Teen Drinking

[Bianca]

Im sorry, I really need to rant:

Does this seriously affect anyone else here? I REALLY hate how teens these days abuse alcohol. Its a terrible thing to do as an adult, but right now, its even worse! I have lots of friends that I have lost because of drinking, both in death, and simply because nowadays, if you refuse to follow them, you are "uncool". Some of my close friends talk to me and brag about "how drunk they got at a party", and I get really embarrassed to be with them.

So why do so many people do it? Whats the best way to stop them? Does anyone else think this is wrong?

[Pan Chan]

I'm sorry... Yes I do believe it's rong but the only way I know how to help you is pray for them and try bringing them to church if they don't go already.
If they arn't christians try praying for the oprotunity, words and everything else to minister to them. That's all I know. Only God can save them.....

[Sakura15]

yes I do think that is wrong, and also very sad. Why do they do it? to be honest im not really sure I hate the smell of alcohol. But, they may have some problems at home, or they are just pressured into doing it. And they may just like it. There's alot of reasons why.

The best way to stop them? dont really know since you cant physically make them stop. Praying for them is what I do, but I know you are agnostic. Perhaps show them the downsides of it, even then they may not change their minds. But Im glad to see that you think it is wrong.

I will be praying for them.

[Nate]

I think that it's seriously just because it's something forbidden to them. They're not allowed to do it legally, and by doing it when they're not supposed to, they think it makes them look "cool."

As far as being wrong...there are two distinct schools of thought in the Christian world on this...the first being that all alcohol is wrong and should not be consumed at all, the second (which I am in) being that alcohol is not sinful, but that drinking it to excess is (that is, drinking isn't the sin, it's being drunk that is).

I would like to remind everyone posting after me that I will not discuss this in the thread, as it is a hotly contested topic in the Christian community, and theological debate is not welcome here (though I will be happy to talk via PM to anyone interested).

Regardless, either way being drunk is wrong, no matter which belief we as Christians follow. As for the best way to stop them, having never dealt with a relative who abused alcohol (and am thankful to God for that), I unfortunately have no advice to offer you on that subject, sorry.

[ChristianKitsune]

OOOOOOhh I know well how this feels...

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago...and let me tell you I was so mad at this person..

The risks of Drinking as a teen are great. Everyone wants to fit in here, and thus, they will drink until they are so inebriated that they collaspe. (VERY Dangerous!)

There are drinking laws for a reason. The drinking age is 21..not 16. At least her in America.

but yes, this really ticks me off, and the fact that none of my friends would listen to me is even more annoying. It's really dangerous...and I really hope that nothing bad happens to them...

How can you help them? Well, I tried talking to my friends, this didn't work. However, if they do this again, thier parents will be told. I will not see my friends die at a young age because they wanted ONE night of "Fun"

I don't see the fun in drinking till you vomit. I don't see the FUN in wakingup the next morning with a massive headache.. I dont see the FUN of not remembering what happened the night before.

Could this be a cause for premarital pregnancies? You betcha... its a major cause for it...

It's also why insurance is so high for driving teens...

So, to say that I don't agree with this is an understatement I would PROTEST against this..

(END RANT I am sorry If i offended anyone.)

[TurkishMonky]

i kind of know how yo ufeel... at break time in my clases a bunch of the (college) kids talk about how drunk they got last weekend, the horrible hangovers the've had, how broke they are because they can't afford the booze etc. However, I've become much more certan that i'll never drink - it just sound like theymake fools of themselves every weekend, as well as fail thier classes because of not being able to do their homework because they just go from being drunk to being hungover day after day...feh. really stupid. i seriously think that they might not really have anything else to live for besides being wasted. i don't really have anything else to say, though...

[Bianca]

Im one of those people that will drink sometimes, like, when my parents give me something light at a special occassion, but I hate most alcohol ><

I really don't get why things are taken on excess at all like that..who REALLY likes the taste of Vodka? Give me some grapefruit Juice over it anyday, though I do agree, it probably has something to do with rebelling, but i'v seen even good kids take it.

[Puritan]

Alcohol abuse is a big problem in the US, and I understand that it is a really big problem in high schools now. Honestly, I don't think there is an easy way to stop your friends from drinking. The best thing I have seen is the influence of parents or older friends, people who legally can drink but don't get drunk and don't see alcohol or drunkenness as cool. Trying to tell your friends that getting drunk is stupid might stop some of them, but knowing someone who can help bust the myth that getting drunk is a cool thing adults do is probably the best way to help. Also, if your friends actually run into someone who's drunk while they are sober, they may realize how stupid they look.

While I was never interested in getting drunk, the absolute stupidity of doing so was brought home to me freshman year when I spent Halloween in the dorms. In Madison (where I live) Halloween had become a big drunken party and the dorms are especially bad. Besides having to put up with the terrible smell and extreme rudeness of my roommate and his friends when they came back to the room drunk, I saw many more people getting sick and acting stupidly, and the whole dorm was a mess. How you can consider vomiting and acting like an idiot cool is beyond me, and the more people who can see drunkenness for what it is, the better.

[Puguni]

Ok, in the long run, these people are seriously killing their livers. Seriously. Alcohol poisoning isn't fun either. I don't have friends who drink, but I know people who do. It's strange how rampant it is in the U.S, even though underage drinking is illegal. How is drinking cool? You could buy a Shirley Temple and feel just as cool.

But then again, I'm not a very social person, so I wouldn't know how socially starved people might feel about this.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Legal drinking age in Australia is 18 but ofcourse there are many underage drinkers. I find it sad when people talk about how much fun it was to get 'hammered' on the weekend or whatever. Not my friends, they don't abuse alcohol, but other people.
I'm 22 and I do have a couple drinks, a beer or two, or a glass of wine. I think that's fine but getting drunk is not. I've never been drunk, not even tipsy. And that's for the best because it's hard to be a true witness when your 'stoned' out of your skull (it's also not morally right and damages your liver bigtime).
Best thing is to pray for them though.

[MPX42]

I'm homeschooled,and I'm going to a Christian high school next school year,so I won't get a REAL taste of how deadly teen drinking for a while.At least in person.

But,yes,this is a problem that is really bad any way you look at it.I don't know why even TASTEING alcohol is considered cool.I have smelled beer,and it smells AWFUL.And tasteing it must be MUCH worse.So I don't want to take even a sip of it.But why is it cool for some people?They want to fit in,or just be cool.But want some poeple don't realize is that they don't need alcohol to fit in or be cool.They can be themselves and still be cool.I was myself in a youth group,and some people said I was cool.Sadly,some people expect deciptions,but God is stronger than any lie,we just need to pray about it,and God will win after everything is said and done.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

You thought beer smelt awful? Not suprising since you have American beer. Australian beer is (mostly) superior in taste and smell.

[Lynx]

you're 15, you think it's bad now? wait until college...

[Shao Feng-Li]

Man, it's kids like that that give other's (and me) a bad reputation. I love light drinks such as hard lemonade... is margereta light? Don't think so...

Man, those kids need a swift kick in the pants... You'd think a hangover would fix the problem... Maybe parents would... no, God would fix the problem.

Most beer is awful... the best tasting one I've... tasted was Molson XXX.

[Shinja]

people are stupid and drinking is overated, ive never been drunk but i never want to, only bad things come of it all

[Shao Feng-Li]

Drunkeness kills you, litteraly. What kind of anoying, I think having a drink is cool... What other's call cool is getting wasted.

[Kaligraphic]

I love light drinks such as hard lemonade...

Hard lemonade? pfft, this site never even gets to moderately difficult lemonade.

I'm sorry, I know it's not a very good pun. I'll go watch Carrot Top as penance.

[ssj2gohan61]

i know exactly what you meen i cant stand hearing about how my friends got drunk or when they tell me about them getting drunk and especially when they talk to me when theyre drunk..sorry i had to get my rant out to hah..but i think it is wrong as well and i dont know how to stop them, even when you think you stopped them they could just be lying and you cant even see it.

[Warrior4Christ]

I don't see the fun in drinking till you vomit. I don't see the FUN in wakingup the next morning with a massive headache.. I dont see the FUN of not remembering what happened the night before.

Nor do I. But they speak of all three things as though their part of the supposed awesomeness of the experience. (although these are young adults that I'm referring to, rather than teens.)

I'm doing Engineering, and at my uni engineers are known for their alcohol consumption and pub crawls (and they have supposedly witty t-shirts for pub crawls that play on pop culture)... is that a universal view that engineers are beer drinkers, or just my campus?

EDIT: Oh, I do a poor job of living up to that reputation.

[Kkun]

Nor do I. But they speak of all three things as though their part of the supposed awesomeness of the experience. (although these are young adults that I'm referring to, rather than teens.)

I'm doing Engineering, and at my uni engineers are known for their alcohol consumption and pub crawls (and they have supposedly witty t-shirts for pub crawls that play on pop culture)... is that a universal view that engineers are beer drinkers, or just my campus?

EDIT: Oh, I do a poor job of living up to that reputation.

If you came to an American university, you would find that a good deal of the students are usually all for getting sloshed out of their minds, so it's not just engineers and it's not just your campus.

As for this discussion about teens, it's very disturbing. The number of teens who are drinking and sexually active is particularly bad as of late. Where I used to work, I knew this one kid who was about 16 and his idea of a good weekend was going out and getting hammered. It used to break my heart when I'd talk to him. He got alcohol poisoning once, and yet he keeps on drinking. It's so sad. There are all kinds of solutions and places to put the blame...but I think the bottom line is that these kids all need to understand the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ.

[Destiny]

I'm sorta in the same boat. (When I mean sorta I mean I have a lot of friends that drink for the sole purpose of getting drunk. However rarely do they talk about that around me since they are convinced I'm saint or something and they want to 'spare me the pain'.
However some of my other classmates loudly brag about their drinking parties in front of the teachers. Well I confronted them... Probably not in the best way. (I said something along the lines of "Do you realize how stupid you sound?" They didn't take that too well.. Hahah... my mouth got the better of me then.)

ANYWAY! There's not much you can do besides 1) Try to find better friends 2) pray for them 3) make it clear that if they talk about that stuff you will go find a better use of your time. If they really are your friends they will respect your wishes. Otherwise you could try inviting them over to your house. X_X People randomly show up at my house and I'm like "What??? Why are you here? Am I missing something?" And they come because they knew they would have more fun hanging out at my place than getting drunk.

Sorry I blabbed your ear off! I hope SOMETHING I said helped you!

[Fionn Fael]

I can definitely relate to this problem. (I recently considered making a thread about the same topic, actually.) My brother, a freshman in college, loves to party. He tells me that there's nothing wrong with getting drunk; that it's great fun and that nobody gets hurt as long as you're "careful". He's only 20, and this has been his opinion on the matter since he was around 16. I feel like his drinking habit has really disconnected him from God. Ever since he started partying every other night, he doesn't care about his spiritual life. I've confronted him about it, but we just end up yelling at each other. My dad's no better- he has no qualms about my brother getting drunk and making a fool out of himself. This is probably due to the fact that he drinks as much as his son.

What I'm trying to say is that nothing good comes from drinking yourself sick. It's fine to drink casually if you're of legal age, but even then it's not right to get drunk. It kills me to hear my friends in high school talking about how wasted they were at the last party they attended. I don't think that all of them do it because they think it's "cool", necessarily. I think that the majority of them do it because they find it enjoyable somehow (although I'm not sure how drinking a disgusting burning liquid until you puke is fun). I've tried everything to get my friends to stop, but it's hard to do that alone. I know you're agnostic, but God is the only solution I know of.

My favorite verse concerning alcohol: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." -Ephesians 5:18

[Yumie]

I only have one friend who has openly admitted to me about being drunk. It's hard to deal with, but I'm not sure I really have too much advice for you, mainly just because everything that I did was purely from a Christian standpoint and you're agnostic, so you probably wouldn't be too interested. I mean, what I do is just pray and try to point out to my friend how what she's doing is severely damaging her spiritually. I mean, I guess you could just try to point out to your friends the downfalls of drinking, all though likelyhood is that they already know them and just don't care. Most teenagers unfortunately suffer from superman syndrome nowadays-- they think that nothing can hurt them, because they're young and "untouchable." Trying to point out that, one day, they will be old, and they will have to suffer from the choices that they're making now. . . it doesn't even connect with them. They live for the moment. And because of that they have no motivation not to. As for the majority of the members here, we could say that we don't get drunk because it would be displeasing to the God that we serve, but without that motivation, most kids would think they'd be dumb not to do what they think is "fun" and "cool." So I think they best and only way that you can possibly help them is try to figure out ways that you can show them how "unfun" and "uncool" it really is.

Best of luck!

[DrNic]

Oh boy do I know about this. For starters I used to do it myself. Never got so bad that I couldn't remember what I did or threw up, but I did try to walk to town at 2:30 am with a friend :S Last coupla years I've been pretty careful with drink but some of my friends are pretty pro-drinking (in a bad way). One of them (that used to come to my youth group) has started hanging out with these pretty dodgy guys in town. He goes down every saturday to get drunk and make out with random people (guys and girls) and is systematically going out with pretty much every girl he meets down there. Scary stuff.

[indyrocker]

Now as a pre-warning to my post I will admit that I have been drunk and I am not pro getting drunk or underage drinking. It has been my experence that most of the "thrill" of going to a party and getting smashed is vastly from the fact that acording to US law any one under 21 is breaking the law and there for doing somting dangourus. When I have dank more than my fill I ended up puking my guts out and it sucked hardcore style. Now I admit that that was my falt for puting myself into that state in the first place and i am wiser for the ages when it comes to consumption of such bevrages. Now for the main body of my 2 cents I do not think drinking responcably is a bad thing. Drinking hevaly is bad for your liver as is taking to much medication of any type. Now a glass or a shot every now and again to relax while hanging out with friends or at home is somthing I have no problem with however drinking for the entire purpos of getting hammerd I think is stuped and when they wake up with a hangover or puke their guts out till they dry heave it's their own falt and they desearve it all. As for me I will contunue to drink for the taist and to help me relax every once in a while but I am going to personaly try to not have a night when i don't remeber anything evean as little as the movement fromt he bathroom to the couch or bed. Well thats about it from me.

[Wave]

you're 15, you think it's bad now? wait until college...

No joke.

I don't drink. I'm enough of an idiot as it is. I don't need any help. I don't really like the taste of alcohol ether.

I don't really have any advice. I'll pray for your friends though.

wave.