Social problem is a public concern of narrow focus and the role of sociologists is to study the people’s attitudes. The attitudes in this case, create and resolve social problems. Therefore, social problems are a way of behavior regarded by a substantial part of a social order as being in violation of one or more approved norms in the society, community, and country or territory.
Crime is a social problem that is an act of deviance where an individual breaks a law and norm. It is incompatible with the public’s desired quality of life because of the aspect of population growth that is a growing public concern ( Lauer, 2013 ). Many crimes are not reported to the police because citizens may regard the issue as being too trivial to report. Others are not reported because there are certain communities in America where police take long to respond to the crime and thus, render them unequal to others in the society. In such instances, people decide to form groups or gangs that will cater for their needs and defend their plea using force to solve arising problems in society. There are other instances where people view the crime committed as a personal issue and thus, will opt to take matters into their hands by protecting themselves. In America, the crime rate is increasing and teenagers are responsible for a disproportionate share of violent crime as it falls in tandem with the large number of teen’s population. This is attributed to the high levels of unemployment faced in the country leading them to engage in criminal activities to be able to survive. Criminologists have also recorded that a majority of the crimes committed are done by habitual criminals.
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Violence is a social problem that is increasingly growing to be a public health concern as shown on television and the media. Violence on television such as wars, riots, terrorism, and civil unrest are significant contributors to violent behaviors present in communities. Nonetheless, the violence that occurs out of sight like in workplaces, medical and social institutions, and in home set up is copious. Records show that millions of people lose their livers yearly due to high rates of violence. Parents and other care givers are known to transfer violent behaviors to their children at a very early age. In such cases, children tend to run to their peers and most instances their peers are also aggressive. This means that they will duplicate the same actions in order for them to fit in well with the popular group in the community or society. Such cases lead to racial or sexual stereotyping, which makes the child to believe that anyone displaying different characteristics need to be punished. It is here where violence comes in and also happens in schools and workplaces. For example, a babysitter listening to music containing violent lyrics and profanity is transferred to the child because they see the older person as their role model. In America, violence is a serious problem as evident from the terrorism acts that continue to penetrate deeper into the American culture. An example of violence experience in America is the Sandy Hook Elementary and Aurora Colorado shootings. Social conventions and pressures are seen to be forced accelerating the growth of violent behaviors in communities because many keep silent about their experiences for fear of being injured. Such violence continues to lower the quality of life for people in the community because they are subjected to victimization that frustrates their efforts in aspects of community building ( Lauer, 2013 ).
Deviance refers to the act of rule breaking where people deviate from societal norms, whether mores, folkways, or codified laws meaning they pose challenges to social order. Deviance ranges from minor acts of picking one’s nose in public to major acts of committing murder. From a sociological point of view, problematic forms of deviance encompass psychopaths and sociopaths due to their prevalent social anxieties about serial killers as types of criminal who blend in society ( Lauer, 2013 ). In today’s society, we do not know our neighbors well because we are concerned with discovering their identifiable traits. Notions of deviance are subject to change because rules and norms vary across cultures and time. Since deviance is a product of social processes, such acts are deemed deviant by continually defining and redefining them through political, cultural, legal and so on.
Poverty is a social problem that is treated as a consequence of economic stratification. In society, a crisis of insurance is poverty and its bigger risks because it translates down to more crime, bigger disaster. In developing countries, more and more people are becoming poor due to the increased numbers of betting sites. The idea of people wanting to get rich quick has been ingrained in their behaviors and minds to the point of converting the agreement to a complex contract between bettors and central race organizers ( Lauer, 2013 ). This is relayed through a number of betting shops. Betting physiognomy has changed to public and is widespread since it provides people with a source of excitement. It also gives many hope of financial gain at a time when poverty has struck them hard. Basically, this made people to explore alternative forms of economic advance such as saving, which is unrealistic for many people in developing and even developed countries.
Gender and sexual orientation is also a social problem faced by people in the 21st-century. Sexual orientation is the way an individual identifies himself through feelings, desires, and sexual activity. It could be towards people of the same of opposite sex. Sexual identity in the current society uses the term LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex). Gender, on the other hand, is rooted to physical identity thus, the way an individual identifies with and expresses themselves in masculine or feminine identity notions. Terms used to describe gender and sexual orientations tend to vary from one culture to another ( Lauer, 2013 ).
Race as a social problem contributing to poverty, crimes, and income inequality is treated as race and ethnic stratification because it relates to the problem of race or racial discrimination ( Lauer, 2013 ). Since the colonial period, people were classified into different race clusters due to their skin color and the white people were awarded systemic privileges. During the colonial periods, black people were used as slaves and this was also translated down to their workplaces. This implies that the bargaining power of colored workers decreased due to the aspect of racial discrimination. Race is also subject to inequality in education where blacks received no or worse education as compared to their counterparts, the whites.
Reference
Lauer, R. H. (2013). Social problems and the quality of life (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill Education.
