Right From Wrong
Written by Jenell Inthavong
As toddlers, our parents would make all the small decisions that we couldn’t figure out on our own. What we should eat, what we should wear, whether it’s too cold to go out, etc. But with ease, our guardians would let go of our hand and let us decide what we wanted to do and what we thought was best for ourselves. We would be faced with new choices to make everyday. But as generations grow and mature, the issues and decisions that teens in the 21st century deal with have become more difficult.
A lot of what teenagers see today is what they decide to put out to the public through their screens. Whether it be pictures of them and their friends at the beach while on spring break, a Tweet complaining about how they have to go to school earlier to make up snow days, or just a picture posted on their SnapChat story asking who’s going to school on Monday. The advancements of technology have progressed to where most people live through their phones. Since you can still get your point across without having to physically speak or see the other person. Although this can be helpful on late nights when struggling with homework, it can also cause issues and alongside, more decisions to make. Teenagers are constantly faced with what they should post or what’s okay to do online. They have to be able to make the responsible decision. One of the most popular social media apps we have now is SnapChat, it can be used as a useful communication tool but at times it can bring some trouble. With the use of just ‘talking’ by sending pictures, people can often approach you over the app and ask for inappropriate pictures. It’s up to the child’s conscious on what to do. Unfortunately it’s been something my peers have experienced. There have been many incidents where people thought they were making the right choice and ended up regretting it almost immediately. These photos can be spread around to anywhere and once something is online, it’s never removed. As people would call it, ‘getting exposed’, has become a common problem. These pictures can lead to legal trouble and be detrimental towards mental health. Although this could be completely avoided, some people don’t think twice about what their actions could cause.
As we get older, we start to care more about what others think of us. Teenagers have a tendency to do activities that they think will make them seem ‘cool’ or make them be seen as if ‘they fit in’. Something that arose within the year of 2018 is vaping. But, what is vaping exactly? Vaping is: the action or practice of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device (Source 1). Vapes can contain THC, an ingredient found in marijuana, but most contain nicotine. Most commercials and anti-vaping awareness companies have been calling this the ‘Vaping Epidemic’ because of the amount of teenagers who got into using them. Just walking the hallways at school or being out with friends, I can promise that somehow you will hear about vapes. It’s as if it’s a whole community where if you haven’t done it yet, you seem ‘uncool’. Although, I’m sure there is a handful of students who have not used a vape, there is a plentiful amount of people who have. The conscious choice was made when the device hit their mouth and they started to inhale. With the amount of peer pressure and how easily accessible vapes, pods, vape juice, etc. is, the issue will continue to grow. It seems easy at first to avoid situations like this, but for some people they have been around friends who use these devices consistently. If a friend handed it over to you or asked if you want to try it, how will you react? Obviously everyone wants to say in that moment, they would say no and walk away. But when the moment comes is that what happens? Not usually. You think, Well maybe if I do it one time then it won’t affect me or maybe they’ll stop asking. Then it’s an endless cycle which is why the epidemic is so hard to break.
Speaking of illegal activities, something that still actively happens is the act of illegal driving. Whether it be from driving without a license, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or texting while driving, these are all things that occur. Teenagers often put themselves in these situations without thinking twice about what could actually happen to them. I myself have been someone who’s done this. Probably like most people, I’d be at a stop light, I’d be sitting there for a while so I would decide, Well why not get on my phone while I’m at this light? Then suddenly traffic would start moving and I’d end up with my phone in my hand writing out a text while trying to drive with my other hand. It’s irresponsible but it’s something that I decided on my own and if anything were to happen, that would have been on me. Alongside, there has been multiple occasions where my peers would drive without a license because they thought they were a ‘good driver’. This can cause a numerous amount of issues but they still continued with the act because it’s hard to break a habit that you’ve continued to do. Sometimes it takes a punishment to cause one to go in the right direction. A friend of mine got pulled over and had no license and ended up going to court. By the end, he went to properly get his license and now he won’t be driving without proper identification.
Lastly, something we want to experience as teenagers is living life to the fullest which can include partying. We want to be surrounded by fun activities, meeting new people, and going out with friends. But at these events there can be things that aren’t condoned by the law which include drugs and alcohol. I’m sure that more than not, teenagers have all sacrificed their morals and maybe took a sip here or there and thought nothing of it. In a partying type of environment it’s hard to hold oneself back from making the wrong decision. In no way am I justifying these acts but sometimes it may feel right to one that it’s okay to do these since everyone else around their age is doing the exact same thing.
With the increasing amount of choices that minors face, it becomes more and more difficult to see what’s right. There are many decisions that will make or break them as a person and it’s up to their conscience to choose the right thing. Although it can seem hard to know what’s right from wrong, that’s okay.
Growing up can require choosing the wrong decision to be able to recognize the right one.
Citations
SOURCE 1: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vape
