Youth Portrayal in the Public Space: Troublesome Teens or Malicious Media Part A News and the media have historically been tools for sharing information and current events. In a perfect world, this information would be unbiased and entirely factual, void of any prejudice. However, the portrayal of New Zealand (NZ) youth in public spaces has been heavily perverted to demonize their behaviour and, as a consequence, creates uninformed opinions. In reviewing and analysing articles from e-print databases, it’s clear that the public opinion on youth has been carefully cultivated in a variety of ways which I will comment on in this report. Article Selection Strategy The key article selection strategy I used was deliberate pairings of words that have negative connotations such as “drinking,” “brawl,” “troublesome” in tandem with “youth” to carefully compile an array of articles pertaining to youth crimes in public spaces. I discarded any articles that didn’t meet the specifications; pre-December 2017, not involved in public spaces and less than two youths involved. I then sorted by date and focused on finding recent articles, as this would give an accurate snapshot of current youth portrayal in NZ. I then further narrowed down by focusing on finding articles that had high engagement rates as this would show a relevant generalised, popular view. The four articles I thus obtained were: 1. Article One: “Teens arrested after night of verbal abuse and fighting in Dunedin student quarter” by Otago Daily Times. Published: 20 April, 2021 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/teens-arrested-after-night-of-verbal-abuse-and-fighting-indunedin-student-quarter/7WNIA6GMU5SCDI2AJ4YJUXT5CE/ 1 2. Article Two: “Dunedin teens sneak into circus, fight cyclist, crash car- Police” by New Zealand Herald Online. Published: 10 June, 2021 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dunedin-teens-sneak-into-circus-fight-cyclist-crashcarpolice/YWBJN3UUIOZQ6RGRVJDL5QUQDY/ . 3. Article Three: “Mission Bay brawl: Student tells of horror scenes as scores of drunk Auckland teens violently clash” by Michael Neilson. Published: 16 November, 2019 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mission-bay-brawl-student-tells-of-horror-scenes-asscores-of-drunk-auckland-teens-violently-clash/SQ2API6SMXM6NZXQ5O327RMKTI/ 4. Article Four : “Ram raid: Five youths arrested, 3 charged, after Birkenhead burglary” by Belinda Feek. Published: 27 July, 2021 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ram-raid-fiveyouths-arrested-3-charged-after-birkenheadburglary/4SNG77SOZ3BYQOYQKYS5P2HVUE/ . Article Summaries Article one discussed five teens who had violently verbally and physically abused bystanders around the student quarter in Dunedin. Three of the teens were arrested near Frederick Street. Two for assault (one of which is set to appear in Dunedin District Court), and one for disorder and resisting police. One victim was taken to Dunedin hospital after being hit in the back of the head. Police believe there are more victims and urge them and any other witnesses to come forward. Article Two discussed two 16-year-old teenage boys causing trouble all across Dunedin. Their antics include sneaking into the Great Moscow Circus at the Kensington Oval before allegedly fighting with a cyclist on John Wilson Ocean drive. While under the influence of alcohol, they crashed a car in an attempted U-turn. The Article also mentioned 2 how one of the boys had a blood-alcohol level of 316 mcg, while the other was sent to the hospital for his test. Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said they both are likely to face charges. Article Three discussed a massive 100 student brawl between South and West Auckland schools at Mission Bay beach. It was meant to be an innocent celebration for the end of a school year but was actually a disguise for an inter-school fight circulated through Instagram stories. Many of the students were drunk off Vodka Cruisers and other types of alcohol. Multiple adults tried to calm the situation but proved unsuccessful. After numerous fights broke out, witnesses reported that about 40 police officers were called to break up the fight around 3:30 pm. Eight youths were eventually arrested, one for assault, as several students were battered and bloody, with one person being taken to hospital with minor injuries. They were all released, however, without charge and would be dealt with by Police Youth Aid. The Article concludes with a South Auckland ward councilor being extremely disappointed in what transpired. Article Four discussed a ram raid on Liquorland Birkenhead, which resulted in the arrest of five youths. Three of which will appear in court on charges pertaining to burglary. The youths aged 13 - 15 used a stolen vehicle to smash their way inside and loot alcohol before fleeing. They were caught by police near Royal Oak after being followed for some time by an Eagle Chopper. The locals were infuriated because of the damages totalling over $1000. This incident has been an ongoing occurrence within Auckland and the North Island as there has been a string of robberies with a growing trend of violent behavior by youth groups. The Article concludes with mentions of these other instances and police providing store owners with countermeasures. Article Analysis 3 The primary theme across all articles was of youths being aggressive troublemakers with a tendency for reckless behaviours. This is evidently shown through the language utilised; words with negative connotations such as “violent”, “brawl”, and “raid”, used in conjunction with “teens”, “students” , and “youths” are abundantly scattered throughout all four articles. Reinforcing ideas of youths being troublemakers and prone to reckless behaviour. Three of the four articles use videos or images displaying either violence, a police presence or both. This further emphasises these youth behaviours as dangerous and potentially harmful, subtly placing biases within readers to view these youths as naturally violent troublemakers before reading and understanding the full article. Another theme across all the articles was youth accountability. This is shown as in all the articles, the youth perpetrators are arrested, and excluding those in article three (who will be dealt with by Youth Police Aid) are charged or likely to face charges. The youths in article two and four aged under 18, will appear in youth court, whereas the three youths in article one are aged 19 so will appear in district court. Showing that everyone must be held accountable for their actions regardless of age and that youth crimes are treated very seriously. However, across the articles, language such as “horror”, “hold them to account.” and “teens violently clash ” is used to paint youths as the only offenders in public spaces, which is not true. The final theme shown across all the articles is the negative influence of alcohol on youth. As shown in articles two, three, and four, alcohol plays a vital role as the catalyst for violence. Either causing fights, as seen in articles two and three or be the reason for theft as seen in the fourth article. This is shown to be something that unleashes the brash side of 4 youths and whilst also having a stronghold over their minds. Subtly conveying to the reader that youths should not have alcohol due to its negative influence, disregarding the fact that many adults are also negatively influenced by alcohol. All four articles failed to acknowledge how familial and societal factors could affect these certain youths and contribute to these acts. Such as their socioeconomic backgrounds and demographics for articles one, two, and four. This paints a black and white picture of youth crime, boiling it down to “youths are naturally bad,” even more so around alcohol. However, this is a more complex issue with a multitude of contributing factors. For example, one should consider why alcohol was a significant factor in three of the four articles: was it due to a lack of alcohol education in schools? A failure in how alcohol is obtained? Or a history of alcoholism/mental health problems in the family? A toxic, abusive environment? These factors should be presented to the public in these articles, reminding us and allowing the wider community to gauge the effectiveness of our country’s structural systems. To reduce and prevent future youth crimes. Part B Critical Evaluation of News Portrayal The media portrayal of youth has been historically negative. In agreement with Arnet (2008). There is a consistent view of youth being unruly, brash, naturally aggressive 5 troublemakers with a tendency for violence and reckless behavior. This is prevalent today and in agreement with Paneli et al. (2002). For example, article two quotes a witness saying that (referring to the youths) "so brazen in public, no care for any repercussions" and alongside article one employed language with violent connotations such as "horror","attacked" or "brawl" to reinforce the idea that these youths were naturally aggressive troublemakers. Surprisingly this is following Arnet (1999), where the storm and stress theory states that between ages 14 - 24, unruly behaviors are at their peak. Whilst article one showed images of police, article four outlined these youths' reckless, aggressive behaviour by showing images of the damages caused by their and other similar ram raids, implying that these acts are relatively common. This, however, is not consistent with data according to findings from the Ministry of Justice. Which show that that the number of children in youth court has been on a downward trend since 2000, (Ministry of Justice, 2020a) and that the number of children and young people whose offending was serious enough to lead to an FGC or court action decreased by 46% and 59% (between 2009/10 and 2019/20) (Ministry of Justice, 2020b). This shows that youth crime is decreasing, but the media is disproportionately displaying youths negatively, following Paneli et al. (2002). With these trends going downwards, it is hard to believe that youths are naturally aggressive, but instead, there are more factors present. Showing that the media is biased towards presenting youths in a negative light and boil down their actions to a simple overemphasis on biological factors. All four articles are heavy on youth accountability; youths must be held accountable for their actions. However, the media's portrayal of youth crimes is extremely tough to convey that youths must be punished harshly to not re-offend. For example, in articles three and four, many adults are quoted to be infuriated, shocked, and intimated over the actions of these youths. They subtly show how even adults are scared by these youths and that they need to be quickly set on the right path via some form of harsh punishment. Alongside this, 6 the use of emotive language such as "horror," "raid," and "assault" paints a more vicious, gruesome image of the youths, making readers subconsciously believe that these youths are extremely dangerous and must be punished severely. This, however, goes against research as both Barretto et al. (2016) and McArdle et al (2018) show that the NZ public views restorative justice as a better punishment for youth offenders, as well as a better alternative for NZ youth justice than the retributive model, due to it’s reasonable consistent success (Maxwell & Morris, 2006). This shows the media's bias against youth as it does not attempt to address any forms of retributive justice for these individuals. The authors of the articles heavily imply that alcohol abuse has a negative effect on youth. This is heavily documented within articles two, three, and four. For example, in article two, the boys get into a fight with a cyclist and crash a car while one of them had a blood alcohol level of 316 mcg. While in article four, stealing alcohol was implied as to the motive for the ram raid. These articles essentially show that alcohol in the hands of youth is a bad thing in all cases. Studies support this claim as Fergusson and Horwood (2000) concluded that there were clear correlations between offending rates and alcohol abuse amongst NZ youths. This is further supported by Svenson and Landberg (2013), where a positive relationship between alcohol and violence among Swedish youth was discovered—showing that youth alcohol abuse is prevalent worldwide and not just due to NZ's binge drinking culture. Another example is that in the third article, drunk students are consistently mentioned, with the inciting incident of the fight being a beer bottle smashed over a student's head. Further reinforcing the notion that youth are uncontrollable under the influence of alcohol is accurate. Alcohol can negatively affect a young person's cognitive functions, causing them to be impulsive and violent (World Health Organization, 2006). However, this also applies to adults as alcohol is a common catalyst for crime and violence. Readers must, however, also consider potential factors for youth alcohol abuse such as a toxic environment 7 or alcoholism in the family and use them to make an informed opinion. Therefore the portrayal of the adverse effects of alcohol on youth is accurate, but other factors must be presented for viewers to make an informed decision. Structural Factors that heavily influence youth crime were rarely discussed within these articles. There was no mention of socioeconomic backgrounds, familial situations, or (besides article three) demographics of the youth offenders. The literature concludes that multiple cumulative factors lead to youth offending (Shuja, 2008). Such as childhood trauma (Baglivio et al., 2015), economic status and their social environment (Heimer, 1997). Due to the media’s reluctance to investigate and/or display this vital information to readers shows the negative bias towards youths, particularly youth offending. These critical pieces of information are imperative to more accurately understand and analyse the failings of our systems and take measures to improve them. Personal Reflection on Findings This project helped me see and understand youth on a deeper level. I had initially come into this course with a primitive understanding of youth and its interplay within society. After this project, I have realised how integral familial, social, and other factors are to a youth's development and success. Answering the age old question of nature vs nurture. Your upbringing heavily determines how you turn out. I also realised the media bias against youth and how they plant subtle cues within the imagery, language, and their opinions to intentionally form biased opinions within their readers. With so much fake news in the world 8 and the ability to fabricate anything becoming more and more widespread, this project helped me further realise the importance of critical thinking, doing my research, finding trustworthy sources, and the power of information. My background in engineering has shielded me from discussing and researching the problems and issues related to youth and society. As my projects and courses rely on building or designing something, it was interesting to see a project with a spectrum of correct answers/opinions depending on interpretation rather than a binary one. Therefore this project served as a reminder not everything in this world is black and white; complex societal issues can't be solved using an equation with a simple solution. Many underlying factors contribute to these problems, that I must educate myself and my engineering peers about. Lastly, I realised how much of my life and success is based on luck. Lucky to be in a relatively stable home environment, lucky enough to have good role models and positive reinforcement, lucky enough to study at the university. It showed me that not everyone has the same opportunities as me. I should be more grateful and actively strive to better myself and play my part to create a more equal and positive society for future youths. 9 10 References Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54(5), 317-326. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.54.5.317 Arnett, J. J. (2008). Storm and stress Redux. The American Journal of Psychology, 121(4), 675 - 682. https://doi.org/10.2307/20445493 Baglivio, M. T., Wolff, K. T., Piquero, A. R., & Epps, N. (2015). The relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and juvenile offending trajectories in a juvenile offender sample. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), 229-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2015.04.012 Barretto, C., Miers, S., & Lambie, I. (2016). The views of the public on youth offenders and the New Zealand criminal justice system. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(1), 129-149. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x16644500 Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2000). Alcohol abuse and crime: A fixed-effects regression analysis. Addiction, 95(10), 1525-1536. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2000.951015257.x Heimer, K. (1997). Socioeconomic status, subcultural definitions, and violent delinquency. Social Forces, 75(3), 799 - 833. https://doi.org/10.2307/2580520 Maxwell, G., & Morris, A. (2006). Youth justice in New Zealand: Restorative justice in practice? Journal of Social Issues, 62(2), 239-258. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00449.x McArdle, S., Lambie, I., & Miers, S. (2018). Investigating the relationship between perceived community safety and the public's attitudes towards the treatment of 11 youth offenders in New Zealand. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 12, 1 10. https://doi.org/10.1017/prp.2018.19 Ministry of Justice. (2020a). Trends in children and young people in court. https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/tz0lfw-childrenyoung-people-infographic-dec20-v1.0.pdf Ministry of Justice. (2020b). Youth Justice Indicators Summary Report December 2020. https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/YouthJustice-Indicators-Summary-Report-December-2020-FINAL.pdf Panelli, R., Nairn, K., Atwool, N., & McCormack, J. (2002). "Hanging out". Print media constructions of young people in "public space". Youth Studies Australia, 21(4), 38-48. https://search.informit.org/doi/epdf/10.3316/aeipt.124491 Shuja, M. (2008). Youth Crime: Causes and Remedies. Munich Personal RePEc Archive., 2 – 4. https://ncys.ksu.edu.sa/sites/ncys.ksu.edu.sa/files/crime%2023_5.pdf Svensson, J., & Landberg, J. (2013). Is youth violence temporally related to alcohol? A time-series analysis of binge drinking, youth violence and total alcohol consumption in Sweden. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 48(5), 598-604. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agt035 World Health Organization (WHO). (2006). Youth violence and alcohol. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/factsh eets/fs_youth.pdf 12
