Television is a powerful teacher and if children are always viewing their favorite characters using violence or aggression to get what they want, children will do the same.

A shocking study was done to get at the truth about the effects of television violence on children. They split a group of kids into Groups A and B. Next, they showed Group A a videotape of a child acting very aggressively with a doll. For example, the girl in the video hit and kicked the doll. The children in Group B were shown a tape in which the same girl was having a tea party with the same doll. Later in the experiment, they put the Group A kids in a room alone with an exact copy of the doll used in the video. Children in Group A responded by hitting and kicking the doll and acted aggressively. The children in Group B were also put in a room alone with the doll and they played very nicely with it. There are similar studies that show how violence on television increases the likelihood that children who watch will demonstrate aggressive behavior towards others. Children imitate what they see on television.

Kids feel that if they copy the criminal they will be a hero, too. There is nothing heroic about violence and it is wrong to show kids that it is. Children begin to think of criminals as powerful role models.

Television should not be violent because it acts as an educator and has a responsibility to the children it educates. We should think about what we watch. I can’t change television programming myself but together we can be a voice.

Somebody thinks that TV is bad, but I don’t think so. I believe that in the future TV will be better and everyone will like it.

30. Speak on the role of drug addiction and alcohol consumption in the growing crime rate and juvenile delinquency. Do you consider a death penalty acceptable in some cases?

To some observers, teens today may seem spoiled compared to those of earlier times. The reality, however, is different. Young people are under many types of stress. Peer pressure, changing family conditions, mobility of families and unemployment are just a few reasons why some young people may try to escape reality by turning to alcohol or drugs.

This is a problem in Ukraine too and it is becoming more and more dangerous. Million young people today are using drugs, and most of them will die. Usually they want just to try it, then again and again … and after year may be two years they will die. It is true. Because there are no medicine to help them.

About one million young people run away from home each year. Most return after a few days or a few weeks, but a few turn to crime and become juvenile delinquents. In 1989, approximately one-third of those arrested for serious crimes were under 18 years of age. Why are young people committing crimes?

Homelessness leads to young people are committing crimes. There are many homeless children, they haven’t got any place to live. That’s why they start to commit a crime. They don’t have a possibility to live a normal life. They commit crimes because they haven’t got a choice. Young people think that a good career and a normal life are not for them. Homeless children can’t wait any help from our government. The only way they can see is to commit a crime, to break the law. They don’t have any goals which they have set themselves and which they are going to obtain.
Furthermore, the reason why the juvenile delinquency is a growing trend are drugs and alcohol. Alcohol and drugs are not banned in the society. It is sad that today’s teenagers have many drugs in their bodies – crack, cocaine and etc. That is why many teenagers are aggressive. I think it is too easy to buy drugs.

And, although it is prohibited the sale of alcohol to anyone under 18, a lot of teenagers, including some as young as 13, reported no problems in obtaining alcohol.

That’s why never do it, if you do - it goes bad, very bad. I think that police must work hard to protect young people from drugs. Because drugs will kill our young generation and our future will be very bad.