The ever improving reach of the media, not only the professional corps, but also bloggers, tweeters, flickrs has ensured that news is available on tap. It’s rather like a hospital drip, feeding the hungry real and virtual public with the new fix of the 21st century – information.

But as news came in on the flooding Mississippi, Glen Vella’s failure in the Eurovision, the failure of Greece to obtain commercial loans, the VAT scandal, the Children’s Commissioner’s gaffe`, the PM’s refusal to publish the draft law on cohabitation, some news items came in over the last week that were worrying.

Just on the one day, while all the above (and much more) were worthy of front page coverage, this newspaper featured two prominent stories about teenagers, sex and violence. On the same day, some €2,000 were stolen in an armed robbery.

The first case involved one where a pregnant teenager stabbed another teenager who had a fling with her boyfriend. The alleged aggressor told a court that she always carried a knife on her.

The second case involved a consensual act between a 14-year-old and an 11-year-old girl. The boy was charged and given a suspended sentence, as the law does not provide otherwise in terms of a minor and consensual sex.

Another newspaper, l-Orizzont, also picked up a story about a gang of youths who were chased off the road by the police when they twigged that the car was stolen. The youths were arrested and it turned out that they were ferrying a stolen vehicle. Far from being worried, they taunted the news crew and made faces at the camera when their pictures were taken.

While this country is currently gripped in a hysterical debate, we must never forget the reality that surrounds us. Life is not a virtual computer game where we can ignore something until it goes away.

True, we are debating divorce, but that does not mean that we can forget instances such as these and ‘deal with them’ later. Cases of young teenage girls being out at all hours, getting pregnant and stabbing their peers is not something which Maltese society can ignore.

Malta cannot also continue to ignore the amount of armed robbery which is taking place. While not looking at the matter scientifically, there certainly have seemed to be a fair few incidents involving gun-toting, cash-grabbing crime.

The case of stolen car ferrying is also worrying – these were teenagers, not old enough to hold a licence and insurance, yet they were on the road. Not only, but their behaviour after the arrest only leads to more questions on the ills of modern society.

The ‘young love’ case, one cannot really fathom. While it was not Maltese children that were involved, they were children nonetheless and it serves as a reminder that this world has become a very strange place. It would be wrong to lash out and say that crime is rampant and out of hand. But what is right to mention is that while Libya, divorce and political scandals are distractions, we should never forget what goes on in our own backyard.

Perhaps it was a spike, just one of those days. But equally, we must also entertain the notion that Malta might not be that quiet and stable place we so wish it to be. Things happen here. We have to face up to them and deal with it.