Teenagers and their sexual openness.

[MasterShakezula]

As a highschooler, I generally am around teenagers 5 days a week for the majority of the year.  Something I've noticed about my peers is that there seems to me a rather high level of sexual openness.

-The school has a dress code, which maybe 10% of girls actually follow.
-There's also a rule against PDAs.  I regularly see couples making out heavily, and often, lap-dancing or grinding.  I've even heard of people using the bathrooms for doing the dew. 
-During classes/breaks/all the time, I often overhear people talking about their making out, or even sexual experiences.
-Last school year, I was in the drumline; most of my peers in that team were non-virgins.  There were even cases of some of them doing the dew with members of the colorguard on the bus home from competitions.  They also really liked to show eachother their penises, and when no adults were looking, they'd often break into the band room to have sex with their girlfriends or strip naked and dance around.

Would you guys say that kids born from 93-97 (my peer group, in terms of age), are more sexually open than kids born from 88-92.  Or kids born from 83-87.  Or pre 80s people?

I'd be very interested in hearing others' say on this. 

[Sigz]

Probably, though I was so out of the loop when I was in high school that I really can't say.

[Riceball]

Doin' the dew.

'89 vintage here. Honestly, I didn't notice it too much, but having been out of teenager-dom for 5 years now, I've gotta say I've noticed quite a bit more sexual openness amongst younger people...can't say I can give a definitive reason why though I'll leave that to the elders or the heavily opinionated ones. But I do give credence to your thinking that younger people are more open than, say, 10 years ago.

[Zook]

They also really liked to show each other their penises

There was a case of this at my High School. Whether it was true is beyond me, but they liked to talk about it a lot.

Kids are stupid.

[Adami]

Kids may be getting more progressively sexually open.




Is that a bad thing? I don't think so.

[lateralus88]

I like sex.

[SPNKr]

I like sex.

Is nice.

[MasterShakezula]

Is that a bad thing? I don't think so.

Though I am a conservative, in terms my individual behavior (abstinent), I'm all for my peers doin' as much of the dew as they please, as long as they're responsible and use protection.  

[El Barto]

I'm sure they are.  Most of what you describe was happening when I was in high school (though we mostly kept our wangs to ourselves), but we were certainly more low key about it.  It's really a simple result of the information age.  Now that everybody has internet access, sex is a lot less taboo.  TV and radio had the exact same effect decades earlier.  The more people are exposed to the goings on of others, the less they have to be freaked out about.  

[Perpetual Change]

I don't think it's a bad thing.

[SPNKr]

That's what I was thinking. We've had the internet for a while now and many youngsters are being desensitised to what they see on there.

[MasterShakezula]

I'm sure they are.  Most of what you describe was happening when I was in high school (though we mostly kept our wangs to ourselves), but we were certainly more low key about it.  It's really a simple result of the information age.  Now that everybody has internet access, sex is a lot less taboo.  TV and radio had the exact same effect decades earlier.  The more people are exposed to the goings on of others, the less they have to be freaked out about.  

That seems like a very believable thesis.  May I ask you two questions?

Would you say that birth control/STD protection are more or less easy for teens to acquire nowadays?
and
Would you say that current teens are more or less likely to actually use said protection?

[MetalMike06]

Would you guys say that kids born from 93-97 (my peer group, in terms of age), are more sexually open than kids born from 88-92.  Or kids born from 83-87.  Or pre 80s people?

I'd be very interested in hearing others' say on this. 

Yes. None of that stuff was too frequent at least when I was in high school (2002-2006). Maybe I was just in a better neck of the woods, I dunno. I wouldn't consider myself to have been too "out of the loop" in HS, but I guess I wasn't the biggest socialite either. Maybe that stuff was going on and I was just unaware. But it definitely wasn't as commonplace as you seem to describe.

[ReaperKK]

Born in 86 here. I had a high school girlfriend who I guess I could say I was pretty sexual open with my girlfriend. We would sneak around whenever we could but that was the case with a lot of people I know. When I look at my brothers group of friends (he was born in 94) I actually think they are less sexually open, I've had very candid conversations with him and I certainly get that impression.

I think it varies by the group of kids that you're looking at in high school.

[SPNKr]

I think it varies by the group of kids that you're looking at in high school.

Precisely. I was sort of in-between cliques at times until I eventually stayed firm within this one group that played a lot of WoW.

[El Barto]

I'm sure they are.  Most of what you describe was happening when I was in high school (though we mostly kept our wangs to ourselves), but we were certainly more low key about it.  It's really a simple result of the information age.  Now that everybody has internet access, sex is a lot less taboo.  TV and radio had the exact same effect decades earlier.  The more people are exposed to the goings on of others, the less they have to be freaked out about.  

That seems like a very believable thesis.  May I ask you two questions?

Would you say that birth control/STD protection are more or less easy for teens to acquire nowadays?
and
Would you say that current teens are more or less likely to actually use said protection?

Strictly guesses on my part, but probably the same with regards to access and better about using protection.  I never had any problem buying condoms when I was a kid (and once had to purchase them from a teacher who was moonlighting at the drug store--that actually was embarrassing),  and my girlfriend throughout HS didn't mind buying her preferred method.  Frankly,  money was more of an issue than anything else--that shit was expensive.   Nowadays, it's probably easier because kids are likely more at ease with the whole protection thing.  And,  plenty of places will give you condoms now.   Something that's fascinated me when the subject of drunk driving pops up here is how indoctrinated younger people are today.  20 years of incessant nagging from MADD really has made a huge change.  It's made me a believer that if you hammer the same message for long enough, future generations will buy it. This is what concerns me about abstinence only education.  Not only does it send a fairly harmful message, but it blocks out an incredibly beneficial one.   As it pertains to using protection, there will always be irresponsible kiddos,  but I suspect that the mainstream ones have a much better opinion of birth control and such than we did when I was a lad,  just because they've been hearing about it for so long.  .  

[GuineaPig]

Well, abstinence only education has been repeatedly shown to correlate with higher teen pregnancies, so you'd be right.  I know in Canada teen pregnancies are heavily on the downslope.

[setrataeso]

Yeah man.
I work at a science center/museum, and we host a lot of school trips there. I spend a lot of time talking to the kids, and they're usually pretty cool.

But, the issue I've noticed is that once they hit 7th Grade, things start to change. The girls get tardier and the guys backtalk a lot more (the girls as well, actually). I know that there are kids in Grade 5 that have boyfriends and girlfriends, and by the time they reach Grade 7 and 8 they are performing sexual favours and such. I can just tell.
While I certainly had sexual thoughts in Grade 7, I don't think I had it in me to start giving or receiving oral sex. But there are kids out there that think that this is normal, and it bothers me. Little 10-year old girls are wearing copious amounts of make-up, and boys are actually shit like "sup babe" to there supposed "girlfriends" and it's all become very sexualized.

Now, I'm not really one to revel in the past; I'm disagree with censorship and this whole "protect our children" debacle the world seems so narrowed in on right now. But, seeing these "sexy" children bothers me. I wasn't hounding for handjobs in elementary school, I was drawing comic books about guys with big butts, and playing kickball. I'm only around 8-10 years older than many of these kids, and I'm shocked out how quickly the change in wholesomeness has come around.


I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily. But, I do feel like some kids are trying to grow up too fast, and they're doing it the wrong way. It seems now that a lot of kids are missing out on their last years of being a kid, meanwhile they are trying so hard to be an adult, and become more sexually open is the way they think it's done. I just feel bad for them; you only get to be a kid once, and they've basically lost it.

[SPNKr]

Some douchebags actually turn out to be legitimate and sensible people after high school. Do they have proud and fond memories of constantly chasing girls? No. Most end up regretting that and wish they could've focused on other things including study. It's only the real good times that are worth being proud of, like hanging out with your mates, talking about interesting shit, learning off each other, and just having fun. Whatever.

[ResultsMayVary]

There were only a few people who were really sexually "open" when I was in high school. The majority of the people were either very conservative or just didn't bother with it at school. And I graduated two years ago.

Note, I live in south-central Ohio in the country (somewhat), if that has any effect on anything.

[MasterShakezula]

What's odd is despite my school being full of sexually open kids, my congressional district is one of the few conservative ones in CA.

[El Barto]

I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily. But, I do feel like some kids are trying to grow up too fast, and they're doing it the wrong way. It seems now that a lot of kids are missing out on their last years of being a kid, meanwhile they are trying so hard to be an adult, and become more sexually open is the way they think it's done. I just feel bad for them; you only get to be a kid once, and they've basically lost it.

That's an interesting take, because in many ways I see it as the exact opposite.  It seems to me like adults are largely responsible for taking the fun out of being a kid.  13 freaking years of getting up at 7:30 in the morning and spending all day at school.  You're expected to bust your ass so you can get into a good college, immediately get a good job and be a responsible adult.  None of this spend a year roaming around Europe garbage.  Don't drink.  Don't smoke.  Do your homework.  Don't screw your girlfriend.  Hell,  they've even turned sports into work now.  I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying at all, they are rushing to grow up as fast as they can, and in some ways that's a shame, but we're not exactly making being a kid much fun anymore. 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I'll admit, I'm pretty open about my sexual experiences, and most others are. It sounds like your school is a lot hornier than mine though judging from your last point.

[Ħ]

It surprises me that America is getting more openly sexual, considering that less and less people in America are physically attractive.

[MasterShakezula]

It surprises me that America is getting more openly sexual, considering that less and less people in America are physically attractive.

I've certainly noticed that in troves on campus, ever since Jersey Shore got shoved down the nation's collective throats. 

[ricky]

considering that less and less people in America are physically attractive.

um.


wat?

[Ħ]

something about an obesity epidemic or so i hear

[Adami]

It surprises me that America is getting more openly sexual, considering that less and less people in America are physically attractive.

I see insane amounts of attractive people of both sexes anytime I go outside. Maybe you need to move?

[dethklok09]

I knew football wouldn't get me laid... Drumline it is

[MasterShakezula]

I knew football wouldn't get me laid... Drumline it is

I wouldn't recommend it.  4-5 hour practices, 5 times a week for 5 months straight: Dec. to April.  4 more months from August to November if you school also has a marching band.  I didn't mind that, as much as I despised my dick-ass coach.  Hence, I just did it for one year.   

Also, I didn't get laid.   

[j]

It sounds like you're school is a lot hornier than mine though judging from your last point.

Even though I think you're joking, I'm not sure there isn't something to this.

I was born in '85, and of course we all talked about sex from junior high onward.  Probably a lot I guess, I don't really remember.  But I definitely don't remember it completely consuming our minds, or getting to the point of people fucking around at school all the time, etc.  I don't know, but it seems like kids are getting hornier.  Who knows?

I had sex with quite a few chicks in high school, and I regret a lot of what I did, then and even early in college.  I think kids in general aren't anywhere near mature enough to handle sex and all it entails (I wasn't), regardless of what anybody thinks about the "importance" of it.  The problem is, that doesn't match up with where they're at physiologically.  Fucking developmental biology.

So I guess my conclusion is that, best case scenario, kids should be able to make some mistakes and hopefully learn from them.  Ideally, there'd be a balance between stressing responsibility and letting kids do their own thing to some degree, but unfortunately today, to suggest a little exercise in self-discipline--however moderate--is likely to get you labeled an unrealistic "abstinence-only" prude.

Honestly it's not something I care too much about.  Although if I ever have a daughter, I'm sure I'll change my tune.

-J

[dethklok09]

I knew football wouldn't get me laid... Drumline it is

I wouldn't recommend it.  4-5 hour practices, 5 times a week for 5 months straight: Dec. to April.  4 more months from August to November if you school also has a marching band.  I didn't mind that, as much as I despised my dick-ass coach.  Hence, I just did it for one year.   

Also, I didn't get laid.   

So does that mean I can't haz the womenz? 

[Ħ]

It surprises me that America is getting more openly sexual, considering that less and less people in America are physically attractive.

I see insane amounts of attractive people of both sexes anytime I go outside. Maybe you need to move?

I live in California, which is supposed to be the home of the most attractive people in the US. 

[ZBomber]

Yes. My high school class was kind of normal, but starting 2 years after mine, all of the classes started getting really slutty.

And I don't know why. But I even work with a few high school girls at my job and they openly talk about all the sex they have. It's kind of weird. It's not just like one or two, it's almost all of them.

And now that I'm 21 I can't go after high school tail so this does me NO GOOD WHATSOEVER

[MasterShakezula]

I knew football wouldn't get me laid... Drumline it is

I wouldn't recommend it.  4-5 hour practices, 5 times a week for 5 months straight: Dec. to April.  4 more months from August to November if you school also has a marching band.  I didn't mind that, as much as I despised my dick-ass coach.  Hence, I just did it for one year.   

Also, I didn't get laid.   

So does that mean I can't haz the womenz? 

There could be another way.  Lately, I've routinely ignored or acted coldly towards most female peers and such, and have caught girls looking me over sometimes.  I'd also recommend going to theme parks with friends; I tend to get flirted with by college-agers at theme parks.  Though, they always tend to be gothic hippies.  And drunk.