The World of Teens  
Teens Today

The other day I was passing by a Junior High School and noticed some kids that were hanging around. Barely in their teens, I saw 2 young kids, holding hands, hugging and even kissing. And this was all in public; God knows how much more they do in the privacy of their homes. I suddenly remembered how my life was like at that age. So different. When I was 12-13 years old, the most my friends and I would do, was talk about the opposite sex, never ever think about becoming affectionate with them. It's so sad how quickly youngsters are growing up these days. It's sad and at the same time scary. I can't help but wonder how the lives of my children will be one day; how fast will they grow up?.

Parents can't be blamed for this type of behavior. Parents can do so much in their upbringing. No matter what parents teach their children, children will always mimic their friends and peers. I believe the greatest influence in a teenager's life is the media; Television, Movies and Music. American children spend 28 hours a week watching TV an average of fours a day. 

Sex sells, so they say. By portraying sexually related material on TV and in movies also does something else; it builds curiosity in a teenager. The more they see, the more they learn, and the more they want to experiment. Children are exposed to sexually related material that they otherwise would not be.
Even though, earlier I stated that this type of behavior is not the parent's fault, there are guidelines I believe all parents should follow. Parents need to know what their children are watching. So it is important that Parents monitor their children while they watch TV and only permit them to watch certain types of shows. Also parents should keep a television set in a central location, such as in the living room so that monitoring your children's programs can be done easily. 

However following these guidelines still does not fix the problem. Youths will still be exposed to sex in the media because no matter how devoted a parent might be, they cannot watch their child 24 hours a day. Open up a teenage magazine, you won't be able to turn the page with out seeing some reference to sex. I believe the answer lies in the quality of TV programs and movies. In 1953, when I Love Lucy debuted, whenever there was a bedroom scene, you never saw Lucy and Ricky sleeping on the same bed. What you did see was, 2 twin beds separated by a table in the middle. Why have we gone from that to showing explicit sexual scenes between couples, whether they are married or not, whether they are adults or just young teens? The media needs to practice strict regulations that will prevent shows and movies from displaying sexually related content. Nudity is not allowed on TV, so they claim. If showing nudity is clearly wrong, then why is it not wrong to have sexual content in shows and movies that teenagers and youngsters are watching? The media needs to change its policies about such matter, for the sake of our future.  

– Dimpy Sahni
July 8, 2001

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