The Dutch for 'nerd' is 'nerd'.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

Dare I presume that your not questioning the translation of the word "geek" in Dutch shows an appreciation of the Dutch word "gek"?

Dimitri Boscainos, Athens, Greece

All those who deal with or affected by the bad behaviour of children and young teenagers know that the
prevailing, inevitable, slogan is, "You can't touch me."
Address that point and you have the solution. Oh, and if all soap operas were aired after 9pm the behaviour of said young people would improve dramatically.
Supervision works.

John Carty, Medellin, Colombia

"You're right, the British have never invented anything" -Tracey Clark, York

Er, the toilet bowl? The jet engine? The spinning jenny? The steam engine? The sandwich? The fire extinguisher? The lawn mower? Stainless steel? The electrical generator? The jet engine? The jet engine? The jet engine? THE JET ENGINE?

The tin can, depth charges, corkscrews, gas masks, IC engines, penicilin, rubber bands, the TV, umbrellas.

To name a few.

Pete, Cov,

Curious that one should describe the well-regarded progressive rock of Pink Floyd as "anti-intellectual"... "Another Brick in the Wall" is referring to the sarcasm and overbearing nature of teachers of Waters' time, not to education and learning in general.

"The Wall" (have you not seen the film?) is a concept album on the themes of moral and mental decay against a backdrop of overdose on modern media pressures. Waters manages to point to many of the things you lambast as the cause of his character's eventual breakdown. To reduce this to an accusation of "antieducation and antiintellectual" is wilful ignorance.

David, Oxford, UK

Television IS an educational tool, and always has been. However, as a child, I was taught and encouraged by my parents to be selective about what I watch, what I listen to, what I read and what I consume. The result is that everything I intake in any form could be described as "90% quality to 10% junk" - a happy balance, in my opinion.

However much influence the media has, the ultimate power always lies with the consumer, and the ultimate influence always lies with the parents.

Jo, Cambridge, UK

Hip-hop both reflects and creates hedonism, the acceptance of in-your-face causes, vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity, and other socially destructive activities, including the willingness to fire guns at people. Enhancing these problems is rampant relativism, the idea that any idea is as good an any other, the idea that virtually everything is socially constructed, and the idea that the existence of absolutes is an oppressive notion. Moral relativism generates moral vacuums into which those with the "answers" of religious certainty, affirming tribalism, flashy hedonism, and other destructive solutions rush. People will believe and act upon the beliefs they hold; the only question is what will they believe.

James, Jacksonville, Illinois U. S.

Pancake!
At least that makes for a descent desert considering the sweetness of your first sentence and the relevance of all other.

Thaddy de Koning, Amsterdam, Netherlands

" the UK never adopts all the good things of American culture - its egalitarianism, good manners, inventiveness to name a few"

You're right, the British have never invented anything. You left ignorance off your list of American traits by the way.

Tracey Clark, York,

Just checked the lyrics of "Another brick in the wall" in case I missed something. In the cold light of reading you can observe the point about it ALL being pointless in the wider context (which still makes it anti-educational), but in the heat of singing/chanting it runs as little more than an anti-educational (these pop boys know where it's at) battle chant!
Anyway, detractors from the intent of the column should learn not to be quite so picky: look up the definition of analogy.
That's always the trouble with the chattering classes: too many barrack room layers debating the situation vis a vis the nature of icebergs while the cold water is rising inexorably!

Peter Jones, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

As a working mother of two young babies the article on tv was particularly frustrating. I would ban sweets before I banned TV. My children watch Baby TV and I am sure it is healthier for them then refined sugar. We wonder why our society looks like it does, well its obvioius when some guy trying to pr his book is given the platform to point the finger at parenting skills, just because he is criticizing, rather than condoning.

nathalie, london,

Couldn't agree more. During my youth my Father ran very profitable firms and also went bankrupt. later in my life my mother died in my early 20s and my Girlfreind in her late 20s. I ride motorbikes, I'm heavily tattooed andI was both a skinhead and a punk before going all heavy metal. Any decent documentary crew detailing the decline of western society would see me as a dream come true but would be highly disapointed at my full time job, full time relationship, no kids by any women, lack of criminal record or drug taking and no I don't own a telly. There was one in the house as a kid though complete with shoot em up video games and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so the reason for my reasonable successs as a person must be quality parenting.

Dean Barwell, Worthing, England

With all due respect ,Sophie, Ireland, your assertion that "being teased for doing your best at school is probably universal" is alas, not applicable everywhere, well, at any rate, to most Asian countries. My kids went to former missionary schools here (non-private!) that because of their ethos, values and respect for learning (still intact) continue to foster an environment where competing to be the Brodien 'creme de la creme' is, fortunately, very strong. Parents from both ends of the social spectrum (and no PC ideology at work here!) all want to get their kids into these schools. At root, is the veneration for education that characterizes the Confucian heritage and is the very same reason why East and South East Asian students in the West score highly in the SAT tests and fill up university places there. Burn the idiot box!

SD GOH, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

"The cultural hell that is America" - If there is one thing you can rely on its a Brit spouting the received wisdom that everything that's blighted in Blighty has its roots in America. Its all non-sense of course and once Chinese culture is on the ascendency (as long as its benighted, shallow and destructive) the tribal conformity of much of Britain will be sure to adopt it wholesale and sell it back to them with a new wrapper.

Britain's cultural malaise is home grown (after all, the UK never adopts all the good things of American culture - its egalitarianism, good manners, inventiveness to name a few).

RCanham, San Francisco, California

It used to be that we watch TV for entertainment puposes - these days people think of it as an educational tool. And i think it is at this point that things changed and given the advertisement industry the power to heavily influence everyones descision on what is healthy and what is not. Why dont these things be taught in school? Why not educate our children at school from earliest possible age about health and nutrition so when they watch TV they will consider it as an entertainment.. not an official health guide? or fashion guide or etc?
Sometimes it's not the kids - they are only the mirror of the environment that created them. It starts from home to school then to the society they belong it will all add up. So, perhaps we can do a community support group to watch kids & support them grow and be better British children?

Mel Fisher, Manchester,

Big Brother is a Dutch invention.

David Chalk, Nutley, East Sussex

How can such a survey be truly representative? The same questions put to different kids from different cultures may mean different things. Linguistic and cultural nuance can alter even the most straightforward of questions. Add to that a media-influenced peer pressure hovering over the shoulder of young respondents, and the real meaning behind such glib statistics becomes seriously skewed.
I hate to find myself up the same street as the late Mrs. Whitehouse. We have a free press or we have McCarthyism. There is no in-between. But guns are different. You will not find six-guns and soldier suits in any toyshop now as you did 30 years ago. Why, then, are firearms so glorified in the mouths of so many successful Hip-hop artists? Get rich or die tryin'? Get a job. Pass some exams by tryin'. I think it's time for some constraints on such lyrical incitement.

Paul Hardy, London, UK

Does the author not realise the satirical and ironic significance of 'Another brick in the wall' (not brick in the wall as stated). Pedantic but a valid point none the less. Far from being anti-educational, the song points to a wider picture. Good sentiment but misdirected.

Mark Lloyd, Manchester, Manchester

'Whatever is honoured in a country shall be cultivated there.' If our kids look up to people like 50 cent and other violent morons who think they have in someway got some profound message to tell the world. Kids will admire them and turn to violence.

I hate it when people compare Britain to the Netherlands which has a completely different history and culture to that of our own. I'd rather live in a deteriorating Britain than spend one day in the Netherlands. All they've done there is legalise crime.

James, Smethwick, England

From another Brit living in the Netherlands. Media sensationalism and class distinctions are the main difference between the two countries. My boy plays football on the same team as the son of the man who washes our windows. Richard forgot to mention the weed - our town of 60,000 has 4 or more cofee shops and drinking age for beer is 16. But I see very little evidence of the binge drinking culture so prevalent in the UK. I think people work here less because they are not as obsessed with taking on so many jobs to buy things they do not really need.

peter, hilversum, netherlands

We avoid the problem Aaronovitch highlights by not having or viewing TV. We (the whole family) find that TV, inevitably encountered in other houses, is for the most part simply boring. The children's views stop there, with 'gay' or 'crap' as key words in their critical vocabulary. As an adult, I go further. The content is too often as Aaronovitch describes or worse; the best rarely transcends the banal. The style (short attention span, loud noise, patronising tone and pointlessly hyperactive visuals) seems likely to rot the brain as much as the content corrupts the mind. It is obvious why the TV companies go this road - easy money - but does anyone know why our culture seems to have taken a collective decision to downgrade to this level?

Michael Bruce, Selby, U.K.

I agree that the tyrannical spectre of 'cool' has created huge difficulties for the youth. Not only do they have to deal with all the deprivations listed by the Unicef report, they are forced to keep up with their peers to the detriment of their health, morals and futures. The senseless instant gratification of bloodlust (Mortal Kombat: how wonderful to sit in front of an XBox and maim and dismember your enemy), sex (how uncool it is to be a virgin! The perils of HIV/STDs are at the bottom of the list in comparison), drugs (the only euphoria available in a materialist world) and 'things' (here, Pavlov's dog: let's see how you dance to the tune of the new iPod) have turned our youth into a collection of the nastiest, most self-centred, wicked, unhappy little beasts known to man. Take away the concept of rights without responsibility, reintroduce National Service, persuade the Government to stop being so coy about licentious behaviour, and discipline the brats. They'll be much happier.

Mara MacSeoinin, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

The Dutch equivalent of a "nerd" denoting a bright kid who works hard at school is "stuudje". Being teased for doing your best at school is probably universal and I doubt you can blame that on the media - British or otherwise.

Sophie, Ennis, Ireland

Completely agree! Both my parents were journalists in the days when it was about balance and informative reporting. Now it's about sales ... and don't let the truth get in the way of a good selling story. I've worked in PR for twenty years and recently left because of the way both journalists and clients spin and lie their way through life to increase sales ... we need to return to promoting balance and reporting of both sides of an arguement rather than the sheep like response we instill in people these days ...

Vicki Wharton, London, UK

Bang on in my opinion. I have been a firm believer in this hypothesis for some years now. But the real question is what can be done about it? In a free country, what are we to do to stop the media creating this damaging material? Censor them? It seems impossible in a liberal culture. Teach them responsibility? No chance. Its clear why non english speaking countries are better off without such an easy channel of media from the cultural hell that is America.

Pete Collins, London,

Does the author not realise the satirical and ironic significance of 'Another brick in the wall' (not brick in the wall as stated). Pedantic but a valid point none the less. Far from being anti-educational, the song points to a wider picture. Good sentiment but misdirected

Mark Lloyd, Manchester, Manchester

And doesn't it seem strange that all these happy, well adjusted Scandinavian teenagers all end up committing suicide at twice the rate of British youngsters?

Jo, London, UK

I am 26 year old British man, I come from a broken home, I've have lived on council estates, I listen to both 'gangsta rap' and have been known to watch films such as "get rich or die trying", "8-mile" and even the more questionable Tupac Shakur films "Gridlocked" and "Juice". In the eyes of the media, I should be a hoody-wearing, binge-drinking, fly-tipping thug that embodies the UK's apparent social decline. Well I'm not one to disagree with our reliable, honest media! Looks like it's time to throw out my Imogen Heap CD, dump the long-term relationship, start mugging people, forget the shameful love of romantic-comedies and live a life of crime. If only I hadn't watched that 50 cent movie...

Ade, Tooting Broadway, London

I write as a Brit who has lived in the Netherlands for 15 years. From the outset the Netherlands has seemed to us (me, my wife and our two children) to be a healthy, safe and contented society. Its not entertainment per se but the kind of entertainment and its context that is key. The kids tended to disappear on the weekends, out playing with local kids from all social backgrounds (council houses and the fanciest of detached homes coexist on the same estates) .'Kim's' mum or 'Bas's' dad made them lunch ( Mum and Dad are at home because its not wise to work full time - half a job each is about ideal). Now in the teen years - its hockey, or football and cycling to each other's house, or the whole class (same mix no private schools) going on holiday in a group to await exam results. Its also parties that begin at 10 p.m and end at 4.a.m. beer, wine and music yes, but its not cool to get wasted or to hit on the girls. Entertainment is great. The right entertainment that is.

Richard Boyd, Leiden, The Netherlands

Since the late 60's the counter-culture New Left had a lot to do with this bolshie, anti-authority and antagonistic approach to education. In Britain one form it took was the N.U.T encouraging kids to act up and "fight the cuts". Remember the ILEA.

So are not David Aaronovitch and his comrades responsible. Mea cupla? His own children get to avoid the consequences of socialism in education by attending a private school. Dreadful man.

james c, london,

It seems unwise to begin a column by complaining about precisely the kind of reasoning you are about to indulge in yourself: A has occurred at the same time as B, therefore B is the cause of A.

And it is not absurd to say that watching a lot of TV causes obesity, even though it is true that if people who watched a lot of TV also exercised and ate only a little, they would not get fat. For watching TV decreases the chance of exercising and increases the chance of eating (since the later, unlike the former, is easy to do while sitting on a sofa). One despairs.

Z. Sokona, Auckland, New Zealand

You make a disturbing point. Although a free market in media entertainment should theoretically reward excellence and shun material which promotes belief systems, ethics and behaviour which are beyond the pale, that isn’t the way it works.

Just as the Romans needed to provide ever more spectacular circuses to keep the people entertained, so film makers increasingly find they sometimes need to include material with the potential to shock to increase dwindling audiences.

Most worrying are unexpected side effects of films which may depict the triumph of law over crime, but which may perhaps unintentionally portray some crime in a heroic or possible role model sense. The fact that villains were brought to book is an irrelevance to those captivated by images of the flash lifestyle of the gangsters and their molls.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

I'm not so sure the ten commandments ever worked. Would we have been safer two hundred, a thousand, two thousand years ago?

Norton, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

What, one wonders, is the Dutch for “nerd”?
That would be "nerd", thanks to popular culture

Kornelis, Adelaide, Australia

Yes, the matter is complex. But I remember this : that civilisations are built on a few simple principles more or less rigorously applied. If our ancestors had been so obsessed with analysis as we are, we'd even now still be trying to reach a definition of Saxon social problems.

The Ten Commandments worked once ; so why not now?

Stuart, Chester,