Many causes, ways to prevent teen violence

“Nothing good ever comes of violence,” Martin Luther said. Violence has affected me very powerfully. I started my last year in middle school, which is eighth grade, but after three months had passed, something tragic happened. Sadly and unfortunately, my friend Ricardo died in his sleep. There was a shooting going on in his neighborhood and there were a lot of bullets that trespassed into his house wall and went into his head.

It really broke my heart when I heard the bad news. We had a short assembly in honor of him. I asked myself, “Why? Why did one of my friends have to die for something that should’ve not happened to him because he was innocent?”

That night, many people, but not just me, lost somebody who was very special and meant a lot to us because of the fault of somebody who wasn’t clever enough to resolve whatever situation they were going through in a different way.

There are many causes of youth violence. One of them is media where violence in the media (like video games) can influence teens and cause them to act aggressively. The media, which I’m talking here, is defined as anything that we as teenagers see, hear or interact with that are found on the Internet, on television, in magazines, at the movies, in video games or in advertising. Our teens’ existence today is filled with media that may have aggressive messages.

The second one is the teens’ neighborhood. Where teens live can cause them to act more aggressively. If people live in a neighborhood where teens are forced to join gangs to survive and fighting is the norm, teens are apt to act aggressively and participate in violent behaviors.

A third cause is domestic and child abuse, which means that children who live with violence in their homes can become violent people because they are learning how to abuse.

A fourth cause is insufficient parental supervision, which means that teens who do not receive sufficient parental supervision by their parents or parental figures are prone to engage in aggressive behaviors or criminal activity because they make poor decisions.

A fifth cause is peer pressure, which can cause youth violence when teen’s friends are prone to aggressive behaviors.

A sixth cause is drug use, which can lead to violent behavior. While recreational drug use is supposed to make you feel better, prolonged use of illicit drugs often brings feelings of depression, anger and frustration.

A seventh cause is traumatic events, which can cause violent behavior in teens. For instance, if the teen loses a friend in a car accident that they were also involved in, they could get angry at the fact that they were the one that lived.

An eighth cause is mental illness. Mental illness sometimes hides behind other causes of youth violence. For instance, a teen with bipolar disorder may be using drugs. If this teen becomes violent, the drug use could hide the fact that the bipolar illness is part of the cause.

There are a lot of ways that you and I could prevent youth violence. One way is that parents can better supervise their children using community resources. We can promote a safe and supportive environment. We can also work with schools to proactively prevent youth violence. We could organize the community to reduce risks and increase protective factors. We could also advocate with systems to address social conditions and improve system practices related to violence.

It only takes one person to make a difference. You don’t have to wait for someone to make a change first. You can also make it, too, now and make the world a better place for us all.