Teen Drinking | Teen Ink

Teen Drinking MAG

By Anonymous

Have you ever been offered an alcoholic beverage? What about someone saying “Don’t worry, just have one little sip”? Most people have their first drink by the time they’re 13. That first drink can be the start of a troubled life.

Drinking can make teens feel good, but that lasts only a short time. Teenagers on shows like “Gossip Girl” or “Degrassi” get drunk regularly, but those shows rarely ­explore the problems alcohol can cause. ­Alcohol clouds your brain and hinders your ability to make decisions. Excessive drinking literally makes your brain shrink and can cause serious damage. Binge drinking can cause learning disabilities and damage your memory. It distorts your ­vision and leads to blackouts. Teenagers often think that drinking will give you more energy, but alcohol isn’t an energy drink; it’s a depressant.

Drinking alcohol affects your inhibitions and makes you do things you wouldn’t if you were sober. Many girls get pregnant and drop out of school because they make the mistake of drinking too much and having unprotected sex. Twelve percent of 15- to 17-year-olds reported having unprotected sex when drinking or using drugs. Also, 24 percent said that because of drinking or drugs they had “done more” sexually than they had intended.

Sometimes girls don’t have a choice. Rape also happens when people drink too much. It only takes one night to mess up your life.

Drinking and driving is one of the top causes of death for teen boys. An alcohol-­related motor vehicle crash kills one person every 33 minutes and injures someone every two minutes. The rate of teenagers driving drunk is so high that the government is trying to pass new laws restricting teen driving.

When we get to high school, friends start pressuring us to drink. High school students see alcohol as glamorous and a way to become popular. I created a survey at my school. Twenty-four of the 63 respondents predicted they would drink in high school. Eleven said maybe, and 28 said they don’t plan on drinking.

Regardless of what they say now, things can change. Teens starting high school want to fit in. They ­often go from being top dog in junior high to being “fresh meat.” Some people will do anything to be accepted, including potentially hurting themselves. They think that one drink won’t do anything. A little bit of alcohol probably won’t kill you, but it can lead to poor decisions.

I’ve been pressured to do many things, ­including drinking. Drinking causes you to be vulnerable; be safe. High school is the time to experiment with what you want to do in life, but if you’re experimenting with alcohol you could hurt someone, including ­yourself.



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This article has 159 comments.


on Feb. 1 2010 at 11:58 am
I really tthink that this explains a lot and why you shouldn't drink when your young or at all.

on Feb. 1 2010 at 11:55 am
I enjoyed this article. It was very persuasive and i really came away with a lot.

on Nov. 27 2009 at 8:44 am
blackrose326 GOLD, Burlington, North Carolina
19 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
If who I am is what I have and what I have is lost then who am I? Anonymous<br /> Beauty can not be found in worldy views for these are; corrupted veiws straight form the gates of hell - Anonymous

Great article

Next time I drink I'll think about this article & the effects of alchol( can't see straght srry 4 any mis sperlld words).

Anyway Ive already gotten in trouble when I was drinking & im only in the 8h grade. I almost got wrote up 5 times the day I had 2 bottles of vodca at school.

So yeah Ill def think about this article when my freend gives me a bottle

on Nov. 22 2009 at 12:35 pm
E.L.W. PLATINUM, Glen Allen, Virginia
31 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
Here&#039;s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.<br /> The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes - <br /> the ones who see things differently.<br /> They&#039;re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. <br /> They push the human race forward.

Okay, so good article. But I have to add, there is nothing wrong with the actual act of drinking. We live in a society where I feel we are brainwashed as children into the mentality that a few sips, two fingers worth of wine will hurt you. Yes, underage drinking is illegal and I certainly don't advocate it. But nowhere in these anti-drinking articles do they mention that if your parents give it to you, if you have a few sips of communion wine, or you are supervised by a guardian the actual act of drinking isn't horrific. If you have WAY too much or binge you can die, but if you have a small glass after you are postpubescent, you are fine. That distinction needs to be made, because not all drinking is bad. Just because you have a small glass of wine or a few sips of beer you aren't going to get drunk or die.

on Nov. 5 2009 at 11:49 pm
Actresspoet123, Anchorage, Alaska
0 articles 0 photos 16 comments
i wish that this was posted at my school, it is so true

on Nov. 5 2009 at 5:28 pm
distant_dreamer GOLD, Belmont, New Hampshire
12 articles 6 photos 497 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Life&#039;s a climb, but the view is great!&quot;

Great Job! All the facts are true, and you did a wonderful job at explaining it!! Keep it up!!!!!!!!! :)

woodenpanels said...
on Nov. 4 2009 at 6:05 pm
Your article was written well, but too forceful. I see your point and and what could make it so strong, but I feel no connection that it has with you. You speak from one side of the argument without allowing a contradicting point that admits that maybe some of what you are saying is wrong. Statistics are just fancy words that don't hold much meaning or understanding.

Next time try putting some of your own opinions in there. I want to feel what you are feeling- not just hear it.

Don't get me wrong though, I can get what you're aiming at. 3 years ago my sister died from alcohol poisoning.

Sabryth GOLD said...
on Oct. 14 2009 at 7:17 pm
Sabryth GOLD, Lawrence, Kansas
18 articles 1 photo 25 comments
i love this! you make such good points, and i agree completely.

George said...
on Sep. 22 2009 at 7:22 pm
have a really fun high school and college experience

on Sep. 22 2009 at 3:42 pm
PurpleFeather BRONZE, Canton, Connecticut
1 article 0 photos 124 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The pen is mightier than the sword.&quot; - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

I disagree with what you said. Having just one drink could lead to poor decisions, and it coud ruin your life. Even though other teens may choose to ignore this advice, it doesn't mean it's not true. Also, i have read lots of stories and heard lots of stories, all of them true, about people who were pressured to drink or something else. It does happen, and although yes, tv does exaggerate, not everything on tv is untrue just because its on tv.

epingel said...
on Sep. 22 2009 at 1:42 pm
I think that drinking is definitely a bad idea and i think it could take just one drink to mess things up. You may not be able to get into a collage you want. You may even kill someone if you drink & drive.

jessie-w GOLD said...
on Sep. 22 2009 at 1:31 pm
jessie-w GOLD, Winnemucca, Nevada
16 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
To lose is inconceivable. Everyone wins in some way. You just have to push forward and leave the wreckage behind.

I agree also. I made the mistake of drinking and I did something I regretted. I lost a best friend and my reputation of being smart, level headed and right, and you can never take it back once it's happened

hannah=(= said...
on Aug. 1 2009 at 4:48 pm
hannah=(=, Ossian, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 23 comments
I completely agree, excessive drinking only causes bad things.

=D said...
on Jun. 30 2009 at 4:39 am
i think a lot of ur article is tru...it brings some good topics up but i agree with the comment "everyday" wrote. I used to be a very heavy drinker, luckly i had ppl around me who cared enuf about me to make me stop. Yes a lot of this kind of stuff happens but not necessarily the way u describe.

Rae C said...
on Jun. 23 2009 at 8:20 pm
I agree 100 percent with Sarah B.’s article “Teen Drinking.” Really, what is the point? Just to be in with the “in” crowd?



I’m from Delaware, and recently a college student at the University of Delaware died from alcohol poisoning while trying to be part of a fraternity. That is truly sad. No one needs to drink to fit in. My advice to teens is just put the bottle down and let people accept you for who you are.

mickey123 said...
on Feb. 3 2009 at 3:42 pm
this is supposed to have pics on it but it doesnt!!!

meatball101 said...
on Dec. 10 2008 at 1:31 am
I agree with the previous comment......

on Oct. 22 2008 at 5:25 pm
I LOVE TEEN INK DOT COM!!!! WOOOOOO

everyday said...
on Oct. 19 2008 at 6:36 pm
Here's the thing. This sounds like it came word-for-word out of a health teacher's mouth who hasn't done any real research on the topic.



Alcohol is bad for you, yes. And teenagers, especially younger ones, should not be drinking. I agree with you that much. However, acting like a drink will ruin your life just makes teenagers roll their eyes.



You discuss peer pressure here - this type of peer pressure barely exists the way it does on those TV shows you mention. "peer pressure" is usually internal, and comes from oneself and one's own insecurity, rather than from people standing around telling them to drink.



You say "Many girls get pregnant and drop out of school because they make the mistake of drinking too much and having unprotected sex." WOW. There are so many things wrong with that. Yes, sexual activity increases with alcohol. And yes, alcohol does decrease your inhibition, so you may be more likely to have sex. But the fact that you link these two is ridiculous. 99% of women who get drunk do NOT have sex with a random person, get pregnant, and drop out of school. And there are plenty of women who do not drink, and still have sex.



The part of your article that made me comment was this: "Sometimes girls don’t have a choice. Rape also happens when people drink too much. It only takes one night to mess up your life." I find this extremely offensive. You are first putting blame on the victim by saying that they MADE themselves vulnerable [through alcohol]. Yes, rape may occur more often when someone is more vulnerable [drunk] but it is still not the victims' fault [which you insinuate when you say "when she drinks too much"]. It is also not fair to use "girls" instead of "people" - what about the men who are sexually assaulted? This part of your article goes along with "she was drunk, which was stupid, so she deserved it". I would strongly suggest rephrasing this...



Perhaps you need to spend some time in the actual drinking culture instead of assuming that all people who drink underage are going to make HORRIBLE DECISIONS just because they have a drink or two once in a while. Overemphasizing the dangers of alcohol is a surefire way to be dismissed if you're trying to educate.



I do honestly suggest looking at some real, scholarly articles about the topic rather than just spouting what was learned in a health class.