Why are many people on the Caribbean islands poor?​

It is also true, however, that upheaval in the economic, political, and cultural structures of world society is dramatically undermining these positive inheritances and altering this condition of Caribbean exceptionalism. For example, North American media images depicting dissident youth cultures, hedonistic lifestyles, and the subversion of conventional values are now common fare in the Caribbean. Television commercials and media programming celebrating leisure, sex, and conspicuous consumption helped undermine commitment to thrift, personal modesty, and the value of education and hard work. Consequently, for Caribbean youths today, prize-winning high school students are no longer the role models; they have been replaced by the gold chain-wearing drug dealer and the gangster with a fancy car. The emulation of these role models by unemployed youth, along with the easy availability of drugs and guns, has led to an increase in antisocial behaviors by youths across the region.