It’s Saturday night and you’re gathered among peers in your best friend’s basement. No parental supervision. No one telling you to stop. While Billy and Joe are sniffing substances, Hannah and Samuel are playing beer pong. Kyle is trying out his latest smoking tricks, and Derrick and his girlfriend are off in the master bedroom upstairs, which leaves you on the big leather couch. With the aroma of cannabis in the air, the remaining dust of white powder on the table and the whiff of beer on your friend’s breath, you contemplate whether you should join in or not. Sound familiar?
Scenes like this tempt teens to make bad choices that can derail their lives, says Southfield High School social worker Lisa Butler. “Teens get in over their heads, trying new things and trying to act grown before their time,” she says.
This is exactly why teenagers need assistance and guidance in growing up, Butler says.
Keep busy
One strategy to avoid temptation is to pick up some new hobbies. “Kids are not involved in enough activities that would keep them from being interested in these three things (sex, drugs and alcohol),” Butler says. “Busy, busy, busy is the thing to be,” says Butler, who recommends that teens play a sport or join an extra-curricular activity.
Choose friends wisely
Another strategy to stay out of trouble is to hang with friends who make good choices, Butler says. They will be less likely to lead you into temptation, she says.
But mostly, teens have to learn to think clearly for themselves. And that can be hard to do with constant bad influences all around, Butler says.
Blame reality TV?
The media isn’t much help to teens in the fight against temptation, Butler says. Images of scantily clad “video vixens” and sexually charged reality TV shows are thrown into the faces of teens, causing them to become desensitized to the idea of sex. What were once uncomfortable topics, such as birth control, sexual pleasure and erectile dysfunction, have become prime time subjects for TV commercials even during what was once family dinner hour.
Today’s teens have grown up with in-your-face commercials about personal products that were only mentioned behind closed doors a decade ago, Butler says.
Blame Rihanna?
Music is also guilty of glorifying sexual activities, Butler says. Songs like “Birthday Cake” by Rihanna and “Practice” by Drake cause teens to see sex in a casual light. While under the influence of the radio, teens begin to think that sex is something to discuss with anyone.
In the song “Birthday Cake” by Rihanna, she equates her body to a slice of cake and tells boys to lick the icing off – not exactly the wholesome song lyrics of Taylor Swift.
Drake’s song “Practice” has vulgar lyrics that describe a girl becoming better at sex by practicing with other guys. Drake implies that he is content with this happening.
Blame Jamie Foxx?
In today’s world, Butler says, bad influences can come from all directions, including songs like “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx and “One More Drink” by Ludacris. These songs encourage others to drink the same alcohol that they are drinking. These same songs, with their raging beats, play at high school parties and can put the idea of drinking into young heads.
Other negative influences come from hit movies such as “The Hangover” and “Project X” that portray the act of drinking as a fun thing to do.
Blame Project X?
The movie “Project X” depicts a large house party that involves plenty of peer pressure. Students who have seen the movie have tried to duplicate it. A student from Harrison High School in Farmington, Michigan, had set a date for a party titled “Project M.” It was supposed to be just a few friends, but when the student mentioned it on Twitter, students from across Michigan, and even outside the state, planned to attend. A few days later, the Fire Department and the Police Department blocked off his neighborhood so no one would get into the party.
Blame Snoop Dogg?
Drug use is also glorified by celebrities such as Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg. Both are notorious for their public admiration for the marijuana plant. The two rappers collaborated on a song entitled “Young, Wild & Free” in which the chorus sings “So what we get drunk? So what we smoke weed? We’re just having fun. We don’t care who sees.”
“The problem,” Butler says, “is that the celebrities that teens idolize provide poor guidance to appropriate behavior.” So, the question is: what must teenagers do to avoid the three temptations of drugs, sex, and alcohol? Butler has some answers.
Know the truth
Knowing the dangers of becoming involved in drugs, sex, and alcohol can help avoid the temptations to try them, Butler says. Basically, being aware of the problems that these three things can cause can keep kids from making bad choices, she says. Teens need to know about legal penalties for possession of controlled substances, possession of alcohol by a minor, and the possibilities of contracting a social disease from sex.
Know the law
Southfield High School police liaison Jared Womble says the most common teenage pitfalls for getting in trouble with the law are smoking weed and drinking.
“Marijuana is a controlled substance,” he says. That means it’s against the law to possess or smoke it without a doctor’s prescription.
He says teens need to know that if a student is driving and is in possession of drug paraphernalia, they can be ticketed and arrested. And if the teen is a passenger, but the officer can smell or notice drugs, the teen can possibly be arrested.
As for teen sex, “A person needs to be 16 to consent to lawful and legal sex,” says Womble.
As for alcohol, the legal drinking age is 21. Teens can be ticketed for “minor in possession of alcohol. There are two levels of offenses for minors in possession, and he hopes readers of this article will never need to know them.
Mom is watching
Sophomore Sam Moore has little choice but to avoid temptation. That’s because his mother is Southfield High social worker Lisa Butler – the one who urges teens to keep “busy, busy, busy.” Moore says he sees his mother in the halls daily, which keeps him in line. But at least he gets good lunches out of the deal.