MINing of Life

Monday, 3 September 2007

Youth ProblemsY

If I were to just throw these 4 key youth problems to you:
-cyber wellness
-gangs
-theft
-school bullying
what would be the first thoughts that come to your mind?

Well, to be honest, our mission for Youth Congress 2007-2008 is to try our best to help others walk away from the negative route and be a positive influence. But what are these 4 key issues really about? Why is the National Youth Council bringing these up?

Cyber Wellness

Think about it, is pushing that power button of the CPU the first thing you do when you head home? Do you spend more than 10 hours a day on the computer?

People often have the wrong impression of cyber wellness, thinking that if he/she is not a gamer, he/she can simply neglect it. Cyber wellness is not just about the effect of gaming, it has got to do with anything that has got to be related to using a computer. Educators emphasize more on gaming mainly because the the severity of the consequences is getting worse and that gaming has become so much more common world wide that it has already become part of many's everyday routine.

Gaming is not something bad, it serves us as a form of entertainment and may also help us get to know our peers even better through team games and we may also pick up some thinking skills through strategic games. However, overplaying may result in addicttion or not facing reality life. They're people who just go on playing without sleeping for days, and feeding themselves with instant noodles, or can't even bear to leave the computer just to ease their bladder! I can only describe these group of people as a group of a group of pathetic addicts with totally no life! Seriously, life is much much more than just living in your virtual world and being powerful in your game.

Not only will you start to neglect your studies, you'll slowly drift away from reality, ignoring the people around you, eventually forgetting that you're a human being and that you need to take care of yourself (not your avatar/character) and stay healthy and socialise with people.

Gangs

Youth join gangs mainly because they themselves were once a victim of bullying, have social conflicts and seek for protection, it is an easy way to get money and seek fun, they feel proud or powerful being part of a gang. Gangsters believe strongly in loyalty towards their gang leader and "brothers". We all know that gangsters are up to no good, never once bringing peace, neatness or smiles to us. Nevertheless, there are points where we can learn from them : loyalty, sense of belonging, having status (recognition), short-run hedonism, versatility; it's just whether or not we're over doing these, creating chaos and havoc (or what gangsters like best, malice and negativism).

Here's a little test to see if you're walking a step closer to joining a gang:
1) Life is interesting, exciting and relaxing in a youth gang, whereas life is boring, tedious with too much pressure from examinations as a school youth.
2)As a gangster, I learn from actual life experiences and my life scope is wide. In school, subjects studied are impractical and disconnected with daily life.
3)In a youth gang, I'm being protected and I feel secure. But if I'm only a school youth, I'm terrorised by gang members.
4)Being a gangster, I'm not controlled and have lots of freedom, whereas being a school youth, there're too many regulations and life is controlled.
5)If I'm in a youth gang, I have authority over others. I take the decision making power into my own hands. A school youth has no authority at all. The adults always make the final decision and I have to obey.
6)Gang life is versatile and attractive, I feel the sense of belonging. I do not identify with school, schooling is just a daily routine.
7)Living in a small commune, we share our money and partners, fight and work together. In school, I'm being trained to be individualistic, people are classified into ranks, not by ability but by paper qualifications.
8)In a youth gang, there's a diversity of recognition, with accompanying praise, respect and accpetance. I have this sense of achievement. Whereas in school, academic achievement is the main concern, it's totally a sense of failure.
9)Hedonism is the goal of this materialistic world. Quitting school earlier to start earning money should be the way of life. There's no hope for the future even if I complete secondary school.

Every YES I AGREE to any of the following above, you've got to be extra careful as you're seriously in danger of getting into a youth gang.

Theft

When we're talking about theft, we're actually discussing it as a general topic. Theft can be scrolled down into theft (just stealing in any occassions), shop theft and robbery. There are also related offences such as retaining stolen properties and helping other parties in the act of stealing.

Do you know the consequences one has to face for the various acts?
THEFT: 3 years imprisonment, fine or both.
SHOP THEFT: 7 years imprisonment, fine or both.
ROBBERY: 2-10 years imprisonment, with at least 6 strokes of the cane (depending on the severity of the act)

Despite the painful consequences, many youth still break the law. The theft and other related offences accounted for 61% of the overall crime reported in 2006 (20 519 cases). There are a total of 3645 youths arrested for crime in 2006 (19% of total persons arrested by the Police). And the most common offences committed by youths are SHOP THEFT, THEFT AND RIOTING.

But why? why? why? why do these people still steal??? I believe many of us have the answer to it. Living in this cosumer's world, everything os money. People get desperate for money, lazy ones want easy money, etc., etc., the list just goes on.

1 very intersting way i learnt to help anyone to get that itch of stealing is to remember the traffic light : RED, AMBER, GREEN. Before getting your hands on to anything you're interested in taking, stop. Think through thoroughly; think about how by taking someone else's belongings will affect them, how you will feel if you're the victim yourself, what are the consequences you will face, and how will this small little act affect your profile as well as your family and friends. Then, do; after thinking through, make your decision and act as you wish. The final decision will still be in your hands, whether to steal or to leave.

Bullying

Bullying is getting more serious in this society and especially in Singapore, with up to 1 in 5 youths being bullied in school. For this section of the equipping workshop, each team was given 10 minutes to illustrate anything about bullying, be it the forms of bullying, the consequences, the effects, the feelings. TK brainstormed and planned a little, and after 10 minutes :

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The red line in the middlle shows the emotional part, where victims feel horrible and bullies feeling high.

Basically bullying can be classified into various categories being : Verbal bullying, Physical bullying, Relational bullying and Cyber bullying. Many do not realise that by simply calling people names or poking others or telling your friends not to befriend someone else or threatening or blackmailing, it is actually considered bullying. It is these little little things that accumulate in the heart that in the end cause so much tenson that result in victims harming themselves physcially. I believe there're many reported cases seen, like teens slashing their wrist to vent out the pain inside them. Some even resort to committing suicide after bearing the pain for years.

Most victims bear the pain inside them because of their low self-esteem. And because they are being bullied, they have even lesser confidence in themselves, therefore they are less likely to let anyone know that they're being bullied.

So as a magnanimous Samaritan or just an ordinary individual, i hope that you'll help anyone who's in trouble to face reality and overcome any obstacles. This is a little something we can all do with our little strength to make a big difference in the society.

9:56 pm;

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