Teenagers in the United States are experimenting with sexual activities more and more today than ever before, and the sad thing about this issue is that it is becoming common-place in our society, because it is not being frowned upon as it were just a couple of years ago. It is now a known fact that majority of high school aged boys and girls would have engaged in some sort of sexual activity by the time they graduate high school. "50% of girls and women aged 15 to 19 told the National Center for Health Statistics they had had sex, [ ] 55% of single males ages 15 to 19 have had sex" (Maggie Gallagher). Also alarming, is the growing rate of children having sexual intercourse before they are of the age of thirteen. Stephanie Ann Sanders states "The problem of teenage pregnancy is considerably worse in the United States than in almost any other developed country. Studies show that birth rates for women under 20 are higher in the United States than in 29 other developed countries." (MICROSOFT ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2000). Some sort of sexual connotation always surrounds teenagers, whether it is the television, radio, school, or even the Internet. .
The price teenagers are paying for being sexually active greatly outweighs any advantages; the consequences of teenage sexuality cannot be overlooked by the society, as consequences such as diseases, and unplanned pregnancy have been known to have both short-term and long-term effects on teenagers. These consequences cannot even be thought about without first looking at what pushes teenagers to the notion of early sex. The society, peer pressure, and the media play the major part in gearing adolescents to finding out about, knowing, and finally engaging in sexual intercourse before they are both physically and mentally capable of handling the reality that accompanies sexual activities. .
This paper will be broken into two parts; part one of which will deal with the probable causes that push teenagers to early sex and part two which will deal with the effects of early teenage sex.
