Negative behavior- Meaning, forms and Effects of Negative Behavior on the Society

Meaning, forms and Effects of Negative Behavior on the Society

Negative behaviours have very bad effects on the society. Here are some of the things which will happen in a society that tolerates negative behavior.

The society will become corrupt.
The people will generally be unruly. They will not obey rules and regulations and they will disrespect the elders.
The people will have bad and oppressive leaders.
Miscreant will freely torment the decent and law-abiding people.
The society will generally be chaotic and a civil war may be created.
The society or community will have a bad image. People from other societies will not want to have any dealing with it. Investors will avoid the place and this will affect the society politically and commercially.
The society will not develop and will eventually become backward.
The people will be afraid, anxious, confused and on unhappy.
The people’s values will be misplaced. For example, a man prefers to hold a lavish party, inserted of providing food and shelter for his family.
Productivity will be much lower than it should be.
The rate of crime will be high.
The rate of accident will be high, as the drivers and even predestine will generally be indiscipline and unruly. They may disobey traffic rules and some of them may be drunk or be under the influence of hard drugs.

A society that tolerates negative behaviors will eventually suffer. It will be confused, chaotic and unbearable. It will eventual disintegrate and the people will be worthless.

Some other forms of negative behavior

Stealing: Some people steal the school’s property. Some employees steal their employer’s property, while some officials embezzle their organization’s money.

Sexual offenses: These include rape, and other kinds of immoral behavior at school, in the offices and in neighborhoods. Sexual offenses, many times result in worst forms of immorality, hatred, confusion, disease and unwanted pregnancy.

Disobedience: Some students disobey school rules, their teachers and their parents. Some adults too disobey the rules of the country and of the society at large; they do illegal things and this eventually gets them into trouble.

Truancy: This is simply staying away from school without permission. Truants will end up cheating during examinations. This will fetch them disgrace eventually.

Assault: Students who beat up weaker students are assaulting them and should be punished severely for doing so.

Insult: Insolent people say and do things that are rude to others. Some people insult their peers, their teachers and parents. This is very bad and no society accepts it.

Wickedness: this has many forms. For example, it can take the form of oppressing other students, destroying the school’s property and even the property of other students. Those who are wicked today will not amount to much in future because the society will notice their wickedness and eventually punish them for it.

Suicide: this is when a person kills himself. Some people attempt to commit suicide because their plans have not worked out. This is negative and in fact strange. Every society considers it negative. It could actually result from a mental condition. When someone commits suicide or attempt to do so, those around that person become terribly frightened and discouraged.

Disregard for time (African time): Some people cannot keep to time, simply because they think it is the way Africans should behave. If a meeting is scheduled to start at a certain time, those in charge should start the meeting at that time and end it on schedule too. Disregard for time is indiscipline. Those who refer to this behavior as “African time” mean that Africans have no respect for time. This is an insult to the continent. We must be time conscious and be punctual at all our engagements. For example, when we have to deliver any kind of speech, we must start on time and stop on time. Not only will the audience respect us for it, but it will prove that we respect the audience.

The love of money and ostentatious living: Money is anything that is generally acceptable as a medium of exchange for making payments, settlement of dept or other business obligations. Money as a means of exchange has power. It is wonderful. It can save but can also kill. Money can be good servant, but is often a bad master.

Without money here in some parts of Nigeria, one’s words have no weight. Friends and brothers would desert you if you have no money. But once you have money, your friends and relations will multiply. Women and men will adore you. Because money can perform so many wonders and provide so much comfort, people now worship money. The lust for money has become the bane of our society.

People want more money by all means. Hence, the increase in crime in the society. Friends now betray, or even kill friends because of money. Wives betray their husbands and vice versa for money. Some even sell their children for money.

Some husbands also kill their wives for money. Money has turn our society upside down. Some of our holy places of worship have become commercial or business houses, where money and not God is openly worshiped. In some communities, drug traffickers, armed robbers and those who embezzle government funds are rewarded with chieftaincy titles, or made to sit in front rows in places of worship.

Let us stop the worship of money. Let us begin to question and condemn all the dubious means of making money in our society. Money cannot buy happiness or peace of mind. Nigerians should develop values like a good name, the fear of God, honesty and probity, friendship, generosity, kindness, peace and love. These are the values we need to build a new Nigeria.

There are very many other forms of unacceptable behavior which we cannot mention in this book. However, it is important to note that excessive drinking; the use of tobacco, hard drugs and medicine without prescription is also forms of indiscipline and are in fact destructive.

Promoting Positive Behavioral Changes

Every community has means of promoting positive behavior among its members.

The people should be educated on the consequences of negative behavior.
Those who violet laws should be brought to justice.
Those who behave well should be rewarded accordingly.
People in authority should lead by example.
Education materials should be made available in schools by the government and well-meaning members of the society to reduce the burden on parents. This will reduce the rate at which students drop out of school. If children complete their education, they will learn how to behave well and how to make their society civilized.
Moral instruction should be made compulsory and effective taught in schools in order to inculcate good behavior in children.
Adults (and even children) should be encouraged to value marriage and family relationship. Sometimes people grow up to develop anti-social behavior because they themselves are products of broken homes.
Rural-urban migration should be discouraged by making the rural areas of the nation more attractive and comfortable through the provision of good roads, electricity and pipe-borne water. This way the opportunity in such communities will increase. People there will remain there, work there and live responsible lives, instead of moving to the urban areas where they may get confused.
Nigerians should uphold their cultural values.
Development should be centered on the basic needs of the people. Prestigious projects, which will eventually failed should be avoided.
Government, schools, religious and other organizations should enlighten the public on the dangers of alcoholism and drugs addiction. This will reduce the rate and degree of crime, indiscipline and even insanity.