Many people believe that today there is a general increase in anti social behavior and lack of respect for others. What might have caused this situation? How to improve it?

It is unfortunate that in the midst of vast progress in every field of life there is

also

a growth in anti-social behaviour and

people

have become less respectful of each other.

This

essay intends to analyze some causes of

this

phenomenon and suggests some ways to ameliorate the situation.

Firstly

,today, we live in an era of technology in which the whole Earth has shrunk and become a global village. Everybody is connected to everybody through telephone lines and the Internet, but the warmth of relationships has taken a back seat. Most

people

have more than enough wealth, comfort and freedom, but their hearts desire even more. To satisfy their hearts' greed,

people

have become workaholics, and

as a result

,have no time for family and friends.

People

have become selfish, isolated and indifferent. Each person is busy in his own quest for more. To add to it, the youngsters who are at ease with the new technology think that the elders are good for nothing and

that is

why they don't respect them. The changing family structure is another big cause of

this

phenomenon. Earlier,

people

lived in joint families and the grandparents were there to supervise the children. Now there are nuclear families in which both parents go out to work, and children are left unattended in the hands of pervasive media like the TV and the Internet. No one monitors what they watch and they see the programs full of violence and crime, which makes them anti-social. The pressure of consumerist society and peers

also

breeds anti-social behaviour. To add to it, the values of traditional culture are being lost and

people

are following the global culture, which is

also

considered anti-social by the orthodox elders. There are many solutions to

this

problem.

To begin

with,

people

have to learn to strike a balance between work and family life. Government should

also

fix the maximum hours a worker can work per week so that exploitation is not there in the job market.

People

should revert back to the old joint family system.

This

would be to the benefit of all. The children would learn moral values and the elderly would be well looked after. The negative effects of excessive consumerism should be taught to the

people

. Media can play a big role in highlighting the good points of traditional and western culture so that

people

can adopt good social values. Neighbourhood associations should be set up to connect

people

to each other. Summing up, anti-social behaviour and mutual lack of respect in today's times can be dealt with by taking simple measures, and individuals and governments should collectively take these steps.