“I grew up cursing a lot. It felt natural. My parents told me to stop.” – Adam Sandler
In today’s society, words are rarely filtered. We say what we want, do what we want, and act how we want. We as a society are very blunt about drugs, alcohol, and sex. Innuendos simply do not exist today. We just throw everything out there, leaving it all on the table, and often the lack of a filter can be a problem. Younger children are using foul language at earlier ages than ever. They are more exposed to drug and sexual references than ever before. No matter the length parents go to filter their children’s music, television, and internet time, it is almost impossible.
The startling reality of today's society is that elementary school children today know all the words to their favorite rap songs, but do not know basic nursery rhymes. Books hold less value and fewer children are saying that they read books at home than ever before. It is easier for parents to shove a television, tablet, or computer in front of their child’s face for entertainment than it is for them to take just a few minutes with them reading, making a puzzle, or doing an educational activity. It is easier for a parent to dismiss a curse word that their child has just said than to educate them on the importance of not using foul language.
With celebrity idols being at the forefront of news and media coverage, it is no surprise today that more children know who Kylie Jenner or Kanye West are than they do the name of the queen of England or president of the United States. Often celebrity news is bad news and children are more likely to know about the latest celebrity arrest or scandal than they know about how their own government works. The question becomes: Who is to blame for these phenomena? The problem is a societal one, and there is no one person or organization to blame for these issues.
Combatting the negative influences of society is an ongoing battle. Using the negative influences of society as teaching lessons is a positive influence. For example, using Chris Brown abusing Rihanna as a platform to educate young children about domestic violence, turns a terribly negative event into a life lesson that could possibly stop or prevent another case of domestic violence one day. We must choose to put more emphasis on the lessons we can take away from these events and not so great role models than we do on the person who is performing these unfavorable actions.
We are blaming society, however, we are society. To make this world a better place, we must first look at ourselves and our actions. Change comes from within.
