Teen violence – a term that has been used in the news so many times over the past decade that it no longer surprises anyone. Amongst the many cases over the years, the most infamous is probably the Columbine High School shootings in 1999. The media has since been finding reasons for the seemingly random acts of violence, finding people to blame for the shooters’ behaviors. Now, more than 10 years later, we are apparently no closer to finding out what causes such tendencies to appear in teens.

In fact, recent cases of fatally-violent attacks by teenagers shocked our small nation. The problem seems to have gotten worse, seems to have spread to local soil.

“It saddens me and frightens me that teens in Singapore are capable of such actions,” 18 year-old Tiffany Tan, 2^nd-year student at Republic Polytechnic said. “I thought we were taught to be better than that.”

Fear is also naturally growing amongst the teenage crowd. “I’m worried I might look someone the wrong way and become a victim myself,” 17 year-old Samuel Lee, 1^st-year student at Republic Polytechnic said. “I just do what my parents tell me; to mind my own business.”

Experts have all along blamed violent media for the increasing trend of violence in teenagers today. With Singapore getting more westernized and having western media more easily accessible, could this be the reason for teen violence?

Popular shows such as True Blood depict vampires committing extremely violent and bloody acts, yet depicting them as mysterious and sexy. Another show, Dexter, has a serial killer who kills a startling number of victims throughout the course of the show, yet portrays the killer as someone who is doing society justice. Do such shows have any adverse effects on teenagers?

John P. Murray, a psychology professor at Kansas State University found out that teenagers experienced increased emotional arousal in the brain - and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention - after watching short clips of such violent programs. The effects of prolonged viewing of such programs are unknown, and one shudders to think what those effects might be.

Video games are another commonly accused medium. Left for Dead, Call of Duty, and Modern Warfare are examples of recently popular games that are intensely violent. Similar effects on the brain have been found in another study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine.

However, youth counselor, Ian Poulier thinks that communication breakdown between parent and child is still the biggest factor in causing such violent emotions.

“There is an increasing communication breakdown between parents and their children. These youths have no proper venting outlet and let their problems fester inside them. This may lead to self-harm or in severe cases, harm to other peers.”

He added that it is important to know how to communicate with the teenager. “Letting your teenager know that they can come to you with the problems and in turn gain proper insight or practical, non-violent solutions is very important. Listening is also the key. Many parents are quick to judge what their children are telling them and do not give them a chance to say what they need to.”

“I think it is important to know how to engage your child in these technologically-advanced times.” Madam Sandra Ng, parent of a student in Temasek Polytechnic said. “I learnt to use Facebook and iPhone applications and all that. This way, my child and I can relate to each other and she can come to me more easily when she has problems. I make the effort to help her find solutions to her problems and let her know that violence to herself or others will not solve anything.”

When asked if she is afraid for her daughter’s safety, Madam Ng replied, “While it is important for me that my daughter is safe, I think we should also not be too paranoid about such things. Although being cautious is vital, living in fear is not the way to live.”

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