Past Issues
Are the social issues 10 years ago still standing today? Of course they are. Two of the major social issues from ten years ago are racism and terrorism. Obviously these social issues are still around today. Racism While there are many races and ethnicities that can experience racism, blacks have been the prevalent subject. Racism has been a problem ever since the 16th century during the age of exploration. Africans were sold into slavery which began the thought of them being inferior. This ideal has continued to date. A poll in July, 2016 found that about 52% of people think that racism towards blacks is a serious issue (Burke). Some of the issues blacks face are racism from the police, unfair prison sentences, and injustice in court (Ilo). Terrorism Although it existed previously, terrorism was not a huge issue until fifteen years ago with the 9/11 incident. Since then, terrorism has been constantly growing from over 3,000 deaths in 2000 to almost 18,000 deaths in 2013 (MacAskill). So far in 2016, there have been more than 1,200 terrorist attacks around the world. These attacks have killed almost 12,000 and injured over 14,000 (The Religion). With so many deaths and injuries, it's easy to see why terrorism is a huge issue. What are social issues that have been going on since the beginning of time? Have these issues been solved? If you look back to ancient civilizations such as ancient Rome and Greece, you see some of the same social issues and classes we have today. There was a very small upper class of wealthy people, a large middle class of commoners, and a small lower class of slaves and freedpeople (Ancient Greek). Another issue in ancient times was gender equality. In ancient Rome, women were treated very poorly and had virtually no rights (Women). While today that has changed quite a bit, some may still argue that there are gender inequalities. The issue of social classes has not changed one bit, even to date. We still have a very small, wealthy upper class of rich people, a large middle class of average working people, and a small lower class of people in extreme poverty (Boundless). |
Future Issues
What social issues may rise in the future? One of the most thought of issues for the future is climate/environmental change. NASA has reported that 9 out of 10 warmest years recorded have occurred since 2000. They also reported that in 2012, Arctic summer sea ice shrank to the lowest extent on record. Although this issue may not be a large problem in our lifetime, it could be a problem for any future business and cities on the coasts. If global ice melts, sea levels will rise and may put cities underwater. How do media and technology affect society? With new technology coming forth in the last decade, media is at its peak point. 84% of American adults have access to the internet today (Perrin). This allows media to work its way into people’s lives. Media has a largely negative impact on society and the easily manipulated youth. Media has affected the emotional, psychological, and physical aspects of kids and people. Media can give people negative role models to look up to also (Negative Influences). In an interview with Stark State College instructor Nancy Peteya, she was quoted saying, "unfortunately, some people believe everything that is says and don't always realize what they are seeing or reading is only about 1/50th of the truth and only what they want you to know". News channels and papers can most definitely manipulate your outlook of events and issues based on what is reported/broadcast and what is not (Global Research). |