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If high STD and drug use rates tell us anything, it's that these young people are, on average, too immature to assume adult roles. Or that they have nothing be

by omouse 18y ago

If high STD and drug use rates tell us anything, it's that these young people are, on average, too immature to assume adult roles. Or that they have nothing better to do?

josefresco 18y ago
Sex and drugs are not activities exclusive to adults (nor should they be). Kids DO have better things to do, and for them (as well as adults) it's usually sex/drugs/rock&roll that are the 'better things'.
- unalone 18y ago
  Most kids get into sex and drugs because they're bored. I don't know a person that got into either for any reason but "There's nothing to do." I hear that from every single party-going person on my dorm floor when they go out. "I need to get drunk, because there's no other reason to be in college and there's nothing to do."
  - kingkongrevenge 18y ago
    > Most kids get into sex and drugs because they're bored. And here I was thinking that sex and drugs are loads of fun, regardless of whether you're bored or not.
    - ksvs 18y ago
      Both are true. When you're bored you get into dumber kinds of fun.
      - unalone 18y ago
        You nailed it. I've smoked marijuana before. I've been drunk. I haven't had sex, because I'm into the idea of abstinence, but I'd done everything but. And absolutely those things are enjoyable. The difference is that I don't rely on stuff like that. I write, I program, I design things, I read, I try to write music and shoot films. I don't feel the need to drink once a week, or to go out and randomly hook up. And that's because I have so many things I can do at any given moment. If you don't have that stuff, you're forced to rely on sex and drugs. And those things are both easily abused.
      - kingkongrevenge 18y ago
        Nuthin dumb about it done right.
        unalone 18y ago
        Of course it is. Neither is a pleasure derived from your achieving anything whatsoever. It's an automatic pleasure. I'd compare it to the pleasure that you get from eating food, or from drinking soda. It's pleasurable entirely thanks to automatic changes in your body. Therefore, it's "dumb" in that it requires no effort whatsoever on your part. And if you come to rely on that stuff for entertainment, then you're not gaining anything as you go. As opposed to its being used sparingly, in which case you're off doing more productive things.
- time_management 18y ago
  Early teenagers, in general, aren't ready for sex and drugs. Sex, even protected, can lead to pregnancy and disease... and let's not forget about the emotional problems casual sex can cause. Psychoactive drugs, although they can be beneficial for a lot of people, are dangerous, especially for a person whose brain is still developing. I don't know what would have happened if I tried pot or LSD at age 13, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a good thing. That said, if the purpose of "adolescent" institutions such as high school and college is to prevent people from indulging in these things until they're ready, then they're a massive fail.
tdavis 18y ago
In fairness, there is never anything technically worse to do than make an impulse decision based on short-term gain at the expense of long-term destruction. There were always better things for me to be doing, it just so happened that I found none of them particularly engaging and enjoyable. The first and only conventional employment I ever had in no way engaged me nor did I gain any measure of joy from it. Had I gotten a job at 15, I would likely be far worse off than I am now since my life would have been filled with more things I didn't like, leaving less time for me to learn what I did like and make mistakes trying, etc. I believe the fundamental problem here is that kids are basing their actions off of their peers, who are just as bored and unsatisfied and just as immature. Therefore, they end up making the same immature choices. If, instead, schools were improved, parents were more proactive and children were all extended the same opportunities someone like myself was, this wouldn't be an issue. Of course that's never going to happen so the drug business is safe. Phew.

by omouse 18y ago

If high STD and drug use rates tell us anything, it's that these young people are, on average, too immature to assume adult roles. Or that they have nothing better to do?

josefresco 18y ago

Sex and drugs are not activities exclusive to adults (nor should they be). Kids DO have better things to do, and for them (as well as adults) it's usually sex/drugs/rock&roll that are the 'better things'.

unalone 18y ago
Most kids get into sex and drugs because they're bored. I don't know a person that got into either for any reason but "There's nothing to do." I hear that from every single party-going person on my dorm floor when they go out. "I need to get drunk, because there's no other reason to be in college and there's nothing to do."
- kingkongrevenge 18y ago
  > Most kids get into sex and drugs because they're bored. And here I was thinking that sex and drugs are loads of fun, regardless of whether you're bored or not.
  - ksvs 18y ago
    Both are true. When you're bored you get into dumber kinds of fun.
    - unalone 18y ago
      You nailed it. I've smoked marijuana before. I've been drunk. I haven't had sex, because I'm into the idea of abstinence, but I'd done everything but. And absolutely those things are enjoyable. The difference is that I don't rely on stuff like that. I write, I program, I design things, I read, I try to write music and shoot films. I don't feel the need to drink once a week, or to go out and randomly hook up. And that's because I have so many things I can do at any given moment. If you don't have that stuff, you're forced to rely on sex and drugs. And those things are both easily abused.
    - kingkongrevenge 18y ago
      Nuthin dumb about it done right.
      - unalone 18y ago
        Of course it is. Neither is a pleasure derived from your achieving anything whatsoever. It's an automatic pleasure. I'd compare it to the pleasure that you get from eating food, or from drinking soda. It's pleasurable entirely thanks to automatic changes in your body. Therefore, it's "dumb" in that it requires no effort whatsoever on your part. And if you come to rely on that stuff for entertainment, then you're not gaining anything as you go. As opposed to its being used sparingly, in which case you're off doing more productive things.
time_management 18y ago
Early teenagers, in general, aren't ready for sex and drugs. Sex, even protected, can lead to pregnancy and disease... and let's not forget about the emotional problems casual sex can cause. Psychoactive drugs, although they can be beneficial for a lot of people, are dangerous, especially for a person whose brain is still developing. I don't know what would have happened if I tried pot or LSD at age 13, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a good thing. That said, if the purpose of "adolescent" institutions such as high school and college is to prevent people from indulging in these things until they're ready, then they're a massive fail.

tdavis 18y ago

In fairness, there is never anything technically worse to do than make an impulse decision based on short-term gain at the expense of long-term destruction. There were always better things for me to be doing, it just so happened that I found none of them particularly engaging and enjoyable. The first and only conventional employment I ever had in no way engaged me nor did I gain any measure of joy from it. Had I gotten a job at 15, I would likely be far worse off than I am now since my life would have been filled with more things I didn't like, leaving less time for me to learn what I did like and make mistakes trying, etc. I believe the fundamental problem here is that kids are basing their actions off of their peers, who are just as bored and unsatisfied and just as immature. Therefore, they end up making the same immature choices. If, instead, schools were improved, parents were more proactive and children were all extended the same opportunities someone like myself was, this wouldn't be an issue. Of course that's never going to happen so the drug business is safe. Phew.