Yesterday’s smh had a number of articles about teenage relationships and sex.
Article 1: Let’s talk about sleepovers – this was an interesting article. Teenagers are painted in a more positive light than they were in the smh articles on the Central Coast. Maybe they only interviews North Shore private school kids??
Quiz enough parents and you’ll learn that 15-year-olds have friends all over town and from various walks of life. You’ll hear about group sleepovers; boys and girls munching pizzas and watching DVDs as innocent companions. Today’s teens, the experts agree, are more relaxed with the opposite sex, more tolerant, more demanding of gender equality than previous generations – and angry when the reality falls short of their expectations.
The article also spoke about a new(ish) practise called “been claimed”. Have you heard of it? I hadn’t until this article.
Article 2: Ignore the experts – we kids really are all right (scroll down to the bottom of the page) – the 15 year old author of this article, Gideon Reisner, he’s one smart articulate young dude!! Again it’s a positive piece saying that teenagers are okay. Teenagers get lots of negative media on Today Tonight and other high quality current affairs programs. He was confident that the vast majority of blokes in his year 10 grade at school were still virgins and alright people. With great insight – he recognises that there are 3 areas of life that are most important to modern teenagers. Relationships. Technology. Alcohol.
Article 3: Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder, and the mind a little wiser – I haven’t read much from Lisa Pryor before – but this introduction to her world view and logic was disturbing.
Teenagers should not rush into sexual intercourse. Not for the sake of morality, but for the sake of good sex. There are plenty of pro-sex reasons for delaying sex, and there is no reason why religious abstinence programs should have a monopoly on this message.
Go have a read and a vomit.
In conclusion – there was some helpful stuff in yesterday’s paper (and some terrible stuff too!). But here’s what was missing…
Jesus. He’s the hope of the world. He’s the hope of generation y teenagers. His way for sex is the best design. So if you’re a teenager reading this – Jesus says don’t do sex outside of marriage. If you belong to Jesus – listen to him – he knows what’s best. If you don’t belong to Jesus. Check him out. He loves you. He died for people like you… and what he offers is far greater and much more satisfying (both now and into eternity) than a teenage quickie in your mates garden.
Dude, good spotting.
That third article is absolute drivel, incoherent and illogical as you said.
The first one was very interesting, I might have a chat with some of my youth about it, see what they have to say.
The one by the kid is impressive, but i get the feeling, the whole private school thing could be delaying the or hiding the sex factor. It could have a high Christian % or the kids are more reserved about it.
Overall very insightful.
Thanks dude.
blog your findings if you get any.
i agree with the private school thing. i do think that his school is very different from gov’t schools on the coast… including the one i went to – which was a good one!