone else so we make the association because we don’t know much about them. Though we may sort people we have to remember that these categories are not set in stone.You have to get to know a person, their likes and dislikes, their opinions and views. You cannot assume you know everything about a person because of the stereotype you associate with her.

Just like when people are stereotyping you, you should get to know them better because there is a lot more to a person than first impressions. You don’t want people passing superficial judgments on you so you have to try your best to not do it to others. This is something that is hard to do if everyone around is still using stereotypes. You and your friends should try hard to not call people by labels or exclude people from your group. I know you can’t be friends with everyone, some people just don’t get along with one another, but this shouldn’t be a reason to be disrespectful. You also cannot assume that because you don’t really like member of group that you cannot be friends with any of their other friends.

Hopefully this has given you some insight into how stereotypes get started and the impact they have you and on others. The important thing to take away from all of this is that stereotyping is going to happen in high school, and even in adulthood, but it is how we react that makes the difference. You cannot take these classifications seriously when judging others or when judging yourself. Friends and social life are a huge part of high school and they are always going to shape your personality but don’t let them put a label on you.