Violence has always been present in our society, either in the form of discipline or as a means to control. We have seen violence occurring in many forms, such as domestic violence, physical violence, sexual abuse, or emotional exploitation. Amongst that, there exist teen violence, which is often underrated, but is equally detrimental to mental and physical health. According to a research, of every three teenagers, one is subjected to some kind of violence. Dating, for instance, plays a crucial role in promoting teen abuse. Moreover, relationship breakups are the major cause of teen depression and suicide.
Main Reasons for Growing Teen Violence and Abuse
There are certain factors that make youngsters and teenagers violent, leading to heinous crimes and aggressive actions. Some of them include:
1. Extreme Use of Mobile Phones and Influence of Social Media
Today’s generation of teens is getting more violent and one of the significant reason behind it is the extreme use of mobile phones. Teens as well as kids, nowadays have excessive screen time. They spend long hours on their cellphones and parents don’t pay attention to it due to their busy schedules.
Long-distance relationships, chatting, meeting strangers, soft porn, and other social media activities keep them busy throughout the day and fill their heads with nasty thoughts.
They refuse to indulge in sports and other physical activities. On an average, 80% of the teenagers check their phone right after waking up. This is the first thing they do in the morning and start feeling restless if the phone is not around. This mobile addiction can be dangerous and this restlessness can gradually turn into violence. Teens have a great desire for their phones and they value spending time on cell phones more than their family members. This detachment also aggravate teen violence and abuse.
2. Society, Relatives, and the Neighborhood
Some people love poking their nose into others life and ruining their privacy. In particular, the relatives, neighbors and acquaintances keep commenting on child’s attributes likes looks and behavior. Also, they draw lot of comparison between kids, in terms of their accomplishments in studies and sports. Comparison leads to dissatisfaction, which can result into violence and abuse. Indeed, that’s what this constant criticism, pinpointing and comparison do to our kids.
It is often seen that teenagers don’t like mingling with their relatives and neighbors as they don’t feel comfortable around them. Isn’t this a sign of insensitivity or emotional detachment? To deal with these issues, parents should take the matter into their own hands. They need to focus on the overall development of their child and society should understand that every child is special, in their own sense.
3. Domestic Violence and Child Abuse
Children who grow up watching their parents fight over petty issues, or suffer any kind of abuse, have high probability of becoming violent with time. Along with this, strict parenting, rules and restrictions, peer pressure, comparison, constant in-home criticism, ignorance, and rejection can promote teen violence and abuse.
Parents need to avoid fighting in front of their children as it might negatively affect their mental health. For kids, parents are the role models and they wish to follow in their footsteps but how can they do so if the parents are involved in violence? So be careful around your kids and avoid aggressive behaviors.
4. Teen Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is a hidden and dark truth of our society. This practice, unfortunately, does exist and affects thousands of teenagers daily. Not only girls but boys too. Sometimes close friends, relatives, or acquaintances are the ones who abuse kids and tell them to stay quiet.
However, staying quiet means supporting the culprit and their deeds. Therefore, it is important to talk to your child and inform them about it. If you notice any kind of sudden aggressive changes in your child’s behavior, such as flashbacks of the attack, poor concentration, depression, anxiety, insomnia, lack of appetite, headaches, anger, irritation or fear, then confront them and ask. Sexual assault could be the reason behind their violent acts. Once they confess, tell your kids about legal options they can take. Please do not tell your kid to compromise. They deserve justice!
5. Abusive Teen Relationships
In today’s dating culture, everyone gets into relationships to explore love, affection, and attraction. However, sometimes these teen relationships can be abusive and violent. The teenagers enter into committed relationships and start expecting too much from their partner. However, these expectations lead to jealousy, possessiveness, and controlling behavior that leads to emotional imbalance and may eventually cause violence. Teens who are dating or in a relationship react more aggressively compared to single ones.
Teen’s violence can have a lasting impact on their mental, physical and social health. As a responsible parent, you need to keep a check on your child and encourage healthy behavior and relationships. If you observe any kind of negative behavioural patterns, then you must guide your child. Promoting healthy environment at home and open conversations can be very effective in preventing teen violence and abuse.
If you learned something new with this post, please check out how to raise compassionate children here.
Authored by Aashna Chawla for Fujn
