I was researching for my writing on the other module when I came across this article. It was about a teenager fatally stabbed in Beckenham. Click on the above link for story and details. Also mentioned in the article was the increasing number of teenagers charged for criminal offences in London. From several articles, I realized that many countries and not only London are facing the same problem.
So who and what are the culprits that make and shape our violent youths? Well, according to Alan Gordon, the vice-president of the Police Federation, one of the reasons is that the young people are fed a diet of increasingly violent films and video games.
I agree with him. Violence in the media is easily accessible to youths nowadays especially with the aid of technology such as the Internet. It can also occur in cartoons, NEWS, and even in family programs. Sometimes even on sporting channels. I still remember when I was younger and even until today, footballers sometimes still do engage in fist fights. Very often, we have let what we would never let in through out doors through TV screens.
I did a browse through the psychology websites; psychological research has showed three major effects of viewing violence on screen. Firstly, one will become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. He/She will also be more fearful of the world around them. Lastly, he/she will more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hBkj-Bi6dzGMMrid_jOE2PHFsw4g
So how can we stop this? From the above link, we can see that the Brazilian government has imposed a ban on a popular game (counter strike). In Singapore, I feel, the government has played a part in counteracting the influence on media by practicing censorship and introducing the movie rating (eg. NC16, M18, R21). In my opinion, I think parents and guardians do play an important part too. At an early age, the media influences how the young think and act in various ways. As they grow, these media influence becomes even more powerful. The media influence on the young is not also desirable and parents and guardians need to counteract to this influence by monitoring what are exposed to their children.
3 comments:
Well I for one believe that for young children, especially adolscents, it is the parents who play an important role. If your child starts behaving out of character is it not the parents' responsibility to find out what's wrong. Parents must keep an open line of communication with their children and be astute enough to know if their kids are going through any life changing experiences. Sure, the media does expose teenagers to violence but how it is how we let it affect us that makes the difference. If a child is ingrained obvious differences from young between right from wrong then I don't think we will such outbursts of violence.
Yes, it is true that news have been reporting on teenage violence very much more than in the pass. I believe that it is the society in which we are living in now. Television, computer games, newspaper, etc, all these are means in which teenagers are so engrossed in besides studying. Violence can be seen everywhere. It will be so easy to learn and imitate the media.
In foreign countries, weapons of violent can be easily purchased. This makes violence more prominient in these countries. However, i believe that in careful upbringing in a loving family and community. Teenagers will not resort to violence but to pour out whatever they are struggling with and learn how to cope with it. A community which is always there to help and love will decrease the numbers of teenage violence.
Post a Comment