Censoring Book Contents, Essay Example

Book contents should not be censored for teenage readers. It is because the books possess different amazing ideas which important for the growing teenagers. Parents should allow their children to read as much as they can such that they can be exposed to different circumstances of which they will understand as they grow. Young kids should be open-minded to all types of books for them to differentiate the right and the wrong with the help of their parents, teachers and any other adult person. It is not right to silence some contents in the books. Teenagers should be told what is wrong in the books and not censoring the contents. After understanding the wrong contents, teenagers will read and understand better in various types of books. The solution is not to censure or banned the contents of some books, but to talk to the teenagers. It is because they can access the censored contents from other sources. If the books used in schools are censored, the teenagers can buy the books from the bookshops. Bookshops will continue selling the books without considering age of the customer buying the book. As a result, teenagers will have accessed the censored contents (Nye & Kathy 153).

Teenagers can borrow the books from their older colleagues or even from the parents. After the child knowing that some contents were banned or censored in books used in schools, he/she will be struggling to access the contents. They will use all the means possible to access the books from any source.  Teenagers should be free to read widely from different books but advised on the contents, which might mislead them. Another source that the teenagers can access the censored contents is the internet. Most of the publishers or writers of the books post their material online on YouTube and various websites as a mode of marketing them to their customers. The teenagers will access the contents easily because there is no rule to restrict the publishers and writers on what they should not post online. In addition, computer lessons have been introduced in the school curriculum even at the lower primary level. In these lessons, teenagers are taught many things about computers and internet. They will access the materials easily because they understand how to use the internet and other online materials. Teenagers can share the materials through emails and social media web pages where there is no restriction on what can be send. It is better to give the teenagers freedom to read and teach them the difference between the negative and positive contents. Censoring or banning the contents without teaching the teenagers about them will not help because they will access them from other sources, and they will be seriously destroyed because they were not taught about them.

Censoring the contents of the books is not only selfish for those who are doing it but also it will affect the overall education of the teenagers (Knox 745). Homosexuality and other controversial activities are what are happening in our everyday life. It is ridiculous for someone to censure such subjects or contents from the teenagers in the society. Since the teenagers are living in the society, and they will face such controversial issues, they should be allowed to read widely and understand them. It will make them understand their effects and learn to avoid them. If few people are not comfortable about the contents, it is a lack of respect and prejudice to censure them from the entire population. Censoring or banning the contents of the books in libraries because of the teenagers is not right to the entire public. The rule is that when an individual wants to read he/she buys the book, but not all people have money to buy the books. The unfortunate ones will visit libraries where they conduct their research and search notes in various fields. Censoring the contents will affect the entire public because many people are reading and studying more than the teenagers study. Some professionals are specializing in these fields like homosexuality, racial issues, and religion, and they should not be prevented from getting the materials only because of the teenagers.

Censoring the contents like those of the circumcision and other traditional beliefs will make the teenagers not to understand their parent’s traditions. Even if the traditions have been eroded and replaced by the western culture, teenagers should be given chances to understand the traditions. Some people are still observing their traditions, and their children should understand them since they are part of the community. Dangerous shows and movies are displayed on the television, but they are not censored like the contents of the books. Contents of the books should not be censored, but the teachers should guide the teenagers in the school while the parents do the same at home (Antell 91). It is better to delegate the duty on the parents and teachers instead of censoring or banning the contents, which will affect the entire populations.

Most of the book contents are censored because they are advocating on violence and drug abuse. It is true that the contents are advocating on them, but it reaches a point that the contents will explain the negative effects of the drugs and violence. Teenagers should be allowed to read the contents because they will learn about the negative effects, and they will control themselves from falling in such activities. It is good for the teenagers to be exposed widely on these activates through reading because they grow to understand them. Teenagers will be advising each other about what they have learned, and they will save others who are not exposed to such incidences. Censoring book contents for teenagers should not be allowed, but the teenagers should be taught and exposed to read widely as they grow.

Works Cited

Antell, Karen, et al. “Does Labeling Children’s Books Constitute Censorship?.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 52.2 (2012): 90-92.

Nye, Valerie, and Kathy Barco, eds. True stories of censorship battles in America’s libraries. American Library Association, 2012.

Knox, Emily. “” The Books Will Still Be in the Library”: Narrow Definitions of Censorship in the Discourse of Challengers.” Library Trends 62.4 (2014): 740-749.