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Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

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Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#131

Post by tomp »

tcj_phx wrote: post #92
flukus wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's possible that the easy availability of porn has a lot more to do with this than just fear of pregnancy I'd guess it's a combination of this and the overweight/obesity rate climbing, the venn diagrams between "people who want to sleep with you" and "people you want to sleep with" are probably diverging for many.

> I'd guess it's a combination of this and the overweight/obesity rate climbing I agree, but for a different reason. Excess fat is an endocrine disruptor: adipose tissue makes Aromatase [1], which converts testosterone -> estrogen. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatase Adipose tissue is the greatest peripheral source of aromatase in both males and females,[citation needed] contributing to the production of estr…

I wonder if obesity is the cause for the multi-generational decline of testosterone levels.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#132

Post by flukus »

ma2rten wrote: post #130
jorgemf wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add Tinder as another reason for less sex. You have thousands of posible candidates on your finger prints, why wouldn't you get the perfect one? So people skip most people and only small percent succeed. Before you were in the bar with few less options, darker and with more alcohol, so you were more likely to match someone more real and normal.

I sounds unlikely to me that an app for casual encounters is the reason people have less sex...

I think the parent is suggesting that there is the same or more sex, just for fewer people. If you can access a thousand people in your league there is no reason to look outside of it (we're all min-maxing) whereas before you were limited by vicinity.

I understand tinder has become more of a dating app than a quick hook up one these days anyway. At least that's what friends tell me, I prefer getting drunk in a bar the old fashioned way.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#133

Post by klibertp »

JenBarb wrote: post #95
PrimalDual wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure about your claim that sex doesn’t require money. At least the male side courtship seems to be rather expensive both in terms of time and money. Granted that depends on what side of the pareto distribution you fall under. I agree with your point that having the breadth of human knowledge at your fingertips helps you make better decisions especially with how inforgiving the internet’s memory is. It does c…

From the female side, safer sex and pregnancy prevention can also get pretty expensive in terms of time and money. Getting on the pill requires multiple doctor's appointments, and the pill itself can cost upwards of $50 a month. Just that could be a reason young women who have received comprehensive sex ed can't be bothered to try PIV sex.

> the pill itself can cost upwards of $50 a month

Wow! In Europe, at least in my part of it, it's like $3 to $5 per month.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#134

Post by chewz »

stouset wrote: post #52
chewz wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Sex puts you through a lot of suffering (disappointment, self-doubt, rejection, bad life decisions etc.) and simply is a great waste of resources (time, money, energy etc.) and in modern times even more so cause it isn't usually leading to procreation or long-term bonding. Yes sex is nice but it has a heavy price.

> disappointment, self-doubt, rejection, bad life decisions etc. Absolutely none of these are necessarily a consequence of sex, given a healthy and productive attitude toward physicality and interpersonal relationships. I am genuinely sympathetic that you seem to associate these feelings with sexual relationships.

I appreciate the sympathy however (I hope) I can enjoy sex as much as anyone else.

My point is rather that describing sex as only joyful (also in a context of modern teenagers) is quite shallow.

You can look no further but to a few pop songs, watch a random movie or read some good poetry to learn that sex as a driving force is leading to confusion, suffering etc. It is also a force beyond our control on some level and as such could lead to serious life consequences - you can make some dumb life decision driven by sex.

Also historically and in many different cultures sex is seen rather as confusing force. People had been choosing lifetime celibacy, chastity etc. for a reason.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#135

Post by crush-n-spread »

redleggedfrog wrote: post #9

Good parenting? As a parent, I was proud that my sons waited to date, took public transportation or rode their bikes, don't drink cause they're not 21 yet, and decided to have sex at the perfectly reasonable age of 19. I did like how the end of the article mentioned how scary the world is today. They should try living through the Cold War, and the time of Crips and Bloods, and gas lines, and the housing crash. Now th…

I see what you're saying about how they're being responsible by holding off on sex, cars, and drinking, but there is an opportunity cost in holding off on those three things - They miss out on the enormous compounding effects of having their own relationships, vehicles, and high-impact social gatherings happen 2-3 years earlier.

Maybe an anecdote will be useful. I started dating, drinking, and driving at 15-16 y.o. All three of those activities have been formative in building my career as a tech worker. I had a choice to move to a big tech hub, and having a potential partner living in the target city was a key factor in moving. To even consider moving to the city, I needed to already be comfortable with packing up my life in my car and physically driving, which I had already been doing for years. Moving to the city was insanely stressful for 10 consecutive months, and I found that having an excessive amount of beer with a good friend was pivotal in helping me navigate my stressful, heavy emotions.

In conclusion, you cannot grow up slowly and expect to do big things. You need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. There's no sense in keeping your kids away from real learning because you have some notion in your head about "responsible ages to do things". There is no goodness in slapping age requirements on activities and then stopping to think about it.

And one more thing, WW2 produced the greatest generation of all time, the baby boomers - That war gave our nation a widespread sense of purpose and unity that has not been seen since. So while war is bad you must also consider that the stress of war creates great men that make great leaders.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#136

Post by mirimir »

vowelless wrote: post #40
pixl97 wrote: post #15

There are a pile of different answers to these questions (not question), ones that should be asked separately. For example, excluding factors that affect all the questions, putting off drinking is likely a combination of consumer education and the difficulty in getting alcohol pre-21. Fewer adults want to provide their younger peers alcohol because of legal risks. Driving is the combination of increasing expense to d…

My prior is like yours: There are likely different answers to the various points listed above. Regarding this one: > Sex probably includes factors of better sexual education. Higher pregnancy rates are seen in populations with no or bad sexual education. Also, you are 'held to the fire' by the state if you get someone pregnant. It's possible that the easy availability of porn has a lot more to do with this than just…

Yes, I was also thinking porn. Porn and gaming. Gaming and porn. Who needs to drive? Or bother with actual humans?

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#137

Post by andai »

labster wrote: post #122
Jill_the_Pill wrote: post #43

They're not smoking either. Those things are no longer cool badges of maturity, independence, or rebellion. Instead, they're getting piercings and tattoos, identifying as alternative genders, sexting, and claiming more flexible sexual orientations. Alarms the old folks just as effectively.

Kids these days, now we can't even store sex in a bool. And they want another float for gender! Back in my day we had one bit for each, and we liked it.

Wasn't it one for both, or is that too far back?

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#138

Post by spookyuser »

eighthnate wrote: post #11
SandersAK wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every 10 years someone posts this. The message it sends is this "I don't actually take time to understand the unique situation of being a kid in today's economy and culture. I do not acknowledge that the experience is rapidly changing. I am uncomfortable with this new world and would rather put the blame on kids being 'coddled' without any data to suggest this than confront my own lack of understanding."

Every previous generation thinks the current generation is coddled. When I was a kid, I had to walk through 10 miles of snow to get to school. "Snow day"? Schools are creating sissies I tell ya.

AKA Juvenoia https://youtu.be/LD0x7ho_IYc

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#139

Post by andai »

spodek wrote: post #91

I wonder what it's like to grow up in a world you know was trashed -- likely to have more plastic in the ocean than fish, wars over resources, hundreds of millions of people displaced from their homes, population decreases, etc... all consequences of past generations' carelessness. Maybe not all those things will happen, but some will. That has to factor into your world view and behavior.

I thought you were talking about the present. It's only a mild exaggeration.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#140

Post by addHocker »

The values we usually selected for in sexual partners are becoming worthless

Strength? Machines are stronger, manual labour is looked down upon.

Endurance? ^

Agression? Drones and defense machinery make soldiers unnecessary.

Intelligence, as it is in demand - aka is quite counterproductive when it comes to finding a partner.

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