Youth Crime: Media Myths, The Perception and Reality - Essay Example

The cliché that the ‘the future of a nation is its youth’ has quite often been repeated. It is unlikely that any sensible person on this planet will take a different view on this issue. Any nation, religion, or culture will have concerns regarding the way the youth of that society is heading because in each case, a wrong path will have negative repercussions which may result in erosion of their power and relevance. This is the result of a long term vision, since the impact of youth being capable or going astray will not show immediately.

An effective education system can, to a large extent, help in bringing up a generation that will be technically and administratively capable of shouldering their responsibilities. But other overriding concerns regarding more serious areas like youth crime and its increase have become more and more important. The twentieth and the twenty-first centuries have witnessed a rising trend in this context. Further there is a perception that the media in most cases plays a part in exacerbating the menace of youth crime.

In other words, the question is whether the situation is as bad or alarming as reported by the press, and the television media. Everyday significant events are dramatically reported which in reality may not be the factual portrayal of a real situation. Two problems arise in case the above mentioned perception is correct. One is that parents and other authorities have begun to panic about how their children would turn out to be in the future.