Troubled Teens Resources

The world of today’s adolescents isn’t all about teen age drug abuse. A frustrated teen helps put another perspective out there afterbeing disappointed in discovering that a search for teen topics produced some unpleasant Google results.

It seems that Google associates the word ‘teenager’ most often with; addiction, drugs, alcohol, binge drinking, sex and violence. You know, the usual array of topics covered here. Because they do reflect an unhappy reality. But is also true that teens really are most associated with negatives, not only in what the press chooses to cover, but in the way that Hollywood chooses to portray them.

In order to set the record straight, the young writer offers the following statistics, and also asks that we give teenagers “a chance. Listen to our half of the story. You never know; we just might surprise you.”

“According to Josh McDowell and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• “43 percent (of teenagers) talk to family or friends about religious matters in a typical day, (and) 41 percent talk to family or friends about politics in a typical day.” (1998)

• “70 percent of teens have daily conversations with their mothers about an important issue in their life.” (1998)

• “More than 90 percent of young people (16-19-year-olds) are either enrolled in school or employed, and 27 percent are both enrolled in school and employed.” (2003)

• “Teens describe themselves as: happy (92 percent); responsible (91 percent); self reliant (86 percent); optimistic about my future (82 percent); very intelligent (79 percent); and physically attractive (74 percent).”
(source)