The stereotype of our youth is of the young boy in the baseball cap that causes a little mischief every now and then, but always seems to say, “Sorry mom,” and get away with it. The stereotype of our youth is that sweet, innocent, little blonde-hair, blue-eyed girl with curly pigtails and a pink dress. She’s the perfect little girl from the perfect family, with perfect thoughts.

Every parent wants to think that their sweet baby can’t do anything wrong, when in truth these kids smoke pot and curse. These kids whom parents think are quiet and studying are actually getting pregnant before they lose their last baby teeth. These precious little angels argue with their teachers trying to make everyone in class think they’re tough.

Society as we know it is full of manic depressives, crazy parents, substance abusers, kids who think anarchy would create world peace, nine year old atheists, and deranged masochists running into walls.

What used to be a baseball player is now a boy sitting up in his dark room listening to depressing music and cutting himself. He doesn’t know whether he’s actually depressed or if he’s doing this for approval from his friends. He watches himself bleed hoping for sympathy. Praying someone will feel sorry for him. He doesn’t care if he’s trying to get attention in the wrong way, as long as someone gives him ten seconds out of their day.

Our favorite character on the Brady Bunch is now listening to rap music and dressing like the girls in the music videos so the boys at school will like her. She disobeys her mother who yells at her for dressing that way, all Mommy wants is the best for her little girl. Mommy doesn’t want to see her little girl receiving attention from men her own age. The girl doesn’t care. In her eyes, she’s cool. She’s much better than the other girls at school because the boys like her, and not them.

In this day and age, we don’t seem to be too concerned about our health or our future. We seem to be living in the moment. It’s great to enjoy your life, but some of the ways we try to make ourselves happy are kind of dumb. We know drugs are bad, so why do so many of us still do them? If we know that our lives will only go downhill when we get pregnant at age thirteen, why do we risk it? When we feel like we want to die, why don’t we ask for help? Why did we replace the theory of getting advice from our elders with slitting our wrists supposedly trying to “kill ourselves,” and why doesn’t our depression make us go all the way? Are we scared we’re not going to witness the reaction?

There are so many places to put the blame on childhood corruption. There are parents, television and media, music, lack of hobbies or local activities, peers, and of course, the internet.

Because today’s youth is very lazy and very caught up in the media, television and music play a big part in our lives. We revolve life around the schedule of The Real World. I mean the Real World doesn’t seem like much of a show for the youth to watch. It shows that the REAL world is one big party where everyone is beautiful, rich, and happy. It makes us think that we don’t have to try and everything will fall together perfectly, and the only thing we have to do is sit and wait. When we get into our twenties, we can forget about college and move into a casino in Vegas with six strangers.

Music is a way to relate emotions with other people, as well as soothing your ears with tasteful combinations of instruments, but the modern music we obsess over nowadays is just plain creepy. There’s about a bazillion and one songs about smoking crack and shaking your butt. SO what do kids, who don’t have the proper amount of parental attention, do when they listen to this, they go out to smoke crack and shake their butts. You can always count on finding us with Eminem CD’s blaring in our ears. We recite lyrics about beating Kim, murdering Debbie Mathers, and harassing N*sync.

A lot of smaller towns carry some of the most corrupt, weirdo kids around. It’s mostly due to the lack of activities for their age group, so when Mom and Dad refuse to drive 15 miles to the local movie theatre, little Timmy is stuck to make up his own fun. He goes to the local grocery store with his posse and rides shopping carts until he’s kicked out. After this upset he goes to a party and gets a girl he’s never met before pregnant, just because he wanted something to do.

When Johnny wants to skateboard, but he doesn’t have anywhere to do it, so he goes around town getting kicked out of every place he goes to until he finally gets the cops called on him. He was just trying to entertain himself, but when he’s not causing trouble, he’s still getting into it.

One of the most haunting things in the world, are people one’s own age. One lives their whole life based on how they have to act and appeal when they’re around them. Peers influence life from what job you’re going to have to whom you can hang out with. Friends are more important when you’re a kid than any other time. When you’re young, you are more vulnerable to various amounts of feelings. We fall into many positions because we want to feel certain ways. We want to have friends. SO we dress like this, act like that, say this, watch that. It’s almost impossible these days with so much going on, and kids being so rude, to be yourself. Kids have always been mean, but nowadays, it’s life. YOU HAVE TO BE MEAN. Being harassed used to be just about braces, glasses, and freckles. Now it’s that and sexual preference, like if you do this, you’re gay. “Oh you don’t wear these clothes, you must be poor.” “Gosh, you don’t listen to this kind of music, you’re a freak of nature.”
It’s new age Social Darwinism. The strongest will survive, but this time around, it involves children, not industry.

Just when you thought that London Bridge has finally fallen down, I proceed.

A major influence that we have nowadays is the internet. In the mid twentieth century when Beaver Cleaver was the model son, and kids were a bit more innocent there were no such thing as personal computers. No one had an idea about a group of computers tied together with cables, telephones, and satellites. The only computers around were the size of rooms and were used for counting.

NOW we have ten year old girls meeting thirty year old men. The internet is so anonymous, in yet, it’s our whole lives. It’s communication, opportunity, music, and of course, Pornography.

All you hear about nowadays is PORN PORN PORN PORN PORN!! Porn this, porn that. Hey, dude, check out this PORN at www.wildsuchandsuch.com.
Pornography is so reachable with the internet, anyone can get it with the click of a mouse. It makes our little Timmys and Johnnys perverted. It makes them want to do things with little Sarah’s and Emily’s, just because they want to be like the guys in the videos. It’s disgusting.

Besides porn, the ever so popular internet has websites with jokes of all sorts, mostly jokes that shouldn’t be available to an audience below the age of twenty-one. Some jokes you can find on the internet shouldn’t be available to anyone. They’re crude, rude, and ignorant. When the adolescents of this crazy world see such jokes, they can’t wait to tell their friends. Making people laugh is so exciting, and we seem to think that such crude humor is the only way to be comic.

Finally, our parents could be the main cause of corruption. Whether the blame on the parents is positive or negative, it’s there. For instance, negatively, the kids could be corrupted by chronic family arguments. Mommy and Daddy expected their kids to be something they’re not, whether it be pretty, smart, or athletic. They get so frustrated when the boy they wanted to be a soccer player turns out to be in a punk rock band with his close friends. It doesn’t matter if their son or daughter makes good grade and helps out at home. They don’t have what they wanted. This causes the kids to fall into depression because they’re not good enough.

Parents could be putting a positive light on our lives without us knowing it. Although we seem to think of our parents as such a “drag,” some aren’t as bad as we think. We mistake their good nature as a way to purposely embarrass us We put them down, yell at them, and sometimes the parents (with no self control) give in. When we grow up knowing how to abuse our elders, we do it to our teachers, police, etcetera.

So, how can such a condition, on this sphere in which we inhabit, be fixed? It can’t. Groups and organizations can be formed to fund and provide attention to the youth, but they won’t help. Our children are a virus that can’t be cured. We have to sit and watch all of these conditions gradually disappear. The only vaccinations to this disease are to accept people beyond a stereotypical level, stand up for what you believe, have self control, and be yourself in a way that won’t get you into trouble, or get you hurt. As for the small towns with nothing to do, that’s up to the city to decide.