TEEN TRENDS: "HOOKING UP"

(This blog is written to inform parents and others of disturbing trends of teenagers.)


WARNING: This post contains explicit language, but it's what parents need to know.
"Hooking up" used to mean meeting up with friends and just hanging out. Today, teens use the phrase "hooking up" to mean anything from kissing to oral sex to intercourse. But just because they're "hooking up", it doesn't mean they're dating. Teens are "hooking up" with friends and strangers, in groups and in public.


"HOOKING UP" CAN INCLUDE:

• Kissing
• Rubbing & touching, with or without clothes
• Oral sex
• Fingering
• At the college level, hooking up can include vaginal and anal sex

FACTS:

• Teens report that oral sex and fingering were "no big deal".
• Today, first base is kissing, plus fondling. Second base is oral sex, and third base is going all the way.
• Heavy petting and oral sex starts as early as 12 years of age.
• Average age for a first kiss is 13.
• Average age of having sex for the first time is 15.
• 27% of 13 to 16 year-olds are sexually active.
• Results of a SADD Teen Today study indicates that 14.3% of girls who had sex at an early age had attempted suicide compared to 5.1% of virgins. For boys, 6% who had sex at an early age attempted suicide.
• Hooking up—if done without protection—can lead to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

A RECENT SURVEY IN TEEN VOGUE REVEALED THE FOLLOWING:
- What counts as "hooking up"?

• Kissing - 79.3%
• Touching - 53.4%
• Oral Sex - 46.2%
• Sex - 47.2%
• Other - 11.9%

- How many people have you "hooked up" with?

• 1 - 3 - 60.7%
• 3 - 5 - 14.6%
• 5 - 7 - 8.7%
• 7 -10 - 5.9%
• 10+ - 10%

- Does oral sex count as sex?

• Yes - 44.6%
• No - 55.4%

- Have your parents talked to you about sex/hooking up?

• Yes - 63.6%
• No - 36.4%

- If so, did you find their talk to be effective/useful?

• Yes - 57.6%
• No - 42.4%

- If you don't have an exclusive partner, how many people do you think it's OK to hook up with at the same time?

• 2 - 74.6%
• 3 - 16.0%
• 4 - 2.1%
• 5+ - 7.3%

TEEN SEX GLOSSARY:

• BOOTY CALL - An early morning or late night call to make a sex date that involves no relationship or emotional attachment.
• DIRTY - A girl who has an STD. (There is no slang for a boy with an STD.)
• FRIENDS, WITH BENEFITS - A sexual relationship between platonic friends.
• HIGH FIVE (HIGH V) - A person who is HIV positive.
• HOOVER - To have an abortion.
• PEARL NECKLACE - When a boy ejaculates around his partners neck and throat.
• RAINBOW PARTIES - Parties where several girls wear different colored lipstick and perform oral sex on boys that leaves a rainbow of color on his penis.

SOME GOOD NEWS:

• 87% of teens aged 13 to 16 have not had sexual intercourse.
• 73% have not been sexually intimate at all.
• 75% have not had sex because they believe they are too young.
• 74% fear getting pregnant.
• 71% fear getting an STD.
• 65% fear parents’ reaction.
• 4 in 10 (42%) say they have not had sex because of religious or moral beliefs.

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO:

• Parents need to start talking to their children before they hit the preteen/teen years when they learn about sex from TV and friends.
• It will take a more indepth conversation than the traditional "the birds and the bees" sex talk.
• Know what your teens are doing - who they are emailing, IMing, and hanging out with. Get in their business.
• When you watch TV or a movie together, use any sexual scene as a way to start a conversation about sex.
• Let your beliefs about sex be known.

According to Teens Today, teens who talk openly with their parents are more likely to report their parents influenced their decisions about sexual activity...so have that talk TODAY!


http://www.msnbc.comn/
http://www.teenvogue.com/