Essay on Violence is the Enemy of Today’s Youth

THESIS STATEMENT: The world’s media today seem to have more violence than ever. Video games have vivid depictions of accident catastrophes, fighting and murder. Television news programs generally lead with a violent story in order to gain an audience. This is free society people can stay what they want. ‘’ Media violence has many negative effect on youth today to commit crimes in society.’’

If the child did not receive any type of conditioning besides the negative kind, they tend to see and process the violence that they see on television or gaming to be appropriate because that is what they are already used to and do not seem to see the wrong it imitating the act.

Teenage murders may be unprecedented, but violence is not. The past has followed us right up to today. Several national magazines recently ran alarming stories about the epidemic of criminal and group violence. Rolling Stone in "A Pistol-Whipped Nation" and both Time and Newsweek ran alarming cover stories about the "virtual epidemic of youth violence." Newsweek's "Teen Violence: Wild in the Streets," decried the number of young people carrying guns, using them, being shot, and being killed. Accompanying all this was a casual if not blase attitude indicating that, as one expert quoted in Time put it, "Violence is hip right now."

Television is the mainstream of our culture. Violence on television has been a topic of conflict since before 1950. There have been repeated debates on how to protect children from the harmful effects of violence on television. Television is one form of modern media that influences the everyday lives of people. Televised violence has a major effect on how children perceive the world and how they behave. "American television has become the most violent in the world. It is for this reason why researchers have focused their attention toward television violence" (Cantor & Hoffner 424-4-25). Children enjoy watching television and now with the increased technology of cable and movie

     Ever since the terrible tragedy at Columbine High School, there has been a numerous list of recent school shootings in America. Youth violence is a major issue in today’s society. Many people dread what causes adolescents to be so violent, committing horrible crimes.     

The starting point of violence takes place in communities and at home--not at school. Youth take what they hear and see at home and in their communities to school. The environment in some communities and households are positive and the presences of protective factors outweigh the high risk factors. However, there are communities and households where there is a lack of informal social control and high risk factors exist more than protective factors--, which affect youth in a negative manner.

Teen Violence is a big dilemma in today’s society. Violent behaviors usually start from family and peers, as well as teens observing it at there neighborhoods or communities. These behaviors are reinforced by what youth see on television, on the Internet, in video games, movies, music videos, and what they hear in their music. When children are disciplined with severe corporal punishment or verbal abuse, or when they are physically or sexually abused, or when they witness such behavior in their home, it is not surprising that they behave violently toward others. Teen Violence has had such an impact in our youth today that it leads many destructive things and that’s why we have so much violence today.

Violence is a learned behavior. Children often experience violence for the first time in their lives in their homes or in the community. This first taste of violence may include their parents, family members or their friends. Studies have shown that children who witness violent acts, either as a victim or as a victimizer, are more likely to grow up to become involved in violence.

Columbine High School massacre. Virginia Tech shootings. Sandy Hook Elementary School slaughter. Umpqua Community College rampage. When someone hears any of these phrases, violent images come to mind. Since the first of these incidents, some questions have been, “Why did this happen? What caused these ‘kids’ to become violent?” One predominant thought has been that violence in media experienced as children, such as video games, could be the reason. Violence in media is common and accepted today. Escalation of violence has increased significantly in movies, video games, and even music videos for years now. This violent trend in media is becoming more and more popular with children, youth, and adults. For instance, the only violence articulated

According to the World Health Organization, around 43% of all homicides in the world occur amongst children ages ten to twenty-four every year. In the United States alone, an average of twelve people between the ages of ten to twenty-four are killed each day according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Youth violence is a term that is defined by the CDC as “a significant public health problem that affects thousands of young people each day, and in turn, their families, schools, and communities”. Violence among youth can be a result of drug use, familial issues, or anti-sociality. Although the trend for youth violence is currently declining, youth violence is still a major issue among communities as children exposed to violence can have physical and/or psychological problems later on in life.

Violence among youth has become a serious problem worldwide. In 2016, the United States ranked homicide as the third leading cause of death for people ages ten to twenty-four years old. Homicide is ranked as the fourth leading cause of death for this age group worldwide. A juvenile is defined as a person who is under the age of eighteen. Six hundred and five juveniles were arrested in 2015 for murder, two thousand seven hundred and forty-five for forcible rape, and twenty-one thousand nine hundred and nine-three for aggravated assault. These acts of violence make the communities in which citizens live more dangerous. As these crime rates rise, the values of the homes and business begin to go down as well. This has become an issue for concern because more and more youth are being convicted of serious crimes. In 2010, juveniles made up 13.7% of those who were arrested from violent crimes. While youth violence has always been present in society, it is becoming present through technology too. In earlier times in order to hurt someone they had to be physically present. Now a days, it has become easier to bully someone from his or her home through the Internet. 15.5% of students admit to being bullied through electronics in 2015. Youth violence is a cause for concern in Family and Consumer Science related fields because those who are working with juveniles should be aware of the problems they are facing.

Violence has helped children lose the ability to decipher between what is real-life and recreational violence. When they lose this ability they believe that violence is accepted and a perfect way to solve their problems. Children who lose their ability to know right from wrong also have a greater tendency to believe that violence is natural and something to be

The media is a part of everyday life in American kids. Children are surrounded by technology, entertainment, and other media that is full of violence. Newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet all contain violence. Today's media has a negative influence on children. The media does have an influence on them, but does it really influence them to act out even though they know it's wrong? Mass media, and its components, are very powerful and can influence one's mind, as well as their behavior. Children that imitate characters who use violence in the media and display aggressive behavior, tend to give them reason to believe that violence can happen without consequence. For children who grow up with poor adult examples or an

With violent lyrics in music, video games with violent themes, hyper-violent horror and action movies and more, entertainment media has been under the microscope as a primary factor in causing violent behavior in youths for years. Ever since the Columbine shootings in 1999 and the subsequent blame being placed on the video game DOOM and heavy metal artist Marilyn Manson, the news media delights in finding new violent entertainment to link to youth violence, especially if a massacre is involved.

In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.