Today's Teen Party Scene
By Lori Enomoto
Parties have always been an opportunity for underage minors to drink. For many of us, now parents of teens, we were part of the generation when getting a keg was a prerequisite to throwing a party. Fake or borrowed IDs were commonplace back then and still are an issue today. It wasn’t long ago when even former President’s Bush’s daughter made headlines doing what so many other teens had done before her: using a fake ID at a drinking establishment.
As familiar as some of the issues are, this generation of teens also has new issues to contend with when it comes to the party scene.
Adding Energy Drinks to the Mix
Underage drinking has been a problem since there’s been a legal age limit. Alcohol and teen partying go hand in hand. Just look at the evidence - the sidewalk outside of a home where there was a teen party the night before is littered with bottles - and they aren’t soft drink bottles. What’s new is that in addition to the beer cans, you will now find “empties” of energy drinks, used as mixers and elixirs by teens, to give drinkers a boost that is meant to counteract the depressive effect of alcohol and is also mythologized to increase stamina.
Energy drinks mask the taste of alcohol for a younger drinker who may not have acquired a taste for alcohol. This masking effect can cause teens to consume more alcohol than they can handle, as the alcohol-taste cue is absent and the drinker may feel curiously energized. As a result, teens may not pay attention to the lack of physical coordination and sedative effect on their system caused by the alcohol.
The phenomenal sales growth of the energy drink sector is in large part attributable to energy drinks’ use as a mixer, generally by young people. These new mixed drinks are dubbed with catchy names, and are stocked by bars and served at parties. Given that they allow the drinkers to party all night long, they’re good for business, keeping customers in the bar, ordering more drinks.
The latest development is premixed energy drinks that contain alcohol, creating “wide-awake drunks,” as one person stated on a blog about this new phenomenon. In fact, blogs are fueling the popularity of energy drinks, as they’re full of references to “boosting performance” and losing weight.
Energy drinks disable the body’s defense mechanisms against alcohol consumption, so normal good judgment flies out the window. A study out of Wake Forest Medical Center investigated using energy drinks as an alcohol mixer and found that students who drank alcohol mixed with an energy drink were more likely to become intoxicated, injured, ride with a drunk driver and indulge in sexual activity in which they characterized the interaction as being taken advantage of, or taking advantage of someone else.
Rave Parties
Another phenomenon new to this generation is the teen rave party. Raves are large parties held in indoor or outdoor temporary locations; they charge an entrance fee, which can be quite steep for big parties. Kids “bone out” (scatter) when these parties are broken up by the police, or if in a more secluded location, the raves can go all night long.
Often drugs, such as Ecstasy are available, which help the teens party all night. Techno-music with a solid underlying beat or “bump” is standard fare, as are lighting effects - strobes, glow sticks, lasers, fog machines and black lights - depending on how elaborate and well-funded the party.
At raves, teens often get beaded bracelets, also known as “Kandi.” This has become so common that some rave attendees who exchange small gifts such as colorful beads are known as “Kandi kids.” This is a style that has taken off in teen culture. Of course, “underground” parties have been around for a long time, but they weren’t as established before. Raves can be big business, so it’s no wonder that they continue to flourish.
Trespassing and Roving Parties
Today’s teens will sometimes move as a group from one house to another to party. Prime locations for parties are homes where the parents are away. Sometimes, the teen who lives there is away as well, so while the family is on vacation, a party is being held in their house.
With no parental supervision, drugs and drinking are generally involved. As a consequence, the home is often “trashed” by the trespassing partygoers. A parent to whom this happened stated that cash, food and valuable wine bottles had been taken by the trespassers; they had poured beer into the fish tank killing the fish, and the walls and floor were with sticky with beer; the floor and grounds were littered with beer cans.
Ironically, the people who started the party were friends of the teen who lived at the home; they’d planned a small party there while she was away, but once others started to arrive, they got scared and couldn’t control the influx of people whom they didn’t even know. Before these kids realized what was happening, the party got out of control due to the arrival of surly, older teens, who helped themselves to the house and everything in it; a mob mentality prevailed and the only thing that stopped the party was the arrival of the police. When the kids heard that the police had been called, they stole bikes and skateboards to get away … and go to the next party location.
Invitation by Text
Word of mouth about parties travels fast. Once one person texts another, the party situation can get out of control in a matter of minutes, as kids hear where the party is and descend upon the home. One parent recounted the story of how his daughter told him that she was planning a “kick-back,” a low-key party with less than 20 teens. By the end of the night, more than 500 kids came to the house, and some of the owners’ belongings and furnishings were recklessly destroyed. How did that happen? Texting. One kid told another kid who told another, and so on.
Party Planning
If your teen is going to throw a party, make sure to sit down with them and set the ground rules - no alcohol, no drugs and limit the number of teens who are invited. You should be given a list of the invitees.
Do not allow your teen to have a party at your house when you’re not there. You’re legally responsible for what goes on in your house, and things are more likely to get out of hand if there’s no supervision. In fact, you may want to invite some chaperones over. Their presence alone will act as a deterrent.
If your teen is throwing a big party, consider hiring a security person, who can handle any situation in a professional manner. If things start to get out of control, make sure the problem gets addressed immediately; don’t allow a negative situation to gain momentum. When it comes to teen parties, it truly is better to be safe than sorry.
