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General Society

Negative effects of cursing

Most of us curse out aloud when we are frustrated or facing a hard situation but did you know that cursing comes with its own bag of harmful effects. For example, a few studies have shown poor development in children who come from less than ideal homes and had been exposed to cursing and abuse on a daily basis. This is why it is important we take a closer look at cursing and see how we can avoid the same.

Negative effects of cursing

  • Loss of companionship: If you are the sort to curse out loud and often at that, you will soon find that people have started avoiding you. Not because you have been cursing a storm but rather they do not want to be the focus of your anger or end up being a doormat for you to take out your frustration on. As a result, you may find that your friends often have excuses as to why they cannot meet you despite the fact you know that they are free.
  • Dysfunctional family environment: Excessive cursing can cause several people to go to any lengths to avoid you but when it comes to your own family, you’ll find that they view you more of an embarrassment than anything else. As hard as this may be to hear, excessive cursing on your part can drive apart those close to you and in the process, help create a dysfunctional family atmosphere which is especially not good for young kids.
  • Self-esteem: You’ll find that cursing too often can have an impact on you as well. As a result of frequent cursing, your self-esteem takes a hit. You are bound to feel that the only way you can communicate with others is through cursing and this can even become addictive to the point that you cannot utter a single sentence without a curse being rolled in.
  • Abuse: The line between cursing and abuse is not much; it is just a thin line and often when you are cursing black and blue, you may be exposing your children to the negative effects of cursing. Children are bound to act out what they had picked up from you and as a result, may start acting out in school with their classmates. It is only a matter of time before the issue reaches the ears of the principal and soon, you would be asked to attend a PTA meeting as well.

These are some of the associated negative effects of cursing; so the next time you feel like cursing out loud, you may want to substitute the swear word with an innocent one; try it out a few times and soon you should get used to the same. Keep in mind that it is your responsibility to protect your children and that includes not using swear words in front of little children.

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General Society

Negative effects of prohibition

Prohibition was and still is employed by several governments as a way to curb alcoholism and to impose some sort of order. With alcoholism showing an exponential increase in the last few decades, it is fast turning into a crisis. With organizations such as SAMHSA reporting a sharp increase in underage alcoholics, governments are considering imposing stronger restrictions including asking customers to validate their age with additional proof. But despite the fact that prohibition was a dud in the past, several governments world over had imposed prohibition over certain zones in an order to curb underage drinking. But as in the past, the move proved to be more detrimental which is why we need to take a closer look at some of the negative effects of prohibition.

Negative effects of prohibition

  • Squeak easy: One of the effects of prohibition in the past as well as now was the rapid growth of illegal joints propping all over the place. And since these establishments are illegal, there is little to no restriction and various studies had indicated that it is more detrimental to allow such illegal establishments to function as it will affect the society at large. One of the reasons why prohibition was finally removed in the US had more to do with bootlegging and illicit liquor than anything else.
  • Illicit liquor: While the law enforcement agencies can prevent companies from transporting alcohol to zones where prohibition was in force, this, unfortunately, led to bootlegging and to alcoholics opting for moonshine to get their high. The problem is that illicit liquor like moonshine and others are manufactured under less than ideal conditions, with the end result being that several of those who consumed the same got extremely sick with cases of blindness and even fatalities being reported in.
  • Alcoholism: With their main supply being capped, most alcoholics would do just about anything to get their next high. If this includes drinking illicit liquor, then chances are high that they would do the same. As a result, any prohibition drive often led to several standalone establishments manufacturing illicit liquor with the expected consequences – form chronic liver disease, blindness to sudden fatalities.
  • Crime: It was found that prohibition often led to a spurt in crime as most criminals started smuggling liquor into prohibition zones. The differences between Chicago where prohibition was in force during the 1920’S and today, where prohibition is in force at several countries’, the differences are not that much. In fact, you would be hard pressed to make out the differences; the same business model is being used as liquor is smuggled in and with the expected fatalities.

These are some of the negative effects of prohibition so the next time your government wants to either impose a city or state ban on alcohol, you may want to get them to reconsider the same given these negative effects. This is why it is essential for you to review these negative effects carefully; one of the most effective ways of preventing alcoholism is by ensuring that the youth are well informed about the dangers of the same.

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General Society

Negative effects of horror movies

When it comes to movie genres, there’s none that’s seen more controversy than this particular niche. While the reported negative effects of watching any movie depend more on the individual and their susceptibility to the same, the fact remains that watching horror movies does come with its own negative effects. A few studies have even conclusively established the link between rising incidences heart attacks and horror movies; this is why it is time we took a closer look at some of the negative effects of horror movies.

Negative effects of horror movies

  • Adrenaline: Watching a horror movie can cause you to experience several psychological cues and since the effects of the movie can vary depending on the individual, this can cause you to either be terrified or remain unaffected. One of the reasons why cult horror classics like ‘The Exorcist’ caused massive outrage and reaction was because the audience found the movie thoroughly terrifying. While being terrified, your body jump-starts its natural defense mechanism and as a result, causes an overproduction of adrenaline. Adrenaline has been known to trigger heart attacks and true to the norm, there have been several cases of cardiac issues being reported in, from audiences watching horror movies.
  • Sleeplessness: Watching a terrifying movie is bound to cause you to experience bouts of sleeplessness. You may find it hard to even close your eyes for a few minutes; and as mentioned earlier, the effects of the movie depends on the individual. If you happen to be one of those who often find it difficult to watch horror movies on the television, then chances are good that you are bound to find watching the same on the big screen quite terrifying and as result, would be unable to attain any good night sleep for a while.
  • Panic attacks, anxiety: Watching a horror movie after you had experienced a traumatic event can cause you to relive the same event and in the process, cause you to experience more stress, and even cause panic attacks. As a result, watching the movie is bound to leave you on the edge with your anxiety levels being ramped up.
  • Desensitization: Watching too many horror movies can leave you desensitized to the extent that it can impact your empathy. As a result, you may find it harder to empathize with others; it should be pointed out that this is not a rational or even a conscious act but rather an unconscious one on the part of your brain. Again, it depends more on the individual and the makeup of their personality

These are some of the associated negative effects that come with watching horror movies. And if you are planning to watch a few, then you need to make sure that you are not risking your health by doing so.  A recent study even highlighted the fact that horror movies have inspired several criminals to carry out their various criminal activities. But since the study is yet to offer any conclusive proof on the same, you can discount it for the moment.

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Society

Negative effects of racism

The fact remains that we are not all that different from one another except for our genetic makeup and the morphological differences which are more a result of the local geographical factors than anything else. But sadly, this does not seem to have percolated to the rest of the public who seem to be under the impression that the human race contains several subspecies, based purely on the skin tone. As a result, several individuals actively propagate the theory of superior race based mostly on the premise that their skin color is white.  This is why there is a sudden uptick in racial attacks and if this was not enough, governments have started profiling their own citizens based on the same. This is why it is important that we take a closer look at some of the associated negative effects of racism.

Negative effects of racism

  • Low self-esteem: Often being subjected to racial attacks, from taunts to downright violence can leave one with a low self-esteem. There is enough historical evidence to back the claim that being exposed to prolonged bouts of racial attacks can leave one lacking the requisite confidence to stand up for themselves, to become subservient to others, and to be made to feel that they are less worthy because their skin is in the wrong shade. In fact, racial attacks were often cited to be one of the leading factors behind the sudden increase in young teen suicides.
  • Fear of law enforcement: Since most of the racial attacks were often propagated by those in authority, a fear of being subjected to more racial attacks especially by cops makes victims extremely reluctant to approach the authorities. As a result, several crimes, including racial attacks often go unreported for the very same reason. Apart from this is the fact that law enforcement authorities are becoming increasingly intolerant towards other races seems to have resulted in victims wanting to avoid reporting crimes to avoid any untoward attention by these authorities.
  • Fear: Victims of racial abuse, racial attacks often live in an atmosphere of fear; knowing that there would be little recourse left to them should they choose to report those indulging in racial attacks. Moreover, one constant refrain that most of these victims share is the fact that they fear they would be subjected to more reprisal attacks should they chose to report a crime is why so many cases go unreported. This fear of abuse and reprisal attacks is similar to what several communities world over had to face at one point or another, as a result of racial abuse from others, case in point would be the Jewish community living in Germany before the start of World War 2.

These are some of the negative effects of racism; bottom line, all of us are quite the same and that these morphological differences are just skin deep (no pun intended). In fact, if a person with dark skin tone was to migrate to the colder north, it would be hard to tell his dependents apart from others since the skin tone would have become extremely light in a matter of a few generations. Racism is endemic and one that needs to be eliminated from all sections of our society at the earliest.

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Society

Negative effects of 50-50 custody

When it comes to shared custody, it is the young children who are most impacted by it as they are caught in the crossfire between their parents. Divorce is hard, both emotionally and financially on both the husband and the wife. Once both the parties agree to separate, they can contest for sole custody but unless one party or the other can present concrete evidence of an unsafe environment, most courts would usually award the custody of children to both the parents; in other words, unless concrete evidence can be presented most courts opt for shared custody. But several studies by child specialists have shown that this form of shared custody is not normal and as a result, the young child may even suffer from identity disorder as a result. Here’s to taking a closer look at some of the negative effects of shared custody.

Negative effects of 50-50 custody

Loss of home: With shared custody children often have to shuffle between their mom’s home and their dad’s home. As a result, they feel the loss of their home, since all this constant shuffling between two homes leaves them disconnected and a loss of permanence.  Thanks to the shared custody, it is the kids who have to deal with the mess; all the constant moving between two homes leaves them feeling like the odd one out and makes them feel like a stranger out of place. This feeling is further enhanced with any changes to the current set up with either of their parents or both, remarrying again. As a result, most kids who have been tagged to suffer shared custody often grow up with this feeling of never belonging anywhere.

Lack of consistency: The period between 5 years of age until the kid attains maturity is often considered to be the most important one in a child’s development. It is around this time that the young child picks up his values, knows his preferences, including his likes and dislikes.  Sentencing such kids who are poised at an important stage of their development, to shared custody, only put them through additional stress. Moreover, kids need a certain amount of consistency and rules to build their lives around and with this shared custody and different rules around each place with new regulations, the child in question may find all of this overwhelming.

Extra expenditure: Often parents who share custody tend to spend more money on their kids than they had before. While it could be argued that the parents who do this, do so out of a sense of feeling guilty, but the fact remains that nearly 50% of the kids who had to put up with shared custody rarely go to college. This is mainly on account of the fact that they often overspend on their kids and no longer have the requisite funds to send them to a good college.

Depression: Some of the kids who experience shared custody often become depressed as a result. Unless corrective measures including counseling are taken, the depression may turn out to be a chronic health condition.

These are some of the negative effects of shared custody which is why we need to do all we can to better protect our children.

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Education General Society

Negatives of extracurricular activities

Extra-curricular activities can help provide the student with a well-rounded education; often it can help the student to develop new activities, a new skill set and even help set his career on a new trajectory altogether. But often these activities come with their own baggage which is why you may want to take a closer look at some of the negative aspects of the same before you enroll your child in more extra-curricular activities.

Negatives of extracurricular activities

Stress: While most extra-curricular activities can be fun and help the student to better bond with their peers – the fact remains that most students are often over stressed as a result of their classes. And more to the point, most of these students are often loaded with lots of homework which leaves them with a little free time. And if you were to enroll your children in several extra-curricular activities, then this can have unintended consequences, such as over stressing your child.

Time management: Chances are that your kid already finds it hard to juggle his busy schedule and getting him into several activities outside of school can further cause him to miss classes, and even be late when submitting his homework. Time management is essential especially during school as the student often needs to set aside several hours to finish his projects, his homework and to revise his lessons. Extra-curricular activities can eat into this and impact his time management, and as a result, his school performance will take a hit.

Health: While extra-curricular activities can help your kid pick up new interests, ones that will stay with him for the rest of his life – it should also be pointed out that such activities can also lead to developing injuries on the field. There have been several instances of children getting hurt while taking part in extra-curricular activities and while the activities on their own do not pose any inherent danger; they can nevertheless put your kid at risk of getting hurt in accidents.

Studies: It is advisable not to enroll your kid in extracurricular activities during his final year of schooling as he needs to completely focus on his studies. Taking part in one too many extra-curricular activities will cause your kid to lose focus and concentration on his studies. Moreover, there is the danger of becoming too involved in a physical activity, which can further impact your child’s focus and concentration on his studies. The final year of schooling is the most important one in any kid’s life; it is this year that can help decide your kid’s career. His school grades assume significance since most colleges use this as well as the results of standardized tests to review the college application. In fact, he would have to maintain a GPA of 3.5 and above in order to get admission into a good college or university.  And concentrating on extra-curricular activities can impact your kids’ performance both in his school as well as when taking the standardized tests.

This is why it is important to understand the dangers that extra-curricular activities can pose so that you can take an informed decision on the same.

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General Society

Negative effects of cyberbullying

Cyber bullying is for real and one that most teens face online these days; cyber bullying is a form of harassment where one minor initiates an attack on another minor online for a variety of reasons stemming from their need to feel good about themselves. As inane as it sounds, one of the most touted reasons for most cyber bullies to continue doing what they do is just so that they can feel powerful and good about themselves. As for the victim, they are often made to feel guilty like it’s their fault, that they are the ones to blame for what’s happening to them. Cyber bullying can be vicious; never ending and can have tragic results. So let’s take a closer look at some of the negative effects of cyber bullying, shall we?

Negative effects of cyberbullying

  • Violence: Cyber bullying on its own includes anything from name calling to threatening bodily harm, but there have been cases where one minor started cyber bullying another which soon descended into actual violence. In fact, most bullies often prefer to avoid violence altogether but some do indulge in it but that’s mainly on account of peer pressure. The number of cyber bullying cases where acts of violence have been committed either by one person or more has grown incrementally in the last few years. This does set a disturbing trend and if cyber bullying is allowed to grow unchecked, such acts may take place more frequently.
  • Loss of self-esteem: Often the victim experiences a sharp dip in his self-confidence as a result of cyber bullying and along with it, self-esteem as well. As a result, he will become more withdrawn, less prone to socialize and may even become a recluse. He would be less likely to confide the cyber bullying to anyone and often the perpetrator knows this and uses it to label the victim a coward. This further starts another cycle of vicious cyber bullying which can often end in tragic circumstances.
  • Suicide: One of the reasons for the increase in teen suicides over the last few years has been the uptick in the number of cyber bullying acts being reported in from all across the country. All the victims are minors and they are at a vulnerable stage of development that makes them more susceptible to other influences like peer pressure, peer validation. And when you add cyber bullying to the mix, it becomes a toxic cocktail with expected results. Often the victim is tormented and egged to feel guilty about their actions. In fact, most of them are pushed to think of themselves as being worthless and a burden on society and are often pushed to commit suicide. Inevitably, a few teens do take the inevitable step with tragic consequences.

These are some of the negative side effects of cyber bullying which is why this needs to be checked and eliminated right away. And guidance counselors should be available to help young minors deal with the issue of cyber bullying and to provide them with the required guidance.