Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance

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Table of Contents

Violent Juveniles
Employers Go Online
Energy Drinks and Minors
Breathalyzer Testing
Works Cited

Violent Juveniles

Incidents of juvenile crimes in the country have risen significantly over the past few decades. These crimes have escalated to include murder as in the case under discussion. This has led members of the society to call for juvenile offenders who perpetrate heinous crimes such as murder to be tried as adults. This would be a wrong move since juveniles should be tried as children regardless of the gravity of the crime they have committed.

The juvenile justice system is aimed at dealing with young offenders who are less rational and more vulnerable to influences from the environment. Rhodes insists that it is unfair to try children under the same rulings as adults, given their immature nature (176). The lower level of maturity predisposes children to engage in irrational behavior since they lack the mature and higher thought processes possessed by adults.

It is likely that the teenagers in this case did not properly appreciate the consequences of their action. Trying them as adults would be an injustice since the perceptive ability of the young offender should be considered when dealing with them.

The juvenile justice system was built for the primary purpose of rehabilitating young offenders rather than inflicting harsh punishments on them (Rhodes 180). The Juvenile courts therefore have the best interest of the child when they are meting out justice. Putting the teenagers through the adult court system will deny them a chance to benefit from the helping philosophy of the juvenile system.

In spite of the seriousness of their crimes, the young offenders deserve to be accorded leniency, which is an integral part of juvenile justice. In addition to this, trying the children as adults will set precedence and it can be expected that more children will be transferred to adult courts in future.

Employers Go Online

Employees are increasingly using the internet to screen prospective hires in an attempt at finding the best candidate to fill in the position available position.

This online screening has been aided by the vast amount of information that people post about themselves on personal websites and social networking sites. In my opinion, it is right for companies to use information obtained from the job applicant’s personal websites during the hiring process.

Today’s job market is very competitive and there are normally many people competing for the same job. These potential hires might have equal qualifications and the employee might have to look for desirable personality traits such as agreeableness and emotional maturity in order to single out the best candidate.

Such traits can be obtained from personal websites where individuals speak their minds and relate to others in an open manner (Albrechtslund 3). An employer can identify employees who are likely to be reliable on the job by reviewing what other people say about the person in his/her personal website.

It is in the best interest of the employer to identify if the potential hire has any questionable relations or interests in life. It is unlikely that a person would reveal such details to the prospective employer during an interview. The personal website will be a good source of such information since people give details concerning their lives in these websites.

Albrechtslund reveals that young people are particularly likely to share their uncensored thoughts and such information will help the employer to judge the real character of the person (3). The employer will be able to use this information to decide on whether he/she would like to hire the person.

Energy Drinks and Minors

Good nutrition is a big contributor to an individual’s well being and it results in increased quality of life for the person. This is true for children and adolescents, and the foods and drink they consume have major implications for their future health and well-being. There has been prevalence in the consumption of energy drinks by children and teenagers.

These drinks have adverse health effects on the minors especially when they are consumed in large quantities. The move to ban the sale of these drinks to people under the age of eighteen is a pragmatic one and it should be embraced by all states and school boards.

Energy drink consumption contributes to the unhealthy eating habits of minors. These drinks have a dilutional effect on children’s essential micronutrient intakes. Frary documents that the number of fruit and vegetable intakes by children decreased as intakes of energy drinks increased (61).

The poor dietary habits encouraged by energy drinks also predispose minors to suffering from childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and even heart attacks. As it is, the drinks are widely accessible in schools through vending machines or the canteen. Allowing minors to keep consuming these drinks is going to have long-term nutrition and health consequences on minors

Energy drinks have many negative health effects on minors (Frary 62). These drinks should therefore be controlled and children and teenagers should not have limitless access to them since this age group lacks maturity.

The best way for this to be achieved is by banning the sale of these drinks. Such a move would ensure the future health outcomes of the children and mitigate the negative mental effects that energy drinks currently cause.

Breathalyzer Testing

Underage drinking is increasing among American minors. This drinking is especially prevalent during school events where the teenagers want to appear cool to their friends. Some schools have therefore started giving Breathalyzer tests to students before they are allowed entry into school events such as dances. In my opinion, this is not a fair way to screen students since it presumes that they are guilty until proven innocent.

Teenagers are at an important stage in their lives when they are trying to define themselves. They yearn to be respected and treated as responsible individuals by the adults around them. Indiscriminate Breathalyzer tests on the students would send the message that the authority figures do not trust them to do what is right.

Such a signal would result in deviant behavior as the students seek to fight back against a system they perceive to be oppressive. The goal of sending a clear message of zero tolerance for underage drinking would therefore fail since indiscriminate Breathalyzer tests could incite more students to engage in drinking.

Wheller suggests that even if Breathalyzer tests are legally permissible, it would be unconstitutional to conduct blanket testing on every individual (2).

Instead, the tests should be done based on suspicion of intoxication such as the smell of alcohol on a student’s breath, slurred speech, or staggered walking. Such a form of testing would ensure that the privacy rights of the students are respected while the students are deterred from alcohol consumption during events.

An attempt at mitigating alcohol consumption among minors by school officials is a noble goal. However, these efforts must be made in such a way that they do not infringe on the rights of students or alienate the students and make them more rebellious.

Works Cited

Albrechtslund, Anders. “Online Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance.” First Monday. 13.3 (2008): 1-7. Web.

Frary, Carol et al. “Children and Adolescents’ Choices of Foods and Beverages High in Added Sugars Are Associated With Intakes of Key Nutrients and Food Groups.” Journal of Adolescent Health. 34.2 (2004): 56-63. Print.

Rhodes, Kristin. “The Criminal Prosecution of Juveniles: A Philosophical Reappraisal of Adolescent Agency.” Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal. 3.2 (2008). 171-194. Print.

Wheller, Thomas. “Breathalyzers at the Prom Can schools conduct Breathalyzer tests of students at after-school events?” Inside School Law. 2.3 (2001). 1-4. Web.

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