Module 2 essay question Sociology free essay sample

Both books mention the role the media plays in constructing public perception ot (Juvenile) offending. Think about the role of the media†news media but also pure entertainment media†and discuss its role In our understanding of Juvenile delinquency. When a child starts forming an identity, a sense of self, It will develop by exploring the world around them. This child shapes himself or herself based on the very strong influences of family, society, and sometimes media influences. People rely on the news media for accurate information. Youths rarely appear In the news, but when they do, they are unduly connected to violence or crime. Images of youth crimes tend to be distorted or blown out of proportion. The roles of the media, social media, video games, music, movies, etc. can have an Influence on Juvenile delinquency. Vlolent video games, violent music lyrics, movies, and cartoons cater to young, impressionable minds and implant value systems which we would consider quite Inappropriate In them. some ot these societal Influences are the ones that shape a childs behavior. Insensitivity to the value of life, to ethics, to ethical practices is held in high esteem by the media we encounter every single day of our lives. This passes on to children and invariably they end up believing in things that can lead them to get themselves involved in anti-social activities. The protagonist in a movie might kill a villain and harp about this as a great achievement. Here the value of life Is understated and not given due importance. Minor, everyday things like these build up, starting small but growing into something quit big and sinister The newest nfluences would be In social media. Children being online and using websites such as Facebook and Twitter, open up a new avenue for children to be exposed for all types of social situations and behaviors. These types of sites often employ derogatory language. Children can see people behaving badly and bashing or bullying others on comments. Some children may see this as being a social norm and think its 0k to interact with people in that manner. I feel the lack of personal interaction can impair a childs ablllty to communicate properly In real life situations. This may contribute to issues down the line in their life. Overall, all of these different types of roles of media can have many different outcomes in juvenile delinquency. The best specific example I can give you pertaining toa case of Juvenile crime Is a recent Incident happening In Albuquerque. A 15 year old boy shot his family with a rifle. This hit the media by storm. Society could distort this in so many wap. But no one really knows the real story. we dont know It this child was abuse or any background Information. Since his has happened and put into the public, whos to say another child may see this and think Its 0k to shoot their family also? Children can be very copy-cat. There are many, many outside influences to children. teel ultimately it is how the child is raised is to know right from wrong is the grounding basis to judgment calls. I ney mentlon varlous metnoas Tor stuaylng Juvenile crime, Inclu01ng (1 ) omclal statistics, (2) cohort studies, and (3) self-report studies. We can add to this list participant observation studies. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each ethod? Is there a superior method? In general what can we say about the prevalence and seriousness of Juvenile offending? There are various methods of measuring crime. There are official statistics, cohort studies, self-report studies, and participant observations methods. The importance of using and integrating both self- reports and official statistics to gain a more complete understanding of the extent and seriousness of Juvenile delinquency. Self-reports are regularly used to supplement official records, especially for the kinds of delinquent activities that are ess likely to be reported by police. The mfouth Risk Behavior Survey is regularly administered to a representative sample of youth in the United States to assess the extent and seriousness of risky behaviors in which youth are involved. Self-report studies are also vulnerable to response errors, as youth may overstate or underreport their offending behavior. Self-reports offer an important supplement to official measures of delinquency and provide a more complete picture of the true extent of Juvenile crime. Results of self-report measures show that delinquent ehavior is spread more equally among youth of all social classes, and in fact white middle-class youth report involvement in offenses such as drug violations to a greater extent than lower-class and minority youths. Self-report measures are very important for their contribution to providing a more complete picture of delinquent behavior. Findings that some delinquent behavior is nearly universal among all youth regardless of social class or ethnic and racial group led to the development of additional research and theories to explain delinquent involvement. Self-reports are egularly used to supplement official records, especially for the kinds of delinquent activities that are less likely to be reported by police. Surveys administered regularly to high school students are a good example of the value of self-reports for assessing the extent of young peoples drug and alcohol abuse and other delinquent behavior. Official measures of Juvenile offending include statistics compiled by police, courts, and corrections. Many Juvenile offenders who are arrested by police are not referred to a Juvenile court or correctional agency, so the latter two statistical reports do not nclude many offenders who are known to police. Most official records dont lead to an arrest due to lack of information about the offender or from non-reporting. Official crime statistics are often considered the most accurate measures of crime and are the ones most often reported in the news media and by Justice agencies. They are not a precise measure of the true extent of crime, however, because many crimes are not reported to police or other criminal Justice agencies. Victimization surveys are a third measure of crime designed to supplement official tatistics and self-report measures. Victimization surveys of crime are not highly reliable and error-free measures, nor are they intended to replace official police statistics. Participant observation studies are seldomly used. In summary, self-report and to a lesser extent victim surveys are valuable supplements to official statistics and provide information about crime that is not available from police and court statlstlcs. Eacn 0T tne crime measures nas strengtns ana weaknesses, out togetner they provide the best available measures of Juvenile crime.