“As far as I'm concerned,” he said, “MySpace is the Antichrist for children.” These controversial words were spoken after Patrick Lindsay discovered the ruthless beating of his sixteen year old daughter, Victoria Lindsay, was caused by alleged gibes posted on MySpace. There has been a rash of widely publicized teen violence portrayed in the news recently. These stories continue to attract national attention as onlookers listen on in horror about the increasingly brutal teen violence. The heightened severity of teen violence is due to the radical changes in our society, including deterioration of parenting as well as the Internet.
As more children are being raised by single or working parents, they are receiving less attention, which leads to increased aggression. Parents have become busier trying to provide for their families because the cost of living has increased. As a result, parents are at home less, which leaves children by themselves at home, without parental supervision, allowing an incident like this harsh beating of a cheerleader by six girls at home. A number working or single parents are also not capable of providing proper discipline, because most of the time, they do not have the time or are simply too tired upon arriving home to chastise their children. This corrosive habit is not showing children consequences of their actions, or lead children to revel in their punishments. As well as not being raised properly in the absence of their parents, children are also influenced by the easily accessible Internet.
The Internet has a significant effect on the increased severity of teen aggression, but worsening parenting skills has had a greater impact. The Internet has changed our society in many ways, linking the world together, but it has also become an outlet for violence. This force has made aggression seem as a common aspect of our society, and the normal thing to do to uphold ones reputation. For example, the girls in the article attacked the girl after several rude slurs were made. The Internet has become a catalyst for fights, as it has made hostilities public. Disputes among peers become public as they argue on social networking sites such as MySpace. These social networking sites provide constant reminders about the belligerent comments, gossip, slander, etc. that may have been posted, and can lead to increasing anger ending in fights. The Internet in my opinion is not as important as a factor.
However, not all agree with the importance of each factor. During a personal interview, Mohammad U. Ashraf did not believe bad parenting was the main cause, but the media was. In his opinion, increased violence in movies and TV shows which children begin watching at an early age give children the false impression that violence is a feasible solution to real conflicts as well. They hold a romanticized vision of violence and try to imitate it to the best of their ability. Instead of turning to their parents for role models, these impressionable children use what they see on TV and in the movies as an indication of how they should act, after viewing the positive outcome of the use of violence for the characters.
Worsening parenting, along with the forces of the Internet and media, has led to the rise of the brutality of teen violence in this generation. Attracting national attention and massive amounts of Internet replies, the violent beating of a Florida teen leaving her with a concussion is just one of many examples. This issue has been lingering in the national headlines for quite some time now, and needs to be dealt with by rooting out the factors. Only then can we stop this menace to society.
