Sometime in the past 20 or 30 years, youth gangs have increasingly become a social problem society has had to deal with. Many wonder where these young groups come from and what gives them the idea that being in a gang is an acceptable and wonderful way to live. There are many possible answers to these questions, but on the surface it is evident that youth gangs come about through something as simple as a negative change in an individual’s personal wants or needs or how they were raised. This change in morals may stem from movies, peer pressure or something else entirely, but to effectively find a way to end gang violence, we must dig deeper and find exactly what factors are causing the loss of morality in these young one’s to begin with. The forces of the media, an individual’s home environment, and peer pressure/acceptance are three possible negative effects on one’s morals that could later lead to youth gang membership.
The influence of television and movies over children today is one way morals are becoming more negatively deformed. The American Academy of Pediatrics compiled statistics on media violence that say, by the age of 18, the average U.S. child has viewed over 16,000 murder
Aside from the media, home environment is another contributing factor to a child thinking gang violence is acceptable. Children who are raised in cities have increased chances of committing gang related violence because there is no strong unity or community life which makes it hard for parents to keep tabs and possibly know what their child is constantly doing. Children who are raised in more rural areas more than likely come from a fully developed community where the parent’s are friends and talk enough to one another to know what their own or someone else’s child has been up to. The location of a child’s house and the community they are raised in play a large role in the morals that are instilled in them and that will help them make better choices in tough situations.
s on television. This includes simulated murders and other real violent acts. Saturday morning cartoons, which are purposely targeted to the younger generation, average 20-25 simulated violent acts per episode. Many of the shows that are shown these days are extremely violent and portray young group violence as acceptable. An older adult can see that the ways gangs live are immoral, but a young child cannot. The gore that is also shown often on today’s television shows influences young minds as well. Children see the g
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