So I was reading some bullshit article on AOL about what makes teenagers happy

[otherlander]

because apparently... I'll be surprised to learn what I think. :crazy:

I think the main point of the article was that more teenagers like spending time with their families than you'd expect. Ok. Fine. I have no way to prove or disprove that, so whatever. But anyway...

The article went on to say that teenagers who had sex were less happy. At which point I began to wonder if this was just a bunch of "family values" propaganda. I mean, how do you measure how happy people are? And do the surveyors really think that they get honest answers when asking teenagers if they're having sex or not?

But then I thought that maybe they had a point, just thinking about the people who go to my school. I mean, from listening to them talk, it seems that for the most part they just see dating as a game and that most of their relationships don't really have anything to do with love. And if they don't really care about each other then it's not making love, it's just fucking. But that's just the vibe I get from looking at Yuppie-ville where I live, so I don't know. It might be different in places that are more of artists' communities where there's less of an emphasis on conformity.

Then I couldn't believe the article actually used the phrase "Sex, drugs, and rock and roll". Goddamn it, people still fucking say that? Is this the 1950's or something? And I never really understood how "rock and roll" fit in with the other two things on that list. Unprotected sex can give people STD's and overdosing on drugs can kill people, but what the hell is rock and roll going to do? I would like to make some sarcastic comment right here about "Is it going to _____?", but I honestly can't think of anything to put in that blank.

[DarkTirade]

1. Well, I'd be unhappy if I had to listen to the rock and roll that's on the radio these days...

all of the teens I know have good enough taste to only listen to stuff from the mid 90s and earlier. :)

[WildEyedLiberal]

2. I think it's probably true

I'm a few years removed from high school, but the kids who I KNEW to be having sex had a lot of insecurity issues, conflicts with other kids (popularity contests and pettiness and catfights and bullshit like that) and were CONSTANTLY having angst over their "relationships." Their lives seemed to be a constant litany of angst and tears. There were a few kids who were in "long term" relationships with a steady BF/GF, and I assume they were having sex, and they were happy, but the ones in steady relationships were exceptions. The rest of them got so caught up in the popular kool kidz crowd bullshit that I think they were so busy keeping up appearances to remain in said crowd that they were never really actually content.