Society and the misconception of pit bulls - Essay Example

The paper is designed to look onto common misconception about the pit bulls, a non-factual misconception that pit bulls are dangerous and should not be allowed near children. Social media have worsened these misapprehensions (Delise & others, 2007). In this era, social media have taken a central role in the transmission of information in our culture and any delusional idea receives a platform of millions of audience who readily take in information that often lacks authenticity. Great part of the day is being spent over social media networks such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and others, and this has a toll on how people form their opinions on subjects.

Having established the crucial role that social media has taken in our society, it is important to note that any information presented on these platforms would spread fast and leads to a stereotyping tendencies in decision-making. Often, the pit bull dogs have been expressed in contexts of crime, with drug dealers, criminals, and irresponsible owners (Delise & others, 2007). Pictures always capture a laced pit bull being guided into an animal control van. Such photos go viral on social media platforms and information influences the choices we make.

When such baseless knowledge comes to the disposal of the masses, the pit bulls are termed dangerous even without any evidence to support that. Growing up, I always cherished a pit bull dog. During those times, a pit bull was shown in tender pictures, with thick glasses posing for photos and in great custody (Burrows Jr & Fielding, 2005). Many of my neighborhood friends dreamt of owning such a dog. However, their wonderful media portrayal quickly faded. It was replaced with a picture that appealed for people to hate this particular breed of dogs (Burrows Jr & Fielding, 2005).

As expected, the belief of a calm dog was changed to one of fear and stereotyping. My friends and I soon changed their favorite dog wish to take the ones that were considered harmless