Through the past few years you have heard people saying that TV, music, and video games are leading to the increase in violence among teens and the society. There are so many different opinions on the subject, and no real answers. I have an opinion that not everyone would agree with, but when people hear what I have to say they can see where I am coming from. Through the last five to ten years there have been many reports of school shootings. Everyone immediately turns to the violence in the media.
They say that it was the rock music or the violent TV shows. No one stops to look behind the scenes at the family life. The kids that were the ones that commit these crimes, were unpopular and were made fun of on a daily bases. The question that people need to be asking is what made them be the outcast.
Most of these teens have parents that work outside the home, and are never there. They are not there to monitor what these kids are watching. They are not taught what is right and what is wrong. They watch violent TV and listen to the cuss words that are being said, and no one is telling that it is not the right for them to act that way, and that it is not expect able.
I am not saying that violence comes from the media, what I am saying, is that it comes from the lack of parenting. In my experience growing up, I do have to admit that I did watch the violent shows and listen to what we call “inappropriate music,” but that never gave me the urge to go out and use those things on other people. My parents did not want me to watch those things, but as a kid you always find some way to do the opposite of what they say. I would go to friends houses and watch the shows and listen to the music. I always remember my parents telling me that it was wrong to do things like that. I watched to shows knowing that it wasn’t right for the people on TV to be doing those things.
That is what made my not want to go out and do violent acts. My parents were the ones that made me the person I am today not the TV. They cared enough to know what I was doing and to make sure that I knew the difference between right and wrong. I know that most of us are tired of hearing about the columbine incident but, what really made the boys start shooting at random. The news says that it was from the TV, music, and the internet that caused them to break down that day. How many of you think that if you we rebuilding bombs in your garage that your parents would know? Well I definitely think that mine would get a little suspicious of the activities that were going on in there.
According to the news the boys parents were “normal” people, but how much were they home and how much time did they spend with their children? The boys were waiting for someone to notice them and they were going to do what they could to get that attention. It looks like to me that their parents did not give them the attention that they needed and that they were going to turn elsewhere to get it. I think that it is very important for children get the attention that they deserve. I do not want to put any parents down, but they need to stop and look at what their kids are doing. Sometimes they need to take time out from themselves and look and see what kind of people their kids are growing up to be. I am not a parent so I have no idea how hard it can be to work full time and still have time for your family, but I know that my parents did it, and I owe them a lot for always being in my business and telling me not to do some of the things that I would try to do.
I am not saying that my opinion of this is right, but I would have to say that I do have a point, and not everyone will consider the fact that the problem may lie elsewhere. If you ask the men and women that are in jail what kind of environment that they grew up in they would say that it was pretty bad. Some of them may have grown up in the richest neighborhood, but it all comes down to the fact that their parents were not there while they were growing up. There are many situations that will support me in my opinion of the violence in the home and media. What people need to realize is that the problem may lie in the hands of the parenting not in the fairytale world.