Youth and Anti-Social Behaviour - Essay Example

? Youth and Anti-Social Behaviour Introduction Antisocial behaviours of the youths are causing tremendous social problems across the world. Because of the advancements in science and technology, attitudes, life styles, life philosophies etc of the youths are undergoing rapid changes at present. Alcoholism, drug abuse or substance abuse, sexual abuse, violence, cybercrimes etc are growing among the youths which are a matter of concern for the sociologists and the government. Morality and ethics are rapidly diminishing subjects in our society at present which encourage the youths to engage in all sorts of antisocial activities without a second thought. The life philosophies of the youths in the 1980’s or 70’s and that of the youths of the 2010 are entirely different. Because of the changing perceptions about life, youths create lot of social problems in different forms which is discussed briefly in this paper. What is social problem? “A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being undesirable” (What is a social problem?, n. d). It is difficult to define social problem accurately or comprehensively because of the various dimensions associated with it. Murder, violence, theft etc are accepted by everybody as social problems. However, teenagers who play loud music in a public places may not view it as a problem, even if it causes disturbances to the public. Smoking is also a personal matter; but if it performed in a public place, it can cause immense damages to the health of the people around the smoker. Same way, drug and alcohol abuses are personal matters; but these things can lead the abuser towards antisocial activities. Thus, some of the social problems are accepted as problems by all people whereas some other social problems may not be perceived as problems by some segments of people. In short, social problems are issues which affect directly or indirectly a person, group of people or a society What is youth and anti-social behaviour? Anti-social behaviour is virtually any intimidating or threatening activity that scares you or damages your quality of life. Examples include: rowdy, noisy behaviour; 'yobbish' behaviour; vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting; dealing or buying drugs on the street; fly-tipping rubbish; aggressive begging; street drinking; setting off fireworks late at night etc. Anti-social behaviour doesn't just make life unpleasant. It holds back the regeneration of disadvantaged areas and creates an environment where more serious crime can take hold (What is ASB? n. d.) Man is a social animal and hence it is difficult for him to lead an isolated life. Since we are living in a society, it is necessary for us to satisfy the needs of the society along with satisfying our own needs. At the same time, individual needs should never cause any problems to others in the society. In other words, an individual need become a socially accepted need only if it does not cause any physical or psychological problems to others. For example, sex is a biological or psychological need for all the living things. Sexual engagements are socially accepted, only when both the parties did perform it based on mutual consent. However, rape cannot be justified under any circumstances because of the absence of mutual consent in such cases. Moreover, sexual activities of minors are unacceptable to the society even if it performed with mutual consent. In short, same activity can become a socially accepted or rejected one based on the circumstances or the nature of the activity. Alcoholism and drug abuse are some other major antisocial activity undertaken by youths. These things are considered as personal matters by many of the youths. However they are forgetting the fact that alcoholism or drug addiction may result in severe mental, physical and social problems which may affect others as well. Alcoholism and drug abuse can create lot of social problems such as Divorce, loss of employment; domestic violence, drunk driving etc. All these problems will affect a society one way or other. For example, a youth who drives a car under the influence of alcohol or drug can cause accidents which may result in the deaths of innocent people. Same way alcoholism and drug abuse can motivate a person to create lot of violent behaviors in the family and the society. In many of the American and British schools, students engage in violent activities under the influence of alcohol or drug. The improper usage of anything physical, mental, verbal can come under the label of antisocial behaviour. An antisocial behaviour can cause physical assault, mental torture or verbal torture to the victim. Some times the amount of psychological pain inflicted by the antisocial elements exceeds the physical pain. For example, bullying is a common habit among the youths. There are many cases, in which the teenagers harass their peers just for fun. Such habits may give psychological pleasure to the harasser; however, it may cause immense psychological problems to the victim. Most of the obese teenagers undergo harassment from their colleagues because of their overweight. Such harassments may force obese teenagers to stay away from their colleagues, which will destroy their self esteem and proper mental development. In short, some of the youth behaviours may not appear as dangerous at a glance; but it can cause severe damages which can be realized only after an in depth analysis. Different sociological perspectives on youth and anti-social behaviour Risk taking attitude is one of the major characteristics of the adolescent behavior. In order to achieve recognition from the colleagues many of the youths engage in antisocial behaviors such as binge drinking, substance abuse, violence etc. “For psychologists, risk taking itself is regarded as part not only of abnormal but normal development, carrying not just negative but positive consequences” (Sharland, 2006). It is a fact that risk taking behaviors are necessary for the proper development of children. Risk taking behaviors will make the children capable of dealing with tough life situations in future. However, beyond certain limits, risk taking behaviors can cause problems to the individual and the society. For young people, the transition to adulthood becomes replete with opportunities and risks. Put positively, "life politics" holds that young people may now as never before be the architects of their own lives, free to negotiate their own pathways, take or avoid their own risks. Late-modern society is preoccupied with risk and uncertainty, but holds that both must be understood as manifestations of "governmentality". Smoking and teenage pregnancy, school exclusion, antisocial behaviour and crime—have been linked to social deprivation, albeit often mediated through family practices. Prolonged years in education, later entry into the workforce, reduced state support for independence and delayed home-leaving have made young people's trajectories towards adulthood more protracted, desequenced and fragmented than before (Sharland, 2006). Youths in the 1960’s or 70’s were not as free as the youths in the 2000’s. Earlier, youths forced to support their families even at an early age because of the lack of resources available to sustain the family expenses. However, advancements in science and technology brought many changes in the life styles and the present youths have not much burden in supporting their family. Thus they are spending an extended period of time in schools and colleges for their studies. In short, youths of 60’s and 70’s acquired maturity more rapidly than the youths of the present century. Thus the youths of the twentieth century had not much time for wasting or for recreational purpose whereas the present youths have lot of time available to them for recreational purpose. Thus the present youths take the life less seriously than the youths of the last century. “Studies have indicated that religiosity is inversely related to drinking and sociability positively related to drinking” (Goldman et al, 2002, p.6) Religion and religious beliefs affect antisocial behaviours of the youths. When the religious belief increases among youths, their antisocial behaviour will decrease and when the religious belief decreases, antisocial behaviour will increase among youths. Religious beliefs play an important role in streamlining the youth life in the right track. Believers often stay away from antisocial behaviours because of their fear of punishment from the kingdom of God. However, religious beliefs are diminishing among the youths at present which contribute heavily to the increasing incidents of antisocial behaviours by the youths. Heredity plays an important role in the making of an antisocial personality. Parents with antisocial behaviors can have children of the same caliber. Most of the traits or behavioral characteristics of the parents will be transferred to the offspring through genes and hence the children unknowingly develop such abusive behaviors even when they brought up in a healthy environment. “There must be 100 studies showing a genetic basis for abusive personalities and for many of the disorders” (MedicineNet, 2010). Government responses to youth and anti-social behaviour All the governments try hard to put an end or to control the antisocial behaviours of the youths. However governments have limitations in controlling antisocial behaviours of the youths. Any bold steps taken to avoid youth’s antisocial behaviours can cause problems to the government. For example, suppose government how can a government the sexual exploitations in school or college campuses with the help of law? How can a government prohibit bullying or harassing in school campus with the help of laws? Social organizations can play a vital role in educating the children and family about the necessities of staying away from antisocial behaviours. Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) are enforced in Britain by the government. It protects the public from behaviours that cause or is likely to cause alarm or distress. ASBO prevents a person from doing anything which causes problems to others like; verbally abusing named persons or entering defined areas. Three conditions need to be satisfied for the imposition of an ASBO in Britain: “the specified person is at least 12 years of age; the specified person has engaged in antisocial behaviour towards a person or persons; an antisocial behaviour order is necessary for the purpose of protecting people from further antisocial behaviour by the specified person” (Briefing Pack for Awareness Raising Sessions: Youth Offending & Antisocial Behaviour Legislation, n. d, p.2) Conclusions Antisocial behaviour among youths goes on increasing at present because of the changing life styles, life philosophies, loss of faith in religions and advancements in science and technology. Yesterday’s sins became sacred acts for the current youths because of their changing views about life. Government, family and the society can play important roles in streamlining the lives of the youths in the right track. References 1. Briefing Pack for Awareness Raising Sessions: Youth Offending & Antisocial Behavior Legislation, (n. d). [online] available at: http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7A3FB6D8-894F-40C6-87B6-FBA4035E8DF9/0/antisocialbehaviouract.pdf [accessed on 06 January 2011] 2. Goldman M.S., Ph.D. Boyd G. M., Ph.D.,& Faden V. Ph.D., (2002). College Drinking, What It Is, and What To Do about It: A Review of the State of the Science. [online] available at: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/Journal/001_022.pdf [accessed on 06 January 2011] 3. MedicineNet. (2010). Sins of the Father- Is Abuse Hereditary? [online] available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51050 [accessed on 06 January 2011] 4. Sharland, E. (2006). Young People, Risk Taking and Risk Making: Some Thoughts for Social Work. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. Vol 7, No 1 (2006 [online] available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/viewArticle/56/115 [accessed on 06 January 2011] 5. What is a social problem? (n. d). [online] available at: http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/sp.html [accessed on 06 January 2011] 6. What is ASB? (n.d.). The national archives. Homeoffice.gov.uk. [online] available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/anti-social-behaviour/what-is-asb/index.html [accessed on 06 January 2011] Read More