Definition Social Problems
Social problems are societal induced conditions that harms any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society.
To sociologists , suicide is a social problem because it is a social condition that is perceived to be harmfull to more than just a few people. This definition suggest that a social problem is both an objective reality and a subjective perception. As an objective reality, a social problem is absolutely or intrinsically real in that it possesses a harmfull that can be verified by the experience of some people.
Eitzen et al. (2009:8) argue that some social conditions are detrimental in any situation. In this sense, they have an objective character. There are conditions in society such as poverty, racism, sexism that cause material or psychological suffering for parts of the population. They prevent members of society from developing and using their full potential. This sort of suffering exists regardless of personal or cultural opinion. Those conditions are, therefore, social problems in any social setting.
A social problem is a condition that at least some people in a community view as being undesirable. Everyone would agree about some social problems, such as murders and DWI traffic deaths. Other social problems may be viewed as such by certain groups of people. Teenagers who play loud music in a public park obviously do not view it as a problem, but some other people may consider it an undesirable social condition. Some nonsmokers view smoking as an undesirable social condition that should be banned or restricted in public buildings.
Every newspaper is filled with stories about undesirable social conditions. Examples include crime, violence, drug abuse, and environmental problems. Such social problems can be found at the local, state, national and international levels especially among university student. We will be