With today’s violence among teens rising, most people would like to know why? Does it have anything to do with the way we are raising our children? Some would blame the parents for their child’s aggression, or some would declare that it only has to do with the peers the child associates themselves with, and others would blame media, such as television or video games. Well, which is it? What is the main cause for teen violence today?
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they never fail to imitate them”. (Baldwin) This statement does have some truth behind it.
Some children who have violent tempers acquire them through their parents. Could this be a motive for these children to go out a killing sprees? But then again the question of whether or not the child is being abused is brought into prospective. Some say if a child is beat or abused in any other way, that would be a incentive for them to be violent. But is this rational? Most children who have had encounters with violence are usually white, intelligent, middle class and heterosexual. Sounds like a pretty normal child doesn’t it? But what reason could be behind this for such a typical child to react in such a hurtful way? Some would say because of the parents. Put the blame on the parents.
What about the peers or friends children correlate with? Could this have anything to do with children’s violence today? Some say definitely. All of the crimes being committed today have been prepared by usually junior high students. Junior high students are at an impressionable age where how they act or what they do is very important to them and how others view them. So why not have all the kids see you as a “hard ass” or “someone who isn’t scared of anything”? Why not show people that you can kill, or whatever the case may be. Peers do play an important role on how children are shaped and what might cause violence in teens today.
Then, the never yet to be forgotten, media, comes into viewpoint. Most would say that the media sends out so many messages, that a child could not live without acquiring some mental picture of their own about what is trying to be taught. But could that child’s own opinion about that message be completely negative, and totally not what was intended?
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin
In recent years our society has experienced many tragedies in which teens have committed heinous crimes for no apparent reason. What inspired these attacks by teens on innocent victims? We live in a violent world and young people are exposed to this violence whether it's by television, music or the Internet. Video games have come under increased scrutiny as to whether or not the simulated violence in video games numbs children and teens to the consequences of real-life violence.
Televisions, movies and music are responsible for teen violence because the televisions and movies have programs that show a lot of fighting and music that have thoughts that might result in violence, there are a lot of parts in the dialogue that is suitable for adults and all the media has inappropriate language. This is bad because there is a lot of violence going on in the world. This might eventually lead to the world having terrorism issues.
One reason is there are several stereotypes: sexual/physical abuse, hereditary factors and exposure to violence at home. Second reason that leads to violent behavior is physical neglect by parents. Third reason is juveniles was incarcerated for acts of violence such as: fighting peers or their parents, hitting teachers or instructors, bringing weapon to school to scare his peers and etc. All these come from mistreatment to their children when they was younger. When that happen all children start going crazy and not listening to their parent or anyone that been in their shoes before they was born to even see this happen.
According to John Davidson's essay Menace to Society, "three-quarters of Americans surveyed [are] convinced that movies, television and music spur young people to violence." While public opinion is strong, the results of research are divided on the effects of media violence on the youth in this country. Davidson wrote that most experts agree that some correlation between media violence and actual violent acts exists, yet the results are contradictory and researchers quibble about how the effects are to be measured (271). Moreover, Davidson is not convinced that the media is the sole problem of violence, or even a primary problem. He points out that other factors, such as "poverty, the easy accessibility of guns, domestic abuse, [and] social instability" may have a greater impact on a child becoming violent than the influence of the media (277). Even though other forces may be stronger, media violence does have some adverse effects on the members of society. If senseless violence on television and in movies had no effect, it would not be such a hotly debated topic. What type of effects and whom they affect are the most argued aspects of the discussion.
In this day and age it seems as if America's youth is becoming more violent. Concern for those aspects in our society which influence violent acts has become an issue since the tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Many feel one aspect of today's society affecting our nation's youth in a negative manner is video games. Is this form of entertainment really a factor in teen violence? I think not. Video games are not to blame for increased teen violence.
...dolescents to weapons. In many cases children have access to a weapon, particularly a handgun, within their own home. With lack of supervision, children experiment with these dangerous weapons, and may even take them out of their homes. Another contributing factor to violent acts among children is the role of the media and the way that television and movies portray violence. Every where you turn on television and in movies, you see someone killing someone or someone getting killed. Kids see the brutal ways, or the quick and smart schemes of combat tactics. They falsely believe that these types of behaviors are acceptable, because the next week they are back on the show demonstrating another episode of violent acts, with no consequences.
Violence is defined as the intentional use of force to harm a human being. Its outcome is injury (whether physical or psychological, fatal or nonfatal). Violence among teenagers is on the rise, and has been since the early 1980's. In my opinion this is due to the increase of violence in the media, the astounding availability of firearms and the lack of proper guidance in the home. Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice reports that from 1985 to 1993 murders committed by people over the age of 25 dropped an impressive 20%; meanwhile they increased 65% for people between the ages of 18-24 and an astounding 165% growth for teenagers 14 to 17. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in 1996, 6548 young people 15-24 years old were victims of homicides. This amounts to an average of 18 youth homicides per day in the US. It also states that homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 and is the leading cause of death for African-American and Hispanic youths in this age group. There are a few things that we as Americans can do to stunt this problem, and it starts with the home. By focusing on the home first, we as Americans can drastically reduce the amount of violent crime committed in the US.
Juveniles resort to violence, usually involving guns, instead of communicating with each other. "Although guns are more available today, youth also now show an increasing tendency to use them to settle disputes. When youth who are already predisposed to violence have easy access to guns, they may be more likely to beco...
Very few youth of today have respect for teachers, elders, or each other. Everyday more and more instances of violent crime are committed by our nation’s youth and children. Shocking accounts of children bringing guns to school as a means of solving problems with a teacher or a fellow student are becoming increasingly frequent. Children are committing crime, which were one thought only committed by adults such as rape, robbery, and murder.
In the twenty first century there have been many cases of kids committing murder, whether it is the relationships they hold at home or the video games they play, the environment a child is exposed to will affect their developmental process. Children are supposed to be innocent and pure without the desire to kill, yet in the last 50 years official statistics on Listverse.com suggest that over 1,100 kids have been found guilty of murder in England alone. The average age of a child that kills is just about fourteen years old. These kids are usually brought up in an environment that does not teach them right from wrong.
Pirruzia, T (2011).Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Literature Reviews. (n.d.). Chapter 1: Biosocial Theory. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume5/chapter01_biosocial_theory.aspx
Some kids are violent because they grew up in a home seeing violence all the time. They never wanted to be this way but they grew up getting beat on by their parents or saw their parents beat on each other. They deserve help, people shouldn't just give up on violent kids. Violence is also usually some kids wanting attention because they don't get it at home, or they are abandon.
Do you think that teen violence is a good thing? I think that teen violence and is not a bad thing and happens way much. More than 3,000 people die each day.
In the article “Prevalence and Development of Child Delinquency” written by Howard N. Snyder, he explains that “Older juveniles often influence younger children. In addition, studies have shown that juveniles who associate with deviant peers are more likely to be involved in delinquent behavior and arrested at a younger age than those who do not associate with such deviant juveniles” (Snyder 36). Children that are abused and/or associate themselves with delinquents run a greater risk of developing delinquent behavior themselves. According to "Breaking the Cycle of Violence: A Rational Approach to At-Risk Youth." Written by Judy Briscoe, “Peer rejection may also influence child and adolescent delinquency by inducing the rejected child to associate with deviant peer groups and gangs. Gang membership provides a ready source of co-offenders for juvenile delinquency and reflects the greatest degree of deviant peer influence on offending. Also, youth tend to join gangs at younger ages than in the past, which leads to an increased number of youthful offenders.” (Briscoe 8) Although children tend to have the same values and beliefs as their parents, their different experiences and influences while growing up shape their beliefs and their view of the world, which has a direct impact on their ability to make rational decisions. It’s possible that if a child had