Teenage

1. Teenage Addiction By: Sergio Garza Date: 21 May 2014 Section: English 3-8th Period

2. Overview • What is teen addiction/Intro • Facts/Statistics • Where teen addiction is most common • Types of addiction • Common teenage addiction here in the RGV • Causes of teenage addiction • Signs of addiction in a teen • Case of a Teenage selfie addiction • YouTube Video • What happens to addicted teens • Opinion on teenage addiction /Conclusion

3. Topic Overview • What: Teenage addiction • When: 13 and over • Where: Late middle school-High school • Why/Thesis: From the school stress to the anxiety of going back to school or getting out, many teens rely on sex, drugs, violence and many other addictions to relieve these distraught emotions.

4. Statistics/Facts • Teen drug abuse has risen over the past decade. • Marijuana is a common drug and heavy use of it has been reported in 80% of teens. • 1 in 10 teens report using marijuana 20 times a month. • According to the CDC 1 in 5 teenagers report taking un-prescribed drugs • Drugs are the most common addiction next to the internet and food. • Many teenage addictions start with the parents and how they raise their child to be in society(school) or at home. • Teenage drug overdose has surpassed car accidental deaths in theses past years.

5. Where is teen addiction most common • Teenage addiction is most common in late middle school and all of high school. Most teens addiction is dependent on where they live in the united states. The south part of the united states is usually known for its drugs while the upper part of the united states has a more psychological role in teenagers like sex, video games, and the internet. • In overview, the South's most common teenage addiction(considering México influence) is drugs, while the North’s most common teen addictions are more of mind distractions than emotion suppressants.

6. Types of teen addictions • Drugs, Sex, Food, Their Phones ,Internet , Video games, Violence, Stealing or shoplifting, Gambling ,Pornography, Self harming, A certain person, Social media, Partying.

7. Here in the RGV • In the Rio Grande Valley Teenagers are greatly influenced by how close we are too the border and the culture that influences young Hispanic teens. Since most teens down here range from the stressful and strict parents to the ones that don’t care at all. Most Hispanic teens tend to grow up with alcohol as their drug or marijuana as the drug they see the most and tend to follow the most when their parents are uncaring. Parents who care (strict)tend to lead their kids into a video game addiction or an internet/social media addiction down here in the RGV. Divorce down here is common and thus parental figures who are missing can effect the teens hormones spiraling them into a sex addiction.

8. What causes teenage addiction? • Teenage addiction is caused by 4 main things. The first one is Lack of parent to child communication, which result in teenagers picking up bad habits due to them thinking that their parents do not are. The second thing is trying to fit in, this is also know as peer pressure which is caused by the teen wanting to try something new or wanting to do what other do. The third thing is unsupervised accessibility, meaning parental trust toward their teenager unknowing what their capable of. The last thing is too much freedom, and well that’s self explanatory. If you give a child too much freedom they usually end up dead or dying due to lack of guidance.

9. Signs of teenage addiction • Signs of addiction can be and are not limited to depression, mood swings, lack of communication, health problems, uncommon behavior, secrecy over a certain topic, unsettled behavior among elders. • Note: teens tend to be masters of disguise so noting the signs of an addiction can be hard ,yet the ones listed above are more noticeable .Pay close attention to their physical and emotional state.

10. Teenage selfie addict • This is a peculiar addiction, yet it shows that teenagers have many different addictions.

11. What happens to addicted teens • Many teens soon spiral out of control when they become addicted to something. Many of them drop out of school, constantly keep thinking of it, are damaged physically which can lead to medical implications, and can usually commit suicide due to how much of it they end up doing/using a day. Also many teens are not the same afterwards, they change their total personality and tend to view life differently.

12. Opinion/Conclusion • My opinion on addiction is that today’s teenagers are like sponges. They absorb anything that is put out for them to see, without rationalizing the effects and complications while performing these things and soon become obsessive over the certain endeavor. Overall, teenage addiction has risen and most of it is drug related. Teenagers seek an excuse for their life or meaning, if you want to put in good connotation, yet when they become addicted the only thing that has meaning in life to them is their addiction…

13. Work Cited -“Teen drug abuse becoming an epidemic, must be addressed.” foxnews.com/health/2012/05/02/teen-drug-abuse-becoming-epidemic-must-be-addressed. Dr. Manny Alvarez, 14 March 2014. Web. 20 March 2014 -“Other types of teen addictions.” teenalcoholrehab.net/other-types-of-teen-addicitions.php Teen alcohol rehab, n.d. Web. 20 March 2014 -“Causes of teenage addiction.” teenaddicitions.com. n.p., n.d. Web. 20 March 2014