The Cause of Teen Alcoholism in the World Today.

Essay by dmilneHigh School, 12th gradeA-, January 2004

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Imagine just turning sixteen and being at your first "real" high school party. After tearfully begging your parents to treat you like an adult and let you go with a friend, you are finally there. You are a little bit nervous due to the fact you know only a few number of the people in the room, the rest being upperclassmen. Finally, after what seems forever of shyly shifting from one foot to the other and making small talk with people you barely know, a cute upperclassmen comes up to you and offers you a beer. A decision is before you, either ignore all those years of adults telling you that drinking was bad or to ignore all that advice and take the drink, not wanting to look like a wimp in front of the cute stranger. You take the drink, and down it, noticing the strange tickling sensation down your stomach.

"That wasn't so bad," you think to yourself and cheerfully accept another. After a while, you realize that you are talking, even shouting, to anyone and everyone around you. "How did I get to be like this? Am I drunk?" (Bichler 12). This situation is more common today than most people may think. Teens today have been drawn more than ever to the appeal of alcohol. Some causes of teen drinking include drinking as feeling better, family influence, the result of advertising, and drinking due to peer pressure. Each different cause makes a significant impact in a teen's decision to drink.

One of the first causes of teen drinking is the idea of feeling better, whether it be in hope of escaping large amounts of stress or to feel better by appearing older and more sophisticated. Most teens agree that when drinking, you find yourself more daring, and...