Why do teens join gangs?

Drake Monzon
Jan 8,2010
Period 3


7% of all teens in the world say that they belong to a gang, thousands of others don't admit to it. Gangs today are becoming a huge threat to society because of the vast number of teens getting involved with this growing problem. Fifty people die everyday because of gang related happenings. While some argue being in a gang is just a choice, the most important factor to the relation of gangs is influence from friends and others.
All kinds of people have different thoughts and opinions on this subject. Some say teens join gangs because of family or just out of plain curiosity and sometimes even fear. A vast amount of teens in the U.S. have struggles in life and in their family and a vast amount of teens can't handle or control what happens at home. This is usually the case for teens joining gangs around the globe. People also think teens are sometimes pushed into gangs from family.
On the other hand, teens most often join gangs because of friends and family that they are close to. If one of your friends had a negative influence on your life such as being in a gang, what would you do? A teen wouldn't think much of it at first, but after a while that person would probably want to know a little bit about what goes on in that gang. Teens usually want to be part of something that they think is great, like a gang for instance. When a gang of teens is doing something they shouldn't, they feel as if nothing bad could ever go wrong just because their friends are there with them. Usually, they don't understand the consequences or dangers that gangs deal with, some can be other gangs, drug dealers, or just other gang members. Teens sometimes get called into gangs from friends that they have grown up with throughout their lives and maybe even family members. Gangs can hit home hard when it comes to gang related activity, one of the worst case scenarios would be a drive by at a cousin's house house or something. For example someone I know was in a situation where he had been shot in the leg because of a gang fight. And quite obviously, he had to be taken to the hospital and was arrested for prior gang activity. This had a huge impact on my life because I was very close to this person, and he has been locked up for a long time now. For instance,if he didn't get caught, I'm pretty sure I would be a whole different person right now from his influence.
Teens get influenced by so many things these days and gangs just happen to be one of them. Teen gangs are a growing problem in the U.S. and all around the world this is growing as a potential threat.