Hmm... well, actually, most long-time teachers I know say their students were getting progressively less violent throughout the whole of the previous century.

Maybe there's pockets in the poor parts of large cities where it's starting to re-surge?

If so, that's not good, because there's an old Korean saying, that goes, "The measure of the quality of a civilization is how little the inhabitants must know about defending themselves."

I don't think kids or humanity is any more violent than it was at any point in history. Look at Rome, you think kids didn't enjoy Gladiators? I think perhaps the type of crime as changed and it's motivation. Naturally 20 years ago a kid wouldn't have lit anyone on fire for a board game.

I think the importance younger generations have begun to place on entertainment items has increased because what we value has changed. Once upon a time it would have been more likely someone being stabbed for their chicken, and then later shot for their wallet, and now set on fire for a video game. See what I mean by a change in motivation and type?

Why?

I'd say it's because even when it comes to violence our race will always seek to advance. We are the great destroyers, and to be great you can't keep doing the same things forever. We have to find even better forms of violence, some just simply misconstrue better as usual.

I wouldn't however say more violent.

I think things will definitely change in a few years now that we have a black president the black community can look up to. I think they will realize we are all equal and even they can be anything they want to be... I only say this not out of racism but I know alot of black people see no opportunity and either quit school or start selling drugs etc... I have a lot of great black friends but I think because the opportunity is not there for them like it is for white people it makes the struggle that more difficult thus leading to violence and someone that doesn't care no more.

I remember going to school to get my GED, 90% of the kids were spanish and black I think that says something.. Me being the only white kid there along with my brother were baffled by what we saw but not shocked.

In conclusion, the point is, kids will grow depending upon who they start out from, race, parents, family etc.. I do think things are worse then they were 20 years ago, I think technology has changed and that made things worse because they have access to more information that might help make them more violent. It all starts with the parents though, without a good ground then no kid will turn out good and with all the kids getting knocked up today at such young ages can u blame these kids for getting violent when there mom or dad is just as old as they are at heart.

I hope this helps ...

Thanks Mike !

Perhaps society isn't getting more violent (I agree with above posters that we have often been a violent species), but I do think that youth violence is changing. What was once a fist-fight "worthy" event is now a shooting. What was once reserved to the realm of teenagers is now common for elementary school children. What was once violence reserved for true enemies is now doled out to anyone walking by. I think it's been a long process of violence becoming normal in our interactions. I think so many kids consider fighting, using guns, and hurting people a common, standard occurrence that there really isn't any thought in it anymore. It's not just media causing this normalization, but also the fact that adults are too busy and distant to really step in and lay down ground rules and establish other norms. I think a lot of this is due with the fact that we are now a fatherless nation. There are just so many kids growing up with one over-worked, busy parent, and beyond that, growing up without a male role model. Both boys and girls need to see stable, non-violent men in their lives. Kids without fathers account for 85% of kids with behavioral disorders. That is amazing, and terrifying.

I believe that strong women can raise wonderful kids, without husbands or male partners. But this isn't always happening, and there is no disputing that the number of abandoned kids is contributing largely to our social decay. If fathers won't step up, mentors need to. We are an increasingly isolated society, where everyone tries to make it on their own. That needs to be reversed, I think. We need to ask for help, and lend help. We need to let kids know "hey, someone is there for you, to love, and yes, to correct you, if you step out of bounds. The community expects you to be a member of our society, who contributes, cares, and helps others. You are important, and we won't let you slip through the cracks and be another inmate." So, so many kids aren't hearing this message. They hear no guidance, no acceptance, no expectations, and feel that no one would even notice if they just vanished out into the streets.

I think as part of this, we need to make sure kids have other alternatives. There need to be safe places for them, where gang members aren't. There need to be good schools, so they don't feel like they have to drop out. There need to be jobs for them, so they have opportunities beyond selling drugs and mugging people. We need to put our money where our mouth is and make a place for young people, even if their record isn't completely clean. Almost everyone can be brought back from the brink, with the right guidance and (get ready for a horrible cliche!) tough love.

Personally, I think we need to decide as a society that all kids are everyone's responsibility. "You had a crappy parent? That's terrible. But that's not an excuse. Time to shape up and get straight, because we're here to help you, but not to coddle you." It's a tough mission, and would really require a social overhaul, but you can do your part by mentoring a child. Look for a local agency (Big Brothers Big Sisters, Communities in Schools, or Volunteers of America). You can show them you care before they ever use violence. Prevention is soooo much better than treatment!

I think violence is everywhere, every time, in everybody, but in modern society children are more violent than in past times partly because of rising violence in media and games, here is some evidence about my point:

-- quote --
Anderson et al. describe the reaction of the games industry to scientific findings that exposure to violent video games and other forms of media violence constitutes a significant risk factor for later aggressive and violent behavior. They argue that society should begin a more productive debate about whether to reduce the high rates of exposure to media violence, and delineate the public policy options that are likely be most effective.

.....

"Craig Anderson, a leading investigator of the consequences of exposure to violence in the mass media, and his colleagues Douglas Gentile and Katherine Buckley, here give us an extremely scholarly and highly sophisticated explanation of both why participation in these violent games can indeed promote violence by the players and why the public at large, including many of our nations' most eminent newspapers and journals, find it difficult to accept the great amount of carefully collected evidence that now exists documenting these ill effects."

-- /quote --

Regards!