During our teenage years, our bodies are raging with hormones and we sometimes are prone to excessive violence where we are unable to control our own actions. Some teens bring violence upon others, while other teens have it inflicted upon them. Although it does not matter where the source of the violence is, it can affect our lives greatly in many different ways.
Violence cannot entirely be blamed on our hormones because there are other sources which can influence us into turning violent. One example is the media. Television and video games now contain much violence. From the article, 17% of video games have killing people as the main motive. Almost 50% of television shows have violence in them. These numbers are staggering and much more than expected. With technology advancing at the rate it does today, the media is one of the most common ways where we can be influenced. Almost every household has a television, and with more channels being available, teens are very likely to get influenced by these shows. Some teens in the US go on killing sprees before committing suicide, and some of these cases can be blamed on the influence from video games. After playing a certain violent video game, some teens get too excited and want to try it out for themselves, thinking that it seems very heroic. Other reasons why teens go on these "shooting sprees" is because of depression, hence not all the blame should be put on the media.
Depression can cause a person to fall into a state of distress and do unthinkable things. However, depression does not randomly set in, it has to come from a source, one which comes over a prolonged period of time, in order to make a person go into a state of depression. Bullying in schools is one of the main causes which lead to teens and university undergraduates to do violent acts. When these people are bullied and taunted by their peers in school, they might turn violent and try to hurt the bullies. One case where a student in a university killed many people because he was simply taunted by his American classmates for being of Asian origin. This simple taunting may not seem very harmful, but it can emotionally hurt a person very much. Emotional bullying is not the only cause of violence, but physical bullying is another big cause as well. Depending on the person, being emotionally bullied could be less painful than being physically hurt. Hence, both forms of bullying will sometimes lead to violence.
After all this is said, it seems like we should blame the media and the schools. However, the problem still boils down to us, where we ultimately are the ones who commit the violent act. Even if someone receives all this hurt, we are still the ones who must control our feelings. It is wrong to entirely blame the media and schools, but we must blame the teens as well for having no self-control. The teens may argue that the hurt is too great, but think about it, is it right to return violence with violence? Is it right to hurt someone who hurt you? By doing so, you not only are saying that you promote violence, but would not care if violence was inflicted upon you. Ultimately, by having self-control, all these violent incidents would stop happening.
Still, violence is not only restricted to teens, adults and even young children can be prone to violence. Adults frequently get into fights, murder people, and commit other sinful crimes. But why is the focus all on the teens? Because we are growing up, we are still learning, and hence the focus is on us. But violence is not restricted by age. In Feb 2000, a six year-old child took a .32 caliber pistol and shot his classmate, all because of a verbal spat.
So, why is the spotlight on us?
By Daniel Low(22)Violence cannot entirely be blamed on our hormones because there are other sources which can influence us into turning violent. One example is the media. Television and video games now contain much violence. From the article, 17% of video games have killing people as the main motive. Almost 50% of television shows have violence in them. These numbers are staggering and much more than expected. With technology advancing at the rate it does today, the media is one of the most common ways where we can be influenced. Almost every household has a television, and with more channels being available, teens are very likely to get influenced by these shows. Some teens in the US go on killing sprees before committing suicide, and some of these cases can be blamed on the influence from video games. After playing a certain violent video game, some teens get too excited and want to try it out for themselves, thinking that it seems very heroic. Other reasons why teens go on these "shooting sprees" is because of depression, hence not all the blame should be put on the media.
Depression can cause a person to fall into a state of distress and do unthinkable things. However, depression does not randomly set in, it has to come from a source, one which comes over a prolonged period of time, in order to make a person go into a state of depression. Bullying in schools is one of the main causes which lead to teens and university undergraduates to do violent acts. When these people are bullied and taunted by their peers in school, they might turn violent and try to hurt the bullies. One case where a student in a university killed many people because he was simply taunted by his American classmates for being of Asian origin. This simple taunting may not seem very harmful, but it can emotionally hurt a person very much. Emotional bullying is not the only cause of violence, but physical bullying is another big cause as well. Depending on the person, being emotionally bullied could be less painful than being physically hurt. Hence, both forms of bullying will sometimes lead to violence.
After all this is said, it seems like we should blame the media and the schools. However, the problem still boils down to us, where we ultimately are the ones who commit the violent act. Even if someone receives all this hurt, we are still the ones who must control our feelings. It is wrong to entirely blame the media and schools, but we must blame the teens as well for having no self-control. The teens may argue that the hurt is too great, but think about it, is it right to return violence with violence? Is it right to hurt someone who hurt you? By doing so, you not only are saying that you promote violence, but would not care if violence was inflicted upon you. Ultimately, by having self-control, all these violent incidents would stop happening.
Still, violence is not only restricted to teens, adults and even young children can be prone to violence. Adults frequently get into fights, murder people, and commit other sinful crimes. But why is the focus all on the teens? Because we are growing up, we are still learning, and hence the focus is on us. But violence is not restricted by age. In Feb 2000, a six year-old child took a .32 caliber pistol and shot his classmate, all because of a verbal spat.
So, why is the spotlight on us?
Article - http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00344/
2 comments:
Yes, indeed, why is the spotlight on teenagers? For sure, a huge issue here, with reference to media influence, and the perceived instability of a teenager's emotional development. And yes, self-control matters. Distill the information from the thinkquest article, to focus on fewer key points. You have lots to say here!
please create a link to the next student
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