Sexual Peer Pressure

The pressure on teens in the world today seems to be centered around their sexuality or their lack of it. It is sad as a nation that our teens feel like they are a failure if they are still virgins. This sacred gift meant to be given to their spouse is often squandered away on a one night stand, or lost when the teen may be inebriated or high. What is meant to be one of the most special events in their life may not even be remembered. Most movies, magazine articles, and much of what is on the Internet leads a teen to believe they need to have sex or they will be an anomaly among their peers.

The peer pressure is sometimes so strong that the teen will begin to lie and tell others they have had sex, so they will not continue to be harassed by their peers. Even worse, the teen may have sex so they will fit in, and their friends will leave them alone about the issue. Another factor coming into play is the teens that believe oral sex is ok because they won't get pregnant from doing so. This is sad also as the teen still experiences a loss of innocence when they engage in this activity.

Abstinence

Abstinence is a word some teens may have never heard. They will more than likely hear about safe ways to have sex before they are taught this principle in school. That is, if the school district even deems abstinence a viable option. Many adults that establish the curriculum for our teens doubt the ability to use any form of self control. The youth of today are very strong and can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

There are studies that indicate that teens that wait until they are married to engage in sex enjoy a better psychological well-being and higher educational attainment than those who are sexually active. This is either hard to believe, or ignored, by those that deal with the young people of today. Assuming that all teens are incapable of abstinence, the social programs and organizations like Planned Parenthood continue to downplay the importance or even possibility of abstinence. One study asks the question, does depression came before sex and substance abuse?. The premise of this thought might be that teens become depressed after they lose their virginity and start using drugs. Another important fact that is downplayed in our more permissive society, is that fact the sexually active teens are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases.

There are those that will find a way to dismiss this notion. The reality is, if a teen doesn't engage in sex until they are married they have no way to contract a sexually related disease. Another important fact to consider is the possibility of the teen's becoming unwed parents. If they do not engage in sexual intercourse they will not have to prematurely worry about the responsibilities of parenthood. They will also not have to deal with the entire drama and guilt associated with having an abortion.