“YOLO” is the teenage motto in recent years: you only live once. Living free and in the moment. Doing what you want regardless of the consequences has had an impact on most teens

The media touts the latest good girl gone bad and glorifies a movie in which the nerdy, “goody-two-shoes” character feels the need to resort to being a rebel to gain the affection of another or even just to fit in. Not only do people tend to see it in a virtual reality, but also in their own environments. Friends turning into something they’re not and peer pressure getting the best of people are instances teenagers tend to see almost every day.

        Teenagers are still in the process of learning about their world and developing their own ideas.

   According to WebMD, “During the teenage years, the area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is developing. This is the part of your brain that is behind your forehead. It’s your thinking cap and judgment center,” Professor of child development David Elkind said.

        Teens are starting to make connections between the media world and their own reality, which can distort their opinions on what is “cool” or not. It tends to leave them creating space between them and their family to form their own identities.

“Whereas younger children don’t see the flaws in their parents, adolescents suddenly see the world more realistically. They construct an ideal of what parents should be, based on their friends’ parents or on media parents,” Elkind said.

Many turn to the media; they look to it to define what life should be like or as a personal goal for themselves. Teens are even more susceptible to it because their brain is still forming and creating new ideas about life. Along with this, teenagers’ morals are still developing and are therefore under attack. They aren’t strong enough to hold us to what is right and what is wrong and making decisions based off of that. Teens are mostly only concerned about the next thrill and the next fun opportunity.

That’s a huge factor in why teenagers do the rebellious things that they do. It’s enjoyable in that moment, and that’s all they care about.

According to Psychology Today, “Indeed, many of the people we see are they themselves flummoxed by their own behavior—they don’t understand why they continue to repeat a behavior they don’t feel good about and that goes against their morals, beliefs, and even self-image, and wreaks havoc in their lives…they do it because in the moment it feels good. It gives the person a boost and if that person is feeling depressed, anxious, having difficulty coping, can’t assert what they need and want in a healthy way, etc. this little boost is a way to escape all of that, for a moment,” Psy.D Samantha Smithstein said.

Teenagers deal with a lot throughout high school and the brutal teenage years. Many struggle with anxiety and depression, leading to rebellion. Alcohol and drugs are the most commonly known things to help someone “forget” about all the hard times that are going on in their life.

Teens act out because of the need to be accepted by the “in” crowd. Everyone has had to deal with high school, whether it’s now or in the past, and the struggle to fit in. Many teenagers think it’s “cool” and “mature” to be doing outrageous and sometimes illegal things.

“Sometimes teenagers feel that it’s better to have people responding to them in negative ways than to just feel invisible,” school counselor Patrick Trapp said.

Teens think that if they do these things that somehow they will seem older, they think that they are mature enough to handle the responsibility which leads them into situations that they often cannot handle alone.

When all is said and done teenagers are still growing up and learning how to find their place in the world. They have insecurities, personal issues, questions, and problems and that’s what leads them to trouble. Instead of getting help to solve something, they feel the need to figure everything out on their own and whether they are old enough or not, they will solve some of these problems by “escaping” them. Teenagers will do almost anything when the time comes to feel that high and search for a buzz without thinking beyond that moment and some try to catch that buzz just for the attention.

       “All teenagers are ego-centric. They rebel as a way to seek validation from others and to know that people care about them,” Trapp said.

       Most teenagers have a mindset that if they are a “bad” girl or boy, people will want to hang out with them and be like them. They want people to notice them more and to stand out in a crowd. They will probably get that attention, but most likely in the wrong way. Consequences are still in play whether someone is a “goody-goody” or not.

       For the camera, being the rebellious character may seem glamorous and fierce, but in reality it only leads to trouble. Teenagers find themselves longing for that persona or reputation usually just to fill a hole in their life or to even gain attention.