Adolescent egocentrism has been one of the leading causes of substance abuse in teenagers. Despite the fact that awareness campaigns against substance abuse have been popularized, the problem of substance abuse among teenagers is still ongoing. Thus, one would wonder if the education and awareness campaigns are doing more harm than help. The answer to that, in my opinion, is adolescent egocentrism.
On one side, teenagers feel that they are immune to the risks of substance abuse on a personal level. On the other hand, teenagers feel that they are unsafe and exposed. They feel everyone is watching them. Thus, they are easily vulnerable to bad company and to find relevance, they end up being part of a bad company. Through the engagement of risky behaviours like substance abuse, most teenagers feel fulfilled and safe. Unfortunately, as they are taught about the negative side effects of substance abuse, they are faced with personal fable. That is, they feel that the risks talked about would not reach them. Therefore the two issues; personal fable and imaginary audience are the greatest factors that cause the deterioration of morals about the youth.
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Memphis is a 14-year-old teenager who has a problem with alcoholism. I talked to him about the reason for his indulgence and he confessed that he knew about the negative effects of alcoholism but he was confident that he was safe. His main reason was that somehow he was so wise that the addiction would not catch up with him. Somehow one day, he would quit drinking. When I asked him how he started, he said he always had a problem with self-esteem. To boost his confidence, he started drinking alcohol. Memphis case is directly linked to the issue of adolescent egocentrism. Therefore, parents and guardians need to help their children out of the mess.
