I agree that the article is incomplete in its assessment of the problem, but then again every article is. I agree with the Time article in so far that media is a part of the problem. Not very original, but I really applaud the very end of it: “Maybe we believe so readily in notions like a plague of teen sex because they titillate us, the grownups.” Well said. We rarely want to point the finger at ourselves as a part of the problem.

B. If it really is a problem, I’ll admit, I’m no proponet of waiting until marriage until sex, but still. The article itself mentions that teen pregnancies are actually decreasing. And studies suggest that teens are staying reasonable monagomous.

I’ve asked myself the question before, “If I had a daughter who watched The OC and wore thongs, would it bother me?” I find myself generally answering No.

People blame the media, or parents, but they’re always blaming them for the wrong things – the media for presenting the image, and the parents for not limiting it or explaining that its inaccurate.

What about this as a thesis: as a society, we’re ageist, and that has negative consequences for the behavior young people in general display.

We say dumb shit like “this is the best time of your lives” or “you’ll never get these years back” or “you’ll never look this good again,” when in truth, for anyone intelligent, youth is basically the worst time of your life. You’re not allowed the freedom of an adult, everyone treats you like you’re mildly retarded, you’re forced into a socialization process that rewards the creation of a fascist hierarchy, and your brain hasn’t yet started to comprehend the emotions of others so you feel alone.

In this kind of society – where sex and sexiness are the only currency, of COURSE teens take this to inappropriate levels. What else can they do?