Is Modern Society Ruining Childhood? By Jillian Newcombe

The inability to socialize properly, violence and obesity... Is that what modern society has done to childhood? Is the society of the 21st century ruining childhood? Yes, childhood has changed drastically since our parents were kids to now. However I don't entirely agree with society ruining childhood. Yes, it isn't what it used to be but it's not ruined. It has been scientifically proven that modern society and past times can cause violence, obesity and the lack of ability to socialize. I have chosen those three topics to write about because they are three main issues among youth today. 

First of all, violence. Children and teens have become more violent simply because of the television shows and movie that parents allow their kids to watch. Children and youth can be easily influenced therefore, they can receive violent images and thoughts in their brains which can cause them to act out and become more violent than they ever were. This does not occur within every single youth around the world but there is a great percentage of youth who have become violent because of television shows and movies.

Secondly, obesity. Childhood obesity is caused by a few things. For instance, parents don't encourage their youth to exercise and play sports as often. Therefore, the youth will sit in front of the television and eat simply because they are bored. They have no motivation to be active, keep in shape and eat healthy. Eventually the youth will start to notice this weight gain and the three most common things for them to do about it for example, would be to take up sports, exercise and be more active or continue eating and doing nothing and just not care about the weight gain or lastly, become anorexic or bulimic which could cause them to become ill and trigger even more issues. I am certain there are other things to do but, I would say, those are the most common. On this topic I would also like to add that youth have become more and more insecure because of the pressure from peers to fit in.

Lastly, the lack of ability to socialize. Youth now, seem to have little interest in much other than their electronic devices. Many seem to be spending their time on all kinds of different apps, for example, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. A parent might say trying to communicate with their youth is like talking to a wall because they seem not be responsive or maybe just grunt, groan and mumble. Most only want to communicate with their friends. For some youth, these apps have become much more of an addiction. There is less and less of face to face conversations because why call or meet when you could just simply send a text message? Face to face conversations are becoming more awkward because so much is said over text that it seems there is nothing to be said in person.

To recap, I have written about were violence, obesity and the social skills of children and youth in modern society. My final questions to you are: What's your opinion? Is modern society in fact ruining childhood?