Violence & Anti-Social Behaviour

Sally Bray

Ipod & Mobile Phone Props
Hi if it's ok with you I'm just going to keep the one earphone in as to do my best to conform to the ways of "the generation that 'Beeps & Hums"'. Actually I just want to illustrate an anti-social tension that exists as a result of the growing use of technology like the ipod, email and mobile phone and our lack of training in IT etiquette.

IT REVOLUTION CAUSING DEPERSONALISATION OF SOCIETY
Numerous symptoms of anti-social behavior have developed as a result of what is being regarded as the IT revolution - a movement as powerfully transformative as the printing press and industrial revolution. Symptoms for young people include reduced intimacy, a tendency towards the depersonalization of society, breakdown of the family unit, reduced boredom threshold & a need for constant stimulation, tribal and gang tendencies, violence, moral decline, confused cultural and personal identity, information overwhelm, substance abuse and juvenile delinquency.

Fittingly I am reading a book by Psychologist & sociologist Hugh Mackay called: Advance Aust where - which discusses how we've changed, why we've changed & what will happen next in our nation as a result of the rising generation? Perfect! Mackay paints such an accurate picture of today's typical IT-savvy youth: Picture this…

• Stimulation no longer means just having the TV on. It means listening to itunes, instant messaging a couple of friends while browsing Myspace, Keeping an eye on an Ebay auction, checking emails & maybe dipping into a channel or 2 of TV as well. With the mobile to hand of course.

LOST INTIMACY
Paradoxically we call these new gadgets 'Communication technology' as though they bring us together but the truth is they keep us apart. The very fact that we are using a phone, or email means that we are not together, and the more we use those media as alternatives to personal face-to-face conversation the more we run the risk of settling for contacts at that level - - where the human stuff like emotions and body language is lost.

DETERIORATING SENSE OF COMMUNITY
And what about our sense of community? We were designed for relationship -

• as Arch Bishop Desmand Tutu puts it 'I am human because I belong'

However today's society has moved away from the Oral society of the past where face-to-face interaction and family connectedness were vital now to a more individualistic society with an eroded sense of belonging to a local community. This shift has been largely supported by technology. Technology and the media have an incredible ability to make us feel like we're connected 'wired' and in touch with a greater community the WWW however we have no real accountability, interaction and intimacy.

BREAKDOWN OF THE FAMILY UNIT
The effects of this are felt greatest in families and commonly result in a breakdown of the family unit. I recently came across some astounding figures about today's reduced intimacy in family's:

• Married couples spend on average 12mins/day talking face-to-face (Mackay 2007)
• 50% households have 2 or less people living in them (Mackay 2007)
• Advice to preserve a healthy home environment suggested that families should set aside 1 night/wk as a 'Family night'. Only 1 night?

How are young people meant to develop moral foundations, discipline, identity, emotional stability and healthy social interaction with minimal family investment?

WHICH LINKS MY NEXT TOPIC OF VIOLENCE….

STRONG LINK BETWEEN FAMILY & VIOLENCE
Breakdown of the family unit and negative parental influence have been strongly linked to violence and juvenile delinquency =>  

• Researchers attribute "………family disruption, abuse, poor parental supervision and monitoring, and lack of warmth in the early years as important precursors to offending behavior in adolescents".
• And one of the most significant predictors of whether a child will acquire a criminal record is whether they have a parent with a record.
• And the cost of a lost youth: "It is estimated that the cost to society of just one adolescent who leaves high school and turns to a life of crime or drugs, or both, amounts to between 1.7-2.3 million dollars (US) over their lifetime". (Snyder and Sickmund 1999)

YOUTH & GANG VIOLENCE
One serious consequence of a breakdown in the family unit is young people seeking a replacement for community through the formation of Gangs. Gangs exist on the very basis of violence. Whoever has most power in other words is the most violent, becomes the leader who others in the gang aspire to.

CRONULLA RIOTS
A perfect local example of Gang violence is the Cronulla Riots. A byproduct of multicultural and identity confusion and supported by faceless text and internet communication of hatred with removed accountability. Would this have occurred had people been recruited face-to-face?

LOSS OF IDENTITY & VALUES
The riots are just one example of the disintegrating cultural and moral values of young people and the ensuing identity exploration outside the context of a healthy family or socially acceptable behavior. Youth are in a void and are unsure of who to aspire to with the examples of Hollywood romance, neglectful/time-poor parents, videogames and sporting violence doing a poor jobs for role models.

ABORIGINALS
Indigenous Australians are a people that have suffered severely from a loss of cultural identity and pride & I personally have a huge heart for them. I was watching a documentary Kanyini presented by Aboriginal elder Bob Randall from a community in Alice Springs who explains

• We are Stuck in 2 cultures 2 worlds. We Can't live ours, don't have skills, understanding, role models or education to survive in yours. The result of our loss of identity is that our Classrooms are empty and our gaols full.
• 30% prison inmates are aboriginal and they only make up 2% of population.

LOSS SENSE OF IDENTITY FOR AUST YOUTH
This lost sense of identity isn't just inherent in Indigenous & ethnic groups but Australian youth in general. Youth are turning to technology dependence, drugs & alcohol, gang violence, sexual experimentation and other anti-social behaviors to replace a lack of personal and community identity.

SO WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?

I believe the solutions rest with:
1. REBUILDING OF THE FAMILY UNIT
2. IMPROVED CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

1. REBUILD THE FAMILY UNIT - build back up a healthy sense of community and socialization in the context of a nurturing family environment. Eat dinner together regularly, spend quality time, parents must exercise discipline and rolemodel health to their children. To help parents

• it is suggested that "investments in childcare and parental support programs….are of greater value than investments in systems for detecting and responding to parents who maltreat or neglect their children (Stewart et al 2002)

2. IMPROVED CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM - A criminal justice system which recognizes & enforces early multi-agency interventions working towards restorative justice. The demands of working with juvenile offenders are enormous and often lead practitioners to working reactively rather than proactively.

Falling under the umbrella of restorative justice is the Youth Justice Conferencing Scheme used across NSW as an alternative to a court appearance for young offenders.

• A really good and local example of restorative justice outworked can be seen for the Cronulla riots. The young man who burnt the Australian Flag was Conferenced and had to make it up to the diggers. He mowed their lawns and did jobs for them and they became great mates. He also went on the Kokoda Trail. As a result the diggers then asked him to carry the Australian flag at the Anzac Day march. This is a great eg of huge attitudinal change facilitated, not by punishment, but by supporting the individual to right the harm that they have caused.

Restorative Justice as seen by Morrison is a process that gives hope to children. It educates those involved how to work through conflict and nurture productive relationships:

• "Children will only benefit from education on the values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that enable them to resolve any dispute peacefully and in the spirit of respect for human dignity, tolerance and non-discrimination - the essence of democratic citizenship" " (Morrison 2001).

Youth Off the Streets
And to finish with a quote from Father Chris Riley from Youth off the streets.

• There is no such thing as a bad child. There are only bad circumstances, situations, environments & families - Father Chris Riley (FCR)

Although a daunting and enormous task, to reduce the level of juvenile delinquency - which includes anti-social and violent behaviour, and to give all children hope for a brighter future, we must not give up on kids, even those that don't 'fit in' as to do so will result in devastating consequences.