I have been working with teens for over four decades and one thing is universal: They all want to be known and become famous.
After Maddie Clifton was murdered by a local, young teenage boy, I surveyed the males locked up in the Duval Regional Detention Center. Over 90 percent said he killed her so he could become famous and have his picture shown in the media. I recently surveyed some teenagers about the killings at the Landing and they gave me the same answers.
SOLUTION: Have all media STOP putting up pictures and names of killers, so they are not memorialized and they don’t become famous. ONLY the victims should be the ones with their pictures shown and their lives memorialized. The teenage brain learns by what it sees and hears.
Many teens don’t really care if their fame comes from negative behaviors or positive ones. They just want to be recognized and have others see them. Adults, especially ones working in the media, need to correct this problem immediately or more shootings will happen soon.
