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Teen Drinking MAG
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.
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
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.
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.
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.