Follow
According to what federal health officers reported on Thursday, nowadays, a lot less high school students are having sex than before. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual survey on teen behavior, teenagers are also less likely to abuse drugs. However, recent reports are saying that kids are still dealing with bullying at school. Apart form this, it seems that a third of students are frequently feeling sadness and hopelessness. As for sex, one in ten girls and one in 28 boys have said that they have felt forced to have sexual intercourse with someone.
Experts are saying that young people today are making much healthier choices for them than those in the past. However, there are certain experiences, like physical or sexual violence, which they cannot control. Sadly, these experiences are still common and will continue to affect their adult life from now on. According to the CDC, in 2017, only 39.5% of teenagers said that they had sex, as opposed to 47.8% in 2007, and 58% back in 1988. Under 10% of them admitted to having four or more sexual partners, as opposed to 15% in 2007. This is beneficial because such a sexual behavior puts more people at risk of infections like gonorrhea and HIV.
Teenagers today make healthier choices than in the past
According to the CDC survey, less than half of them had used a condom the last time they slept with someone. This is also down from the 61% from ten years ago. Teens should be aware of the fact that a condom is the only way in which you can avoid getting a sexually-transmitted disease. It also protects you form unwanted pregnancies.
The CDC says that each year, there are 20 million STDs reported. Half of them affect people between 15 and 24-years old. The tendency was the same for young kids using illicit drugs, from 22.6% ten years ago to just 14% in 2017.
Image source: wikimedia
