Effect of the media on today's youthThe media play an important role in the development of children in society. Young people are easily influenced and may think that morally unsavory actions are appropriate because they have been publicized. This is a major problem today as there are reports of children intentionally committing crimes as serious as murder. Children are experimenting with drugs and alcohol from a young age and there is even a show dedicated to teen moms on MTV. Of course, the media is not the only one to blame, as peers and parents are just as responsible as the media. The media is full of violence, sex and the use of addictive substances, which negatively affect young people. Being a young person in today's society is challenging. On a daily basis, many positive and negative influences are imposed on us; Without proper guidance, a child might have difficulty distinguishing between right and wrong when there are many ways to influence their decisions. In my primary school we had a mentor who spoke to the men in the school. Sometimes these discussions involved not being influenced by what we see people doing in the media. He always explained that being an athlete or a celebrity is a job that not many people can get because many people always want a spot. I wondered how my friends could be so influenced by an athlete's actions that they wanted to be like them. I have witnessed how television and music can influence a mind in both positive and negative ways. That being said, negative influences are more common in the minds of young people. Television is the main means of expressing violence in society. Homes without television are rare. People all imitated something they saw as children. Acting as if we could fly after watching a Superman movie...... middle of paper ......decreasing uence would of course imply that parents limit the different uses of media, but would not be not seen as a punishment or a way to spend more quality time with family. All media are closely linked to society. Media can change and influence adults' minds on certain decisions and even their outlook on different aspects of life. If adults fall prey to media influence, how can young people of this generation fight against this influence? The media contains violence, sex and drug abuse that impact children and adolescents. If youth continue on their current path of sex, drugs and violence, our country will become a dystopian society, in which no one will feel safe. The media can play its part in reducing sex, drugs and violence, but parents of young people should spend more time away from the media to ensure their children understand what is fiction and what is acceptable. in our society..