Annotated Bibliography
Ajilore, O., Amialchuk, A., & Egan, K. (2016). Alcohol consumption by youth: Peers, parents, or prices?. Economics & Human Biology , 23 , 76-83.
The paper has widely explained information about the trends of alcoholism among the youth. The paper talks about how peer influence is critical in alcoholism. It also looks at other factors such as the price and the effects of parents and relatives in alcoholism among the youth. It is important in this research as alcoholism is major problem that affects development among boys.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Barry, A. E., Bates, A. M., Olusanya, O., Vinal, C. E., Martin, E., Peoples, J. E., ... & Montano, J. R. (2016). Alcohol marketing on Twitter and Instagram: Evidence of directly advertising to youth/adolescents. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 51 (4), 487-492.
From this research, the youth are tempted to take alcohol when it is advertised in social media. Most youths are part of social platforms. Alcohol is also widely advertised in these platforms. The latter tempts the youth to try taking alcohol. This is important information for the development of this paper.
Coleman, J. S. (2018). Parents, their children, and schools . Routledge.
This source of information that looks at various lifestyles of young people. It looks at the relationships that exist between the youth and their parents and what they learn from school. I will use this explanation to expound more on the effects of parent-child relationship and child development.
Elmore, K. C., Scull, T. M., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (2017). Media as a “super peer”: how adolescents interpret media messages predicts their perception of alcohol and tobacco use norms. Journal of youth and adolescence , 46 (2), 376-387.
The article here gives accurate information on the effects of media in the life of a teenager. It explains that media is a major cause of alcoholism among the youth. Ill will use this information to explain some reasons why teenage boys end up becoming alcohol addicts.
Francome, C. (2017). Abortion in the USA and the UK . Routledge.
The article explains the trends in abortions and some of the major causes of abortion. Early marriage appears to be major cause of abortion. The information will be used in the research to indicate some of the effects of early dating.
Hine, T. (1999). The rise and fall of the American teenager . New York, NY: Bard.
In this book, Hine demonstrates how teen behavior contributes to early marriages and sexual behavior that leads to pregnancy. Furthermore, he describes the failure of parents in providing parental guidance to their children thus leading to a crisis. In this article, I have used this information to highlight the crisis facing they young teens.
Milner, M. (2006). Freaks, geeks, and cool kids: Teenagers in an era of consumerism, standardized tests, and social media . Routledge.
This article shows how school and culture affect American teenagers especially the boys. These socio-economic aspects are vital in the development of attitudes and shaping of perceptions among the young males. I have used this article to demonstrate the effect of peer pressure on youths.
Nichols, S. L., & Good, T. L. (2004). America's teenagers--myths and realities: Media images, schooling, and the social costs of careless indifference . New York: Routledge.
Teenagers are engaged in numerous activities that make them appear to be rough and misguided. The paper gives outlines on how the society thinks about them wrongly. The information will be vital in the paper as it shows where the society is going wrong.
Ratcliffe, R. (2019). Sexual abuse of boys often overlooked by state laws, global study warns . the Guardian . Retrieved 17 September 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/16/sexual-abuse-of-boys-often-overlooked-by-state-laws-global-study-warns
The paper notices that many societies are inclined to the issues that concern the girls and they forget that boys also sexually abused. This information is vital in the research as it provides some information about the trends and why development in boys is tainted.
Tirri, K., & Quinn, B. (2016). Chaptrer 10: Exploring the role of religion and spirituality in the development of purpose: Case studies of purposeful youth. In The Empirical Science of Religious Education (pp. 158-172). Routledge.
The paper here provides information about the role of religion in the development of boys. It appears that boys have stopped engaging in religious activities. The document is important as it shows what boys are missing and that is why they are going for their peers.
Vrolijk-Bosschaart, T. F., Brilleslijper-Kater, S. N., Widdershoven, G. A., Teeuw, A. R. H., Verlinden, E., Voskes, Y., ... & Lindauer, R. J. (2017). Physical symptoms in very young children assessed for sexual abuse: a mixed method analysis from the ASAC study. European journal of pediatrics , 176 (10), 1365-1374.
The document here provides more information about the issues surrounding abuse of boys at home or in the society. It will be useful as such; information helps in the evaluations of how the development of boys is affected. The boys fail to talk and they end up getting bad advice from their peers.
WHO. (2019). World Health Organization . Retrieved 17 September 2019, from https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/
This document provides more information about the rates and trends of suicide among the youths over the years. I will use this information to provide more explanations about the how alcoholism relates to drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide among the male boys.
Introduction
In modern days, there is an issue on the development of the male child. For many years, the world has been fighting to bring gender equality in society. Women created organizations that looked at the issues of women in the society. Many movements would entirely empower the female kids in the society. As years progressed, the issue of gender equality diminished, but an essential factor was lost, the boy child. Everyone in the society talked about girls being mistreated and abused, but no one noted that the number of boys was slowly decreasing, the number of boys in school was also decreasing, and it would reach a point where the males are no longer empowered (Hine, 1999). Today, parents are paying so much attention to the education and development of their daughters, but they have forgotten that they have sons. In school, a girl is given more pocket money so that she cannot run after rich and older men. The same parent forgets that the son will try to find money in other channels because he also needs money to buy several items or live like his peers (Milner, 2006). This issue has left the boys to find ways of solving things their way. For instance, a boy will only look for answers from the internet or friends, and in most cases, the solutions that they get leave them in a dangerous position of indulging themselves in alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, and premarital sex or early dating. Even if the boy is not empowered, he is still expected to be “man.” The society requires so much from him, and that brings about problems in psychological, emotional, and social development. Besides, the community also overlooks issues that relate to the abuse of young boys, as highlighted by Ratcliffe (2019). All these trends are rising in recent times, and they have a considerable impact on the social, economic, and political circles. In line with that, this discussion will evaluate peer influence on teen male development and socialization: Then, Now, and the Future. It will do so by looking at the changes and trends in some of the causes and changes in the development of adolescent males.
A major issue that is causing the youths to fall into the temptations of peer pressure and alcoholism is the busy lifestyles of parents (Coleman, 2018). A child is supposed to be brought up under the guidance of the parents and guidance. This is supposed to be an element that involves all the elder relatives of a young adult. In modern days, boys are born and taken to school at a very young age- some going to school at the age two years. The main aim why they are taken to school at that early age is the busy schedules of their parent. At that young age, the child is supposed to creating a good relationship with the parents, but instead, the child finds himself forming an alliance with older boys in school (Coleman, 2018). In such cases, the boy lacks the courage and capacity of sharing some of the issues he faces with parents. Some parents work from Monday to Sunday and cannot even notice when their kids are sick or stressed. Some parents also find out when it is too late that their daughters are pregnant or other kids have hurt their sons. Another issue is bullying. In the past if a kid was buried, he or she would report the case to the parent, who would then follow up to see that justice prevails. In modern days, there is no platform for the kids, especially the boys, to share or talk with their parents. Moreover, there is a case where a single mother brings up a boy or female house helps. The essence of masculinity is normally diminished in these cases if the guardian is not careful.
Boys and Abuse
There is a major concern that most boys experience abuse instigated by caretakers or individuals they know well. Even when they encounter such traumatizing experiences, they cannot speak to their parents because there is a notion that men should always look after themselves (Vrolijk-Bosschaart et al., 2017). Such issues end up affecting the emotions of a boy, and he could end up abusing hard drugs, taking alcohol, or seeking comfort from sexual partners. The latter is a trend that has changed over time. In the past boys would sit with their grandfathers at night for about an hour. They would be taught and counseled on various values, and multiple outlines of how to be substantial in the future. Today, some boys have never set their eyes on their grandparents, especially after the expansion of urbanization.
Parents Failing to Talk about Sexuality
Another issue is that parents are not there to speak to their young boys on issues of sexuality. Such topics are considered taboo in modern days. Parents cannot even explain what is protected sex and unprotected sex. They just use general words like “avoid girls” and “I do not want to see you with girls.” Such statements make the young men curious, and they start trying out issues of sex with their girlfriends. This is a significant cause of young boys involving themselves in acts of watching pornography. Rather than their parents being open and sharing to them, they assume and let them learn from school. Here, the students spend most of their time with their peers, so even the teachers do not have enough time to counsel them. The world is supposed to change, and parents are expected to create enough time to speak to their young sons. They should have weekend offs where they can go out to the forest or take a walk with their kids. For the single mothers, it is also essential to make sure that their sons are brought up with the masculinity characteristic installed in them. They can be introducing them to other men in society or some relatives and so forth. The answer to all the problems that are seen in the development and the growth of boys lies within the society. Parents, guardians, and teachers should work in harmony and try to help solve the issues that face young men. Some of these issues are as follows.
Sexuality and Romantic Identity
Sexual identity and romantic identity formation are some of the critical developmental tasks among young adults especially the male. The latter makes salience of, and involvements with, romantic interests very imperative in modern days. As the male adults continue to grow the issue of dating becomes normative, and the issues tend to serve essential functions such as the formation of intimacy, increased levels of autonomy, and recreation. As the functions of dating, continue to change, so do the relations with adaptive functioning. Such dating patterns have been evaluated, and it appears that they tend to elevate the risk for negative outcomes (related to psychosocial elements), which include substance use, felonious behavior and a decrease in academic and literacy competence. The latter is an issue that links with the theoretical explanations of off-timing practices, which were outlined by Erikson. The explanation is that such adolescents who get into early dating tend to foreclose on the elements of identity exploration. Early dating in modern days does not benefit adolescents because they are not able to handle various relationship demands (like emotional demands) notwithstanding the adolescents’ normative behaviors. Similarly, the issues of early dating and marriage tend to reflect a spurious relationship between the orientation towards misbehavior and a higher possibility of delinquent partners.
Early dating is an issue that is widely related to peer pressure. Most of the adolescent boys will sometimes start dating after seeing their friends dating. In most cases, early dating is an issue that is brought about by elements of showoff and pride. In recent days, the adolescents are trying to prove that they are the best by having girlfriends. This makes them rush into activities that sometimes lead to single-parenthood, abortions, suicides, and emotional issues (Francome, 2017). It is evident that the latter is a trend that has changed from what was being experienced in the past. Different cultures had different requirements in terms of dating and marriage. Some cultures prohibited boys below the age of 17 from being involved with girls. Others would allow them to date but with a lot of surveillance that ensured that issues such as sexual intercourse were eliminated until the two got married. In the past, boys of the same age set would be prepared to marry by their elder brothers and uncles. This has changed because his friends who want him to have that “swag” or “to be modernized” are advising the modern male adolescent (Milner, 2006). In case of any challenges the relationships, youths approach their friends rather than the elders and parents who have experience in dating and marriage. Early dating is a factor that affects the economy of any nation uniquely when it combines with alcoholism and drug abuse. Young males will often become stressed when they engage in early marriages. The early marriage sometimes makes young couples to drop out of school, and they do small jobs, which are tough for them. Rather than them studying and getting well-paying jobs, some of them ran away from their homes to engage in illegal activities such as smuggling, selling drugs, and prostitution (Hine, 1999). The latter affects society largely.
Teenage Boys and Alcoholism
The modern adolescent has a huge issue that is related to alcoholism and abuse of drugs (Ajilore, Amialchuk, & Egan, 2016). Peer pressure is a leading factor the increase in alcoholism and drug abuse among the young males in most parts of the world. The issue of adolescent males involving themselves in alcoholism and drug abuse is becoming a menace across the whole world. There are illustrations that the latter is expected to increase over the years. Research has continuously shown that more than 80 mail college males tend to take alcohol or other drugs at least once in every two weeks. This is a worrying trend because these are future generations. The students are widely involved in drug abuse and alcoholism because of peer influence. Most adolescents are in college or the final years of their high school life. At this age, male adolescents are regarded as adults, and most of their parents and guardians do not care or think about what they do or which activities they are involved. This issue makes the male species endangered in modern days. The boys have been widely left to reign themselves, and yet they do not have enough experience or guidance on how they should make decisions in life. Thus, their development is widely affected by issues such as alcoholism. Alcoholism is something that most youths learn from their friends in school or the neighborhoods. Youths also tend to operate in multitudes, which are critical in the development of alcoholism behaviors and traits.
In the adolescent stage, starting to abuse drugs and alcoholism tends to derail their future. Alcoholism and drug abuse are issues that have been explained to be leading causes of deaths among young males. Alcoholism and drug abuse is an issue that is adopted by students and young males when they are depressed in most cases. Once an adolescent takes the drugs when their minds are unstable, they end up committing suicide. Other males get involved in fights and gang wars that leave them injured and sometimes dead. The trend of alcoholism affect society economically and to some extent politically in modern days. Politicians are also using the idea of buying alcohol for the youths in campaigns. Such issues are effects that are long-lasting because they leave the students in awkward positions of alcoholic addiction. This is also a major reason why there are many corrupt and unfit politicians in the society; most young males are qualified to vote, and their choice of candidates is widely influenced by the ability of the candidate to give them money or buy them alcoholic drinks. The issues of drinking and drug abuse widely affect the economy to a great extent. Most adolescents who are alcoholics are not able to make better decisions while in school. They fail exams, and that increases the cases of unemployment. Besides, the government uses a lot of funds to develop correctional faculties. Such funds are supposed to be used in developmental dockets such as education and healthcare. The youths are always ambitious, but elements of alcoholism break them down, and they become hopeless and are hit by stigma as they grow up. If they had tried to date, they become more rebellious, and their relationships fail. The trend of alcoholism has changed as some parents even tolerate their sons' engagement in drinking activities. In the past, it was all different, unlike today where a son and his father will go to take several beers in a local club.
Image showing suicide rates in different countries in 2016. The number of deaths for youths is vivid. Out the youths illustrated here, most of them are males (WHO, 2019).
Teenagers and Technology
In modern days, many people, including adolescent males, have access to fast internet, smartphones, and computers. These elements have been present by advancements in science and technology. Science and technology are the leading factors that are affecting modern adolescents. Unlike several years ago, many children as young as five years own mobile phones and the number is continuously increasing. The trend has been on the rise, and in a few years, the amount will be higher. Peer pressure and other issues that affect the youth are widely present on the internet and mainstream media. For instance, in modern days many advertisements are inclined to alcoholism and smoking. You will find beers, whiskeys, and liquors advertised in mainstream media. The youth are sometimes tempted to try out the products that are advertised. Some other adverts that are widely seen in mainstream media are those that involve the themes of romance and premarital sex. As a matter of fact the youths think that society is comfortable with everything that they do. Another issue that is related to technology is all about the essence of social media use.
The youths are learning a lot (positive and negative) from these platforms (Barry et al., 2016). They have many followers who sometimes influence how they dress, feed, or carry themselves in society. For instance, a youth will look at a picture uploaded by a friend with his girlfriend or in a drinking party. From there the individual will start yearning also to attend a party or to have a relationship partner (Elmore, Scull, & Kupersmidt, 2017). From these observations, it is evident that the internet is a significant course of distraction among youths. Studies also show that an average teenager spends more than 8 hours a day using an electronic device. These are elements that are, in most cases affecting the economy to a large extent.
The adolescents are commonly referred to as generation z in modern days. These people are always busing using smartphones and other electronic devices to do everything. At work, these people are not able to complete tasks or concentrate on the instructions given to them by supervisors. Another issue that is related to technology is the use of celebrities in ads and marketing products that target the youth. Many youths have celebrities as their idols. Hence, if a celeb advertises a type of a beer or drink, the teens will be misguided and also try to use the products even if they do not benefit them. Technology is also encouraging laziness. Modern adolescents cannot even research or read books as it was in the past. They only wait for exams to copy and find direct answers from Google. It is lowering the creativity levels of these individuals. With time, there may be no one to provide manual work as the trend seems to be on the rise. This is an essence that is not well-known by their elders. Elders have conflicting issues about the use of technology. Some think that a teenage boy will watch TV most of the day, but in the real sense, the modern teenager is inclined to social activities and issues that involve his peers (Nichols & Good, 2004). The following observation is critical, and further research is required in attempts of discovering the patterns and reasons behind the use of electronic devices among boys.
Male Youths and Religion
Over the years, there has been a decrease in the number of youths involved in religious activities. Several years ago, you would find churches and mosques that are filled to capacity with the youths comprising the biggest population. The trend has changed, and in modern days, you will find many teens clubbing and partying rather than being involved in religious activities. In the past, teenagers and adolescents were trained how to grow in many aspects, including spiritually. It is not a wonder that a modern teenager or young adult is not able to comprehend or even recite three memory verses from the Bible. In the past, it was evident that many youths would attend churches on Sundays and others would participate in Muslim prayers. In modern days, this has changed. Sunday is a free day of going out with girlfriends and Fridays are days of clubbing all night. Spiritual development is always important in the life of any individual as it teaches several values that include living in harmony and some of the most important life lessons around the world can only be found in religion (Tirri & Quinn, 2016). In future, the world could find that there no youths who attend churches as some of them have taken up the idea of watching preachers from the internet. The latter is not bad, but the connection and the ability to concentrate on the sermon and elements of spiritual growth are not very clear. The world religious leaders and parents could be blamed for this, but other elements such as technology and peer influence are the biggest causes of such issues.
Male Youths and the Society
Many if not all issues that surround the male adults could be related to the way the society around them treats them. The modern society, including parents and relatives, is one that is widely seeing the youth as rebellious and people who cannot change. This is why they are left on their own, and they end up seeking answer from insufficient sources such as the internet and peers. Besides, the answers that they get from these sources are fatal. They are told and taught ways of early marriage and dating which often results in teenage pregnancies, issues of young boys dating very old women and indulgence in alcoholism and crime.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the topic of development of male teens is very imperative. The following document has illustrated and explained that society has forsaken the male child. Besides, that is why their existence is being considered to be under threat. The world is losing males in terrorism activities, alcoholism, drug abuse, idleness, crime, and other issues. The chief cause of these issues is highly related to all that is around them, especially their environment. The parents, in terms of social, moral and emotional support, will forsake a male child. The outcomes of these issues include the students going for their peers. Primarily, this negligence affects young boys significantly. The reason includes the diverse beliefs that they are rebellious and that they are supposed to be independent. Therefore, the parents, the society and religions forget them and their development is mainly hurt. This is a topic that cannot only be applied in American society but also in other nations as the menace of dangerous development of young males is evident in all parts of the world.
References
Ajilore, O., Amialchuk, A., & Egan, K. (2016). Alcohol consumption by youth: Peers, parents, or prices?. Economics & Human Biology , 23 , 76-83.
Barry, A. E., Bates, A. M., Olusanya, O., Vinal, C. E., Martin, E., Peoples, J. E., ... & Montano, J. R. (2016). Alcohol marketing on Twitter and Instagram: Evidence of directly advertising to youth/adolescents. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 51 (4), 487-492.
Coleman, J. S. (2018). Parents, their children, and schools . Routledge.
Elmore, K. C., Scull, T. M., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (2017). Media as a “super peer”: how adolescents interpret media messages predicts their perception of alcohol and tobacco use norms. Journal of youth and adolescence , 46 (2), 376-387.
Francome, C. (2017). Abortion in the USA and the UK . Routledge.
Hine, T. (1999). The rise and fall of the American teenager . New York, NY: Bard.
Milner, M. (2006). Freaks, geeks, and cool kids: Teenagers in an era of consumerism, standardized tests, and social media . Routledge.
Nichols, S. L., & Good, T. L. (2004). America's teenagers--myths and realities: Media images, schooling, and the social costs of careless indifference . New York: Routledge.
Ratcliffe, R. (2019). Sexual abuse of boys often overlooked by state laws, global study warns . the Guardian . Retrieved 17 September 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/16/sexual-abuse-of-boys-often-overlooked-by-state-laws-global-study-warns
Tirri, K., & Quinn, B. (2016). Chaptrer 10: Exploring the role of religion and spirituality in the development of purpose: Case studies of purposeful youth. In The Empirical Science of Religious Education (pp. 158-172). Routledge.
Vrolijk-Bosschaart, T. F., Brilleslijper-Kater, S. N., Widdershoven, G. A., Teeuw, A. R. H., Verlinden, E., Voskes, Y., ... & Lindauer, R. J. (2017). Physical symptoms in very young children assessed for sexual abuse: a mixed method analysis from the ASAC study. European journal of pediatrics , 176 (10), 1365-1374.
WHO. (2019). World Health Organization . Retrieved 17 September 2019, from https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/
