Confessions Of A Teenage Girl: What You Need To Know About Teen Parties

As a teenager in an Indian school, one would think that the only thing I would need to think or worry about is studies and friends. And this might have been the case 10, or even 5 years ago. Not anymore. Now, if you study in a half way prestigious school, there will be parties. And these parties will be crazy. The ‘crazy’ you see in TV shows and movies. With drinks, cigarettes and inappropriate behavior, which hopefully one would regret in the future.

Last week, I went to my first such party. Regretted it the instant I walked in. What greeted me was a sight of alcohol ridden swooning classmates. About 50-60 fellow 16 year olds out which maybe 10 were not drunk. An hour into the party got me thinking, what makes these kids drink? It’s not an only my school way of partying, I know that. My old school too had such parties. I never understood it. Then I decided to try to go back to the cause of teenage drinking, especially in the well off and educated section of the society; the why of the first and continued drink. And that’s what I’m here to discuss…

There are many reasons behind teenage drinking. Some can be generalized and some are individualistic. It is necessary to remember that even with the generalized reasons, there are exceptions. Not every teenager who drinks alcohol, started for the same reason as the other. Causes are different, situations are different. These causes depend on the individuals’ personalities, the environment around them and their life style. For each individual, the instigator might be different.

Surveys and studies have shown these as the main (generalized) reasons behind Underage, Teenage Drinking:

Risk-Taking

For some adventurous teenagers, taking risks is there way of obtaining a ‘high’. All of us, as teenagers, as kids, have some sort of adventure in us and also a little spark of thrill seeking. Today, due to exposure from media and the maturing environment, this ‘thrill-seeking’ includes trying different substances to see their effect on our bodies and minds.

Peer Pressure

The most common reason for a teenager to start drinking is trying to fit in. When teenagers see their classmates drinking around them, appearing ‘cool’ they are encouraged to try out alcohol. In many cases, those who reject alcohol at parties are looked down upon and are rejected by the elite groups of the school. Many many students take up drinking just believing that that will invite them into the elite clique and make them ‘popular’. Fitting in in schools and making good, strong friendships has become harder in the past decade all over the world and it has become even harder to keep individuality without being mocked.

Eagerness To Grow Up

As we reach the ages of 16-17, the want to become older, independent and free becomes much greater. We see our parents, older friends and siblings going to college, partying, having fun and drinking and we try to imitate them in whatever ways we can. Drinking alcohol seems sophisticated and getting drunk seems close to college parties. In the hurry to leave childhood behind, some teenagers take up alcohol to convince themselves and those around them that they are older than they appear to be, and that they can’t be told what to do.

Escape Or Defiance

Of course, with the rising pressure levels, normal ways of blowing off steam don’t seem to be enough for even teenagers. They drink, they get drunk or high to forget their problems at school, at home, in their love lives, with their families; any sort of pressure which they can’t handle alone. Teenagers are also known to defy their parents. One way of doing so is doing something which they know their parents would not approve of, such as drinking.

There are many other reasons why teenagers might resort to drinking. These are the few most common ones, but as mentioned, these do not answer all the questions. Underage teenage drinking is surprisingly very high. If you have a son or a daughter of age 14-18, chances are that they might be being encouraged to drink, even if they aren’t doing so now.

Instead of simply teaching teenagers how bad alcohol is, parents and educators need to focus on providing creative outlets to fulfill teenagers needs for risk taking, fitting in, growing up, and healthy relationships with parents and peers.

Has your teen been showing signs of underage drinking and other inappropriate behavior? Want to know more about the real life of teenagers? Contact us with your questions, and get an answer from a teen!

Article image via testcountry.com.