You know you love us.

In response to all the negative issues that our blog has brought up about the negative images which teenagers portray, I would like to shed some light on the reasons why we shouldn’t criticize teens too much just because of what they do.

Firstly, all of us are humans, and it is humane to slip up in life once in a while. However, a lot of negativity has been aimed at teenagers. It’s everywhere: newspapers report the astounding number of teenage girls who get pregnant a year, magazines discuss scandalous teen romances, and sex, drugs, alcohol, partying etc. etc. are seen to be related to youths all the time on national television.

Contrary to popular belief, teenaged offenders only make up to about 13 percent of the total.

It is also interesting to note that the crime rates of teenagers have not changed much in the past decade. This shows that the people who point fingers at teenagers –the adults, have committed the same offences they so condemn youths for, just many years ago.

So why should they have the authority to accuse us of destroying their perfect society, when most of these crimes are because of the adults themselves? Let’s face it: crime can never be resolved. I don’t see why people make a big hoo-hah when students don’t do their homework and go smoking and getting drunk, when adults are out fornicating (and basically setting a bad example for the youths around them) when they should be working. Both age groups commit the same crimes, but why do only teenaged wrong-doers are highlighted in the media?

Secondly, what makes a teenager is mostly what they see around them. If they see their parents and other adults around them being violent and unruly, there is a very high chance for them to follow these footsteps. To become used to the chaos and injustice, these teenagers are effectively desensitized and think that doing wrong is alright.

Can you blame them?

Lastly, teenage years are the most unstable years of one’s lifetime and it usually takes some time for people to adjust to the change. Children, who have been led around like sheep by their parents from young, find it hard to make their own decisions, especially the right ones. Many find it hard to say no, and that is where problems arise. Teenagers find it hard to say no to drugs, cigarettes, and following their more ill-disciplined peers (who may have come from abusive families).

Most things boil down to peer pressure at this point. Most go along with the flow. Forget the healthy lifestyle their parents have taught them, go to fast food restaurants to enjoy a meal with friends and to socialize. See everyone with branded bags, you can’t help but want one, too. You can’t just back out of a gang that easily, those people would be after your hide.

Perhaps that is why teenagers receive so much negative press these days.