In the wake of the alarming rate of juvenile delinquency and the accumulating cases of teenage suicide since the mid 90's, it's not surprising to see that the majority started to accuse young people as a source of social problem. Nowadays, some may even consider young people as a group of easily-agitated gangsters euipped with the potential ability and the desire to disrupt the present social order.
However, is it justified to point the finger of blame on our teenagers for the social problems? Is it really a fact that the pillars of our future society could no longer be relied on? As a youth myself, instead of considering young people as a social problem, I would regard young people as a mirror reflecting our social problems. We all share the responsibility of the social problems created by the young people. Juveniles are not "born criminals" who deliberately disrupt the social order for their own pleasure. There should be reason behind their action of juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and teenage suicide.
With reference to the latest stastics provided to the authorities, an overwhelming majority of juvenile delinquents claimed that peer pressure and loneliness are the main reasons for their offence. Most teenagers who engaged with drug abuse or teeage suicide were troubled youth who have been suffering from unresolved emotional disturbances.
It has clearly been shown that the lack of parental care, the influence of the peers and the influx of unresolved emotional disturbances but not the juveniles themselves, contributed to the rise of juvenile problems.
Due to the lack of parental care caused by the heavy workload of the parents, young people do not have the chance to learn from or communicate with their parents. Parents also do not have the chance to acknowledge their children's need. .
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As this vicious cycle continues, a sense of mutual mistrust developed and the gap between the parent and the child is thus widened.