Help me understand why young people are so violent?

Question

OK, I'm older than dirt but I still don't understand why so many young people think it's OK to get a gun and shoot whoever they dislike (or better yet, strangers). What is the reasoning behind this? Is it involvement in drugs? Just mean nasty kids? WHAT??

Yes, Forsaken, I was young once but the most violent of my generation was fist fighting over girlfriends and insulting language - no guns - cigarettes were the 'drug' of my time. AND my brother and I were raised by my widowed mother. My brother became a school vice principal and I became a Kosher chef. We did OK.

Answer 1

I AM A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER AND I HAVE ENCOUNTERED ALL TYPES OF KIDS. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH KIDS TODAY IS THE PARENTS ARE TOO BUSY WITH WORKING TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY OR HAVE MORE MONEY THAN BRAINS AND BASICALLY LET THEIR CHILDREN RUN FREE TO BASICALLY RAISE THEMSELVES. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE NOT GETTING ENOUGH POSITIVE ATTENTION AT HOME, SO THEY FIND IT IN GANGS, ALCOHOL, SEX, AND DRUGS. THEY SEEM TO GET A RUSH OR HIGH FROM IT AND FEEL ACCEPTED IN THAT TYPE OF ATMOSPHERE. THEY ARE NOT TAUGHT THE GOOD MORALS AND HOW TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS. WITH THE RICH KIDS MONEY BUYS EVERYTHING. MOM & DAD GIVE THEM MONEY AND THEY BLOW IT. I'M 35, AND I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE WAY KIDS ARE GROING UP TODAY.

Answer 2

Mostly lack of purpose. Some don't understand why they're alive in the first place.
Not all young people are violent.
I talked to a friend of mine, who once was into a lot of trouble(drugs), he said that he felt he was an evil person. I told him to not think like that but to trust God's forgiveness and try to leave the past and move forward. Because he really is a good person in reality.
So just like my friend many of those violent young people know that what they're doing is evil but somehow lost hope that they may ever change.
They need guidance from a person who they can trust to be a good role model.
Another reason for misbehaviour is due to family problems or lack of parental love. I also think it's because of the media somehow for promoting violence.
Or maybe the person is still in a growing stage(which I doubt). Still no young person ought to carry guns.

Answer 3

There are many contributing factors. Number One is lack of proper parental guidance or care at their very young age. Age from 1 to seven years are the most critical years for a child to develop his behavior in the future. They must be taught respect for authority and for other people at this age, in the proper way. Sad to say many parents don't know how to do this. Some just don't care enough, some lack the patience. It all starts at home, with whoever is available to teach the child.

Answer 4

Upbringing. My family is full of farmers and hunters. I know how to use a gun. Have known since I was 5. I also know what happens when you shoot someone. They die, you go to jail (unless it's self-defense or you're rich). Young people today aren't more violent then those of "yester-year", they just aren't raised the same. They aren't held to the same standards. Hard to believe, but at 27, I already find myself saying "if I acted like that in public, my parents would've......". It's scary, but I feel I was raised to see this behavior as wrong, immoral, and less than evolved. Others see it as "what I do on Tuesdays." We call them sociopaths.

Answer 5

I think that kids who just pull a gun on someone aren't taught from a young age to be responsible for their own actions and that they are just striking out at people that they feel should do something for them because they weren't taught to take responsibility for their own future or needs. Also some kids just don't care and hate the world.

Answer 6

I believe it a lack of parental involvement because both parents have to work & cannot provide proper supervison, and the crap they put on TV. I feel the same. That's why my husband works full time +, so I get to stay home with my kids to make sure they are being raised properly.

Answer 7

I am currently studying to be a high school teacher. We were taught that the part of the brain that handles instinct and impulse are more active in Teenagers and twenty somethings than in adults.
However, with proper role models of the same gender and proper teaching of alternatives to violence, this can be avoided.
We are doomed.

Answer 8

Young people are looking for attension and to belong it is so many poor people out here trying to make it and they can't afford to get there kids in activies and their very costly to keep them out of trouble so they really don't have any were to go or things to do so they hang with johnny on the corner so johnnys the leader now so he has to create a image for himself to pull more and they only to get people to really listern is by fear and as in fear meaning telling some one to do things that they wouldn't normally do and thats how they turn to guns and illegal thing

Answer 9

Too much TV and video games. Parents always at work. These teens don't have an outlet. They should be encouraged to play sports, volunteer or do something. It's our society too. Look at the TV and advertisements. Parents have to work to afford food and rent/mortgage, but we're not spending time with our children like we should...

Answer 10

In reality, young people are less violent now than they've ever been.

The difference is that the news actually reports violent incidents more often than it used to, leading people to believe that violence is on the rise, when the opposite is true.