In sociology one of the first things I've learned, is that people are born without culture or the knowledge of what's right and wrong. Through the early years of a person life, he or she is taught or influenced by the people closes to them: parents, friends, and their community. Without the proper knowledge of what's right and wrong, people cannot be born instinctively or naturally evil. Therefore, people who commit violent acts and other crimes must be pressured by someone or something in society.
One way that people are pressured in society is by their peers. These are people whom you would normally hang out with on weekends, or go to the movies with, but in some cases these are the people who get you in the most trouble. As a teenager, I know first hand of the pressures that a kid can receive from his friends. There were many times that I heard friends asking other friends if they wanted to steal a stereo out of a car, or vandalize someone's car for no apparent reason. However, these are very minor things compared to some. In one case a guy coaxed his friend into helping him beat up a gay guy they met at a bar. The boy they beat up later died, and they were convicted of murder. I saw this on a hate crime TV show, that aired a few months ago.
Television, and video games are another form of pressure in society today. This pressure, unlike others isn't connected to violence directly. Parents don't fear that their teenage children are going to run out and shoot someone because they saw it on TV or did it in a video game. They do however, worry that their young children could imitate what they see. In a survey conducted by Panasonic, 49 percent of the high school students blamed poor parenting for teen violence, however 60 percent of the students also said that kids imitate violent behavior they see on TV and video games. Young people do not process information in the same ways as adults.
