Influencing Change through Civic Engagement - Essay Example

Influencing Change through Civic Engagement Influencing Change through Civic Engagement Social problems, defined as issues or problems that affect individuals or members of a society, directly or indirectly, necessitates efforts of the entire society in solving them. However hard people try, a complete wipe out of social problems remains a dream; there is no possibility of successfully doing so. They are part of us, hence the need to seek ways of solving them whenever they occur. In fact, social problems pose a major challenge to most people in the United States.

While some agree to the existence of these social problems, others quickly deny, yet they struggle with them. Mainly, people, perhaps too naive or conservative, no not classify some of the problems they face as social. This culminates to the belief that they do not face any social problem, contrary to the reality. Others live in denial, while some choose ignorance. Many residents, after years of struggling with the problems give up with the struggle. Thus, as a personal stance, I agree with the statement that: Most residents of the United States have come to accept social problems "as the way things are".

 Discussed in this essay are supporting reasons for my stand on the topic. The advent of technology made life easy for the United States residents. In an effort to make life easier, new technological developments sprung up among the people. Often, innovations bring into existence new machines that we adopt, all for simplifying life. The recent invasion of robots right into our kitchen and living rooms attests to this argument. There is mechanization of even the simplest indoor chores such as mopping the floor, washing dishes and chopping vegetables.

Initially, the main intention of machines was to make our lives easy and comfortable. However, with time, these machines made us lazier. Richardson (2007) observes that most families even keep robots for companionship. A chine society is what has become of America. We are a folk that effortlessly wants to do everything, of course with the help of robots and machines. In the yester days, people did everything by themselves. Machines came as a by the way. With or without them, they survived through daily.

This is a social problem among the United States’ residents. It is a matter of time before these machines turns into a menace. This is only a piece of the cake. Machines bring into existence other problems such as increased costs of running a house, laziness, and obesity. Instead of them solving most of the problems that we face, they offer more problems requiring solutions. This makes us even more confused than ever. The social media is yet another social problem. Led by the Facebook and twitter, the social media is a buzz with activity.

Approximately, 72% all people in the United States own a Facebook account. At least 94% of all teenagers in the United States actively engage in the social media. Many studies conducted on the impact of Facebook on the people of the United States reveal shocking news. Marche (2012) argues that Facebook is a major contributor to loneliness among people and families. Some studies even attribute Facebook to lack of communication between families members. On the other hand, social crimes such as rape, erosion of morals among the teenagers and increased sexuality due to the increase in social media usage among the American youth.

Gay community in some regions thrive due to the use of social media. Many pages on Facebook bring drug users of a particular kind; provide people with an opportunity to meet with people interested in sex among other socially ill activities. This was not the main idea behind the developers of Facebook. The main intention was to make life easy for people, through interactive communication. Obesity, regarded as an individual problem is yet another social problem among the American residents. More people, due to the increased use of technology, busy lifestyles and poor eating habits have grown obese.

According to Mooney, Knox & Schacht (2013), the problem is worsening by the day, especially after the recent studies suggest that children face a bigger risk of suffering from obesity. To reverse this problem, this trend requires efforts of the entire society. People require knowledge on how to avoid obesity. Moreover, they require education on how to deal with it in case it affects them. The increase in teenage sexuality poses a duo problem in the United States. One of these problems is increased teenage pregnancies.

The other problem is high levels of HIV infection among the youth. Few teenage girls show the willingness of being mothers at tender age (Loseke, 2003). They therefore result into abortion as a way of solving their pregnancy problems. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the number of teenage girls seeking for abortion in the United States, which in itself is a social problem requiring immediate attention. Numerous social problems face the American society. However, there is a conservatism nature by people, whenever classifying a problem as either social or otherwise.

Most people define a social problem as that which only affects a large number of people, and thus is a major concern to a group. This is true, but some of the individual problems also fall in the category of social problems. Therefore, although some of the Americans do not face personal problems, they face a socially shared problem. Efforts to wipe out the social problems have proven impossible, prompting people to “accepting the way things are” attitude. This is however wrong, as the society require their efforts and contribution in solving these problems.

It is the obligation of every citizen of the United States to take part in the fight against these social problems. References Loseke, D. R. (2003). Thinking about social problems: An introduction to constructionist perspectives. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Marche, S. (2012). Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? (Cover story). Atlantic Monthly (10727825), 309(4), 60-69. Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2013). Understanding social problems. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Richardson, K. (2007). My friend the robot.

 Times Higher Education Supplement, (1781), 18-19.