Every generation faces unusual challenges and today’s teens are no different. Here are some of the current risks facing young people as well as some tips for teens to stay safe.
Teenagers and Texting While Driving Risk
While some U.S. states have banned the use of cellphones while driving, it is still not stopping many teens from doing so.
In July 2009, a 17-year-old Illinois girl was killed when she swerved to avoid oncoming traffic. Reports indicate she was texting while driving. This is just one of an increasing number of fatal accidents involving teens driving while texting.
A study entitled, "Cell Phones and Driving", released in 2008 by the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that 46 percent of teens text message and 51 percent talk on cell phones while driving. Car accidents were already the leading cause of death for people in this age group.
Parents need to make rules for teens when it come to driving, including not to use their cell phone while driving, and if they have to, to pull over and then use it.
Energy Drinks Dangers for Teens
Energy caffeine drinks have become extremely popular among teens. They are called energy drinks because they are very high in caffeine.
The current trend is for teens to consume these drinks before a sport or while drinking alcohol. However, the amount of caffeine in these drinks makes this highly dangerous. The drinks have been known to raise heart rates and blood pressure, increase dehydration, and enhance the effects of alcohol.
The caffeine in energy drinks causes alcohol to go through the body faster making it more toxic, but the drinker does not realize how intoxicated he or she is getting, due to the caffeine dulling the other effects. In 2008, a 16-year old Florida girl died after mixing alcohol and energy drinks at a party.
Energy drinks are not sports drinks, which replace fluids lost during activity. Again, due to the amount of caffeine, these drinks actually increase dehydration. This year, a 28-year old motocross racer in Australia died after drinking seven cans of an energy drink between races, causing his heart to stop.
Facebook Depression
A 2009 study entitled, "Clarifying Co-rumination: Associations with Internalizing Symptoms and Romantic Involvement Among Adolescent Girls", by Stony Brook University in New York found that teenage girls who engage in lengthy discussions of mutual problems on social networking sites are more likely to end up in depression.
More and more teenage girls are using social networking sites to discuss their personal problems, and will spend several hours a day doing so. This study of a large group of 13-year old girls showed that by spending endless hours in discussions about romance, dating and kissing actually worsened their mood and created further negative emotions, pushing them into depression.
Teenage Hearing Loss Risk from iPods
Teens tend to listen to their iPods and other devices with headphones at an extremely high volume, which could result in hearing loss.
A 2009 study by the University of Colorado at Boulder entitled, "Researchers Recommend Safe LIstening Levels for iPods", found that up to 24 percent of teens listen to their iPods and MP3 players at risky levels, levels that could permanently damage their eardrums.
These new findings update the researchers' original listening guidelines done in 2006 when they found that listening to music at full volume for more than five minutes a day using earphones, greatly increased a person’s risk of hearing loss over time. This study felt that the recommended maximum level a person should listen on headphones was at 70% volume for no more than 4.6 hours a day. Anything more than that and they risk long-term hearing damage.
Parents need to remember that popular social behaviors among teens can sometimes have negative consequences for them, and it is important to discuss these risks with them.
Gail Oliver - Gail is an author, writer and researcher. She has been quoted in magazines as diverse as Cosmopolitan and Maclean's. Gail writes on a ...
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