Today’s teenagers have been stereotyped as adventurous and harebrained individuals.  They are generally fond of experimenting with things until they get in touch with drugs, sex, guns, alcohol among others. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, 16,000 young adults die each year from unintentional injuries and accidents.  The most common justification for teenagers’ care-free attitude is that their brains just aren’t developed enough to know better. However, recent research shows that in some cases the fact is just the opposite, the brain matures not too slowly but perhaps, too quickly.

According to a psychiatrist, an adolescent who engages in more dangerous activities have white-matter pathways that seem to be more mature than those of risk-averse youths.  White-matter is the brain’s wiring, the neutral pathways that connect the various gray-matter regions of the cerebrum that are independent of one another.  Having a mature white-matter is necessary because it allows faster brain processing speed.  Nerve impulses also travel faster in mature white-matter. Experiments also reveal that the more mature the look of the brain, the more adventurous the teenager tended to be.
Another possible explanation is that some teenagers whose brains develop more rapidly than others become uncomfortable and a little confused owing to the gap between their biological capabilities and the social norms they must follow as kids. Precocious development of these neural tracts may make some adolescents more susceptible to engage in behaviors that society considers too adult in nature for their chronological age. It is also a common notion that teens make dumb decisions because their brains are immature. In other words, having a more mature brain may actually motivate some teens to try out new and potentially harmful experiences.
For now, these theories are mere speculation, and the researchers concede that the interaction of white and gray matter is so complex that hard conclusions remain elusive. The results of the study are relatively bare and by no means conclusive. The human brain is so intricate in nature, and one has to consider the fact that there are other factors that come into play such as the environment and certain genetic predispositions that are equally complex to study.

A normal socially healthy life for a teenager involves going out with friends and going out on dates with the opposite sex, mostly for innocent and honest fun. Movies, the bowling alley and the mall are the usual places where teens go for dates. But sometimes, going out on a date, even with someone they know relatively well, can turn into a nightmarish experience for the trusting and naive teen.

Friends, friends of friends and casual acquaintances are the most probable people that would ask a teen to go out on a date with them, but this does not mean that they are safe. In fact, about half of all people who are raped know the person who attacked them. Which would probably make us ask the question, Can a teen really go out on a “safe” date?

The answer is yes they can, as long as they and their parents take the necessary precautions. Here are a few tips that can help teens avoid being in that situation:

Go out with a group of friends and watch out for each other.

Don’t spend time alone with someone who makes you feel uneasy or uncomfortable. This means following your instincts and removing yourself from situations that you don’t feel good about.

Know what you want. Be clear about what kind of relationship you want with another person. If you are not sure, then ask the other person to respect your feelings and to give you time. Don’t allow yourself to be subject to peer pressure or encouraged to do something that you don’t want to do.

Also, date rapes are most commonly perpetrated using drugs, the most popular of which is alcohol. Staying sober and aware of whats going on is the best way to avoid being drugged. If the teens are going to drink anything, even non-alcoholic beverages, they should always make sure that no one slipped anything in it. Roofies and other date rape drugs can be easily dropped into drinks and wouldn’t affect its taste, furthermore, their affects can render the victims unconscious and it could cause amnesia.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that dating can wait until teens are a little older and wiser and are more mature and that, good decision making skills, high self-esteem and confidence are very important characteristics that most younger teens have not yet developed are the most effective weapons against rapists.