Social Problems In The United States Essay

1. Which of the following was once deemed criminal in China but is not anymore?

In Congress right now “the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act” is being debated upon. If the bill was passed it would “...make bullying through an electronic means a federal crime.”(Warnke 26). If the bill is passed different charges upon the bully may be applied depending on how severe the bullying

Cyberbullying is an everyday situation for teenagers around the world. Many teenagers suffer from bullies that are treating them badly and differently than other people. Individuals should be prosecuted for statements made on social media because of the impact that it has on the victim. The cyberbully should be prosecuted because of how the victim reacts to the situation, how the bully harrasses them, and how it spreads around the internet.

As of now there is no federal statute that is against cyberbullying (Strictkland, 2010). In 2009, there was a bill that was introduced to be an add on to the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act. The bill states that it would be within violation of the law if an individual were to transmit in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior (Strickland, 2010). A countrywide law would be the most logical step right now. As more and more suicides occur states are incorporating cyberbullying laws to their existing legislations. The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention

     Many of Americans today do not take the time to realize that our nation is little by little falling apart. Our leaders are corrupt, our environment is being destroyed, and there are thousands of children being born each day. The three major social problems facing the American citizens in the 21st century are births to unmarried woman, being able to trust or government and or leaders, and lastly destroying the environment.

Robert A. Heinlein once said, “You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once”. In other words, this is describing how freedom cannot be obtained without struggle. The U.S. has faced trials and tribulations that has questioned the nation’s liberty. The term “land of the free” can be defined as a region where a person is given the right to live, and to pursue their desires without being condemned for it. As known, the U.S. has undergone various social and political struggles, that has enhanced the nation to be known as the “land of the free”.

The sociological approach toward social problems differs from other approaches in that the sociological approach includes a focus on self-consciousness and building awareness that an individual’s interaction with society can oftentimes be influenced by forces outside of the single individual’s control or area of power. The author of one of our texts, Anna Leon-Guerrero, who is a Professor of Sociology at Pacific Lutheran University, writes that “Unlike any other discipline, sociology provides us with a form of self-consciousness, an awareness that our personal experiences are often caused by structural or social forces (Leon-Guerrero, 2010). Certain problems are considered significant, or more significant, than other problems due to a

When it comes to entrusting someone with fostering a discussion on the issues the nation is currently facing, Americans aren’t so sure who would be best for the task, according to a new study released by LifeWay Research.

“Several states across the United States have been continuously adding cyberbullying on top of harassment laws that have already been in place” (National Conference of State Legislatures). The crackdown on cyberbullying has become a big priority for many lawmakers nationwide. New laws will give power to school officials and prosecutors to make decisions based on the severity of the situation. A school official will have the ability to suspend or expel the bully, while a prosecutor will have the ability to fine the bully and/or up to one year of imprisonment. In the state of Maryland as of October 1, 2013, ‘Grace’s Law’, was passed. This law states that, “It prohibits a person from using an “interactive computer service to maliciously engage in a course of conduct that inflicts serious emotional distress on a minor or places a minor in a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury. Violators who are guilty of a misdemeanor are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and/or $500 maximum fine” (General Assembly of Maryland). ‘Grace’s Law’ was proposed after 15 year old Grace McComas committed suicide in April of 2012, after relentlessly being cyber bullied over Twitter, Facebook, and Email. Seeing cyberbullying laws being passed by states makes it more comforting for victims of cyberbullying because he/she knows that their bully will one day be held liable for their vile behaviors.

The dilemma that second generation i.e., Gogol, Sonia and Moshami faced is more psychological rather than physical because, they were born and brought up in America they did not face any cultural or social dilemma. They had known only one culture i.e., American culture and they accepted it and celebrated it fully.

In this wonderful and at times, overwhelming age of technology, in which any person can send and receive information instantaneously and anonymously, cyber-bullying is rapidly emerging as one of the top problems facing today's youth. Cyber bullying is described by the National Conference of State Legislators as being "the willful and repeated use of cell phones, computers, and other electronic computer devices to harass and threaten others." Recent, highly publicized cases of cyber-bullying such as the stories of Tyler Clemente and Audrie Pott are only the tip of the iceberg in what is rapidly becoming an epidemic of cyber-bullying in America. At this moment, forty nine of fifty states have some type of anti-bullying laws in place, with eighteen

My understanding of a social problem is that a substantial group of individuals consider an issue to be problematic and that the matter in question does not reconcile itself between the good of the group and what has been done for society. Although the issue can be advantageous for some members of a culture or community, it can be detrimental to others and therefore must be examined.

Megan Taylor Meier was a beautiful blue-eyed, outgoing, active girl who kept everyone on their toes. Among the things she loved were animals, music, black eyeliner and just making others laugh. Megan’s life came to an end after a young man, Josh Evans, with whom she’d been having an online relationship with, broke up with her suddenly and told her that the world would be a better place without her. Unable to cope with the feelings of rejection and the hurtful messages he began sending her, Megan hung herself. She was not yet 14 years old. Investigators looking into the reason she took her life discovered that Josh Evans never existed. It was a hoax designed and led by the mother of one of Megan’s former friends. There are countless of stories similar to Megan’s to where a child is taunted and cyberbullied and he/she ends up taking his.her own life. Cyberbullying has become more prevalent within the last couple years due to the globalization of the internet and increase in social media websites and usage. Bullying is a common part of childhood and growing up, but cyberbullying is bullying for all the world to see and anyone is a potential victim. Cyberbullying is important because anyone can be a victim- from children in the classroom to adults in the workplace. For this terrible situation to stop, it is going to take the combined efforts of many; from parents to principals, from children to Congress, everyone has the ability to do their part to create awareness and even

Nowadays, domestic and family violence is still considered as a severe and non-neglected social issue. It badly ruins the families. The cases of domestic violence have been dramatically increased during the past few years. Compared to 2009-2010, it is announced that the number of domestic violence occurred was double in 2013-2014 in Victoria alone. ABS also reported that the population of Australia who experienced domestic violence was about 100,000 in 2006 (St Vincent de Paul Society 2015). In most cases, the majority of domestic violence victims were women (nearly 87%) (Hill 2015). When those women were assaulted, their children may witness the violence at the same time, it could have a negative effect on their growth in the long run.

In Chapter one the authors discussed social problems and the foundation of a society. A social issue does not have a universal definition, rather, a social problem is something that has an impact on a person, group or society as a whole and is in need of remedy. Social problems vary in societies and geographical locations along with time periods. I also learned how the structure of a society is the way it is organized- institutions, social groups, statuses and roles. In addition, I learned about the three sociological theories- structural functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. I don’t think the authors really had bias in this chapter just because it was explaining the basics and we didn’t really get into social problems yet.