The media affect my perception of the social problems faced by societies in America. Some of these problems include crime, violence, and immorality. The media are often focused on their quantity of coverage, so much that they undermine individuality and aspects of rich culture. Media representations of the social problems in America promote disapproval of the society. This is because they encourage excessive consumerism at the expense of core societal values. The negative depictions of the media, thus, create an impression of an unconstructive society, hence increasing the social problems.
Illegal immigrants are helpful to the United States because they contribute to the growth of the economy. According to statistics, these undocumented immigrants account for five percent of the labor force in the United States of America. These figures also indicate that a quarter of the workers in textile, construction, and agriculture industries are illegal immigrants. They pay all taxes income and property taxes include, hence contributing to the economic output of the nation. According to a study conducted in Texas in 2006, immigrants, in this state alone, contributed $18 billion to its economy. Immigrants, therefore, are useful to the United States; their contributions to the economy would even become larger if they acquired a legal status.
Affirmative action is a bad idea because it encourages inequality and disunity. The fact that affirmative action favors minority groups makes them feel inferior to other groups. The use of affirmative action especially in employment discourages the growth of talent. The best candidate for an employment opportunity should be considered first. Hiring individuals to fill a quota discourages the qualified people; this may also result into stagnated economic growth.
The media are causing children and young adult to become violent. The current advancement in technology has made it easy for everyone, children included, to access the media readily. The negative representations of the media promote violence among their audience. Heavy exposure of a child to violent media is, therefore, a risky and contributing factor to violent behavior. Video games bear the greatest impact on children. This is because their belief in what they watch on the media. Children often imitate the actions depicted by video games, and apply them in real-life situations.
The structural- functional theory adopts a broad focus on societal structures under which humans thrive. This approach views the society as an entity that can unite things and one that can flourish. The social conflict theory, in contrast, views the society as a place of conflict and inequality. None of these approaches, however, characterizes the drug abuse problem. This is because they consider drug abuse as a form of deviance that can only be explained using a general theory. Both approaches do not theorize this problem as an explanatory phenomenon.
I think prostitution should be legalized because workers in this industry deserve the same rights as those in other businesses. Illegal prostitution is exploitative; workers usually lack the right to legal protection from sexual abuse and harassment. Legalized prostitution would change the society; there would be a decline in rape and human trafficking cases. Sexual abuse related cases would also reduce because of the freedom accorded to the prostitutes. Legalizing prostitution would also reduce the number of commercial sex workers on the streets.
Pornography is not a form of freedom of speech; pornography should be prohibited because it promotes moral decay. Pornography also perpetuates stereotypes about gender and encourages violence against the female population. Forms of freedom expression should not corrupt the behavior of individuals the way pornography does; they should instead enhance moral values and the culture of a society.
A socialized healthcare system is more beneficial than a capitalized one; a socialized healthcare system covers a nation’s population regardless their economic status. A socialized system is the most likely scheme to help in solving a social problem. This is because the system is more affordable as it is government regulated hence subsidized. A capitalized system, in contrast, favors the wealthy portion of a nation, hence inappropriate for solving social problems.
Diseases and epidemics occurring in the other parts of the world have a direct effect on the United States of America. This is because of interactions with other nations; such interactions include immigrations and trade. Epidemics are communicable; hence, these interactions provide a platform for transmission. American citizens, therefore, will experience the same epidemics as the rest of the world.
Political processes and decisions are driven by economic activities in the United States and other countries. This is because political decisions carry influences in the global economy. Various political processes involve expenditures; in the United States, for example, candidates vying for elective posts spend huge sums of money in campaigns. The social ramifications of this are increased democracy and global interactions.
Work place isolation refers to an individual’s perception of seclusion from their colleagues or an organization’s support network. This perception might affect the mental health of an employee; workplace isolation may result into emotional distress of an individual that may affect their mental health. This is because a worker feels neglected and unappreciated by their colleagues from the work they do. Isolation may also lead an employee into the indulgence of unconstructive activities such as drug abuse, in an attempt to alleviate loneliness.
The drawbacks of postponing pregnancy include health risks, loss of independence, and the probability of infertility. One of the health risks associated with late pregnancies is high blood pressure. Birth defects are also popular with delayed pregnancies. Females who delay pregnancy are likely to lose independence and control over their careers. This is because the reason why most women for delay pregnancy is career. The fertility level of women decline with age; women who delay pregnancy may thus, become infertile when older hence a demerit.
The benefits of delayed pregnancy are financial stability, stable relationships, and healthy babies. Older women tend to be stable in relationships and finances compared to the young. Most of them have adequate resources to raise and support their children. Children born to older mothers, also tend to be healthier, despite the health risks associated with delayed pregnancies.
Some of the challenges in a blended family are conflicts, neglect, and competition. Conflicts may arise from parents, especially about the status and role of a child in the family unit. Children may feel neglected and unwanted by a stepparent; most stepparents do not acknowledge the children they find in a family. Competition may arise among stepchildren; they might compete for attention from parents, or even material things. Children raised in blended families are, therefore, likely to be troubled, from inter-household issues.
