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Squid Game, a South Korean survival series, is one of the most-watched series ever on Netflix. In the program, 456 players compete in games based on Korean childhood games to win a grand prize of about $38 million dollars. But the penalty for losing is death, and often in a gruesome ways.

Many of contestants are trying to escape poverty or make money to atone for crimes or bad business choices or just bad luck.

But is the reality of poverty worse than the Squid Game?’

Shetal Vohra-Gupta, an assistant professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin an doctoral candidates Bethany Wood and Weiwen Zeng argue that being poor in America is worse in the Op-Ed Poverty’s Reality is More Violent Than a TV Show Can Capture. 

The Op-Ed reads in part:

“Throughout history, poverty has often been viewed as an individual deficit — or in other words, a personal moral failing. However, the overlooked fact is that poverty is a systemic form of violence against those involved. The violence hurts every aspect of life: mental health, physical health, mortality and every aspect surrounding individuals, families and communities.”

The piece has appeared in the San Antonio Express News, Abilene Reporter News, Newsbreak, Daily Advent, BBC and Yahoo News! Take time to read it.

Social workers help people overcome life’s challenges to achieve their full potential. Learn more about the services social workers provide at the National Association of Social Workers Help Starts Here website.