IN ANY age, youth will always rebel against authority and seek thrills for the fun of it.
My generation might go for such thrills as illegal driving or unprotected sex, but I am sure our elders had their share of daredevil acts when they were our age too.
So simply claiming that the youth of today are "getting more daring and out-of-hand" is sheer hypocrisy.
We cannot entirely blame youth either.
It is telling that the parents of my friends - who have taken out the family car despite being underage - have no idea what their children are doing behind their backs.
If their parents had been more vigilant and taken the time to monitor their whereabouts, social circles and emotional status, instead of obsessing over academics, some might not have got so out-of-hand.
Chong Joe En, 17, is a humanities student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College
We've grown out of it
SOME of my peers would reminisce about how they used to drive their family cars without a licence, sometimes even with their parents' consent!
They were only 16 or 17 then.
Of course, they knew that it was against the law, but they also knew their limits and stayed well within their neighbourhoods, driving slowly and with the precautions that their parents or friends taught them.
They looked for fun, but took it in measured doses. They have grown up since, and none of them today would ever think of committing serious offences like drink driving.
Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, 20, has a place to read law in the Singapore Management University
Youth 'irresponsible' and 'immature'
I FEEL abashed reading about the irresponsibility of my peers in the papers, from underage sex to binge drinking and now illegal driving.
I would not have dreamt of acting so immaturely. How little regard they have for life.
Just imagine what youth in war-torn countries like Afghanistan or Iraq are going through.
Due to constant terror attacks, they have to worry about whether a simple trip to school or the corner shop would be their last.
An illegal joyride around the neighbourhood or downing 10 shots of liquor in a row is the least on their minds.
Why choose to flout the rules when you have your whole life ahead of you?
I have a long list of things I want to achieve before I die and I am not going to let one foolish decision mar it.
Aisha Mostafa, 23, is an honours arts graduate from the University of Huddersfield
Daredevils a product of society
LIVING in a fast-paced, high-stress society, where one is under constant pressure to perform and justify oneself to one's peers, it is no wonder that ambitious youth are pushing themselves too hard, too far.
Many of my fellow musicians have dabbled at least once in illegal drugs such as marijuana, without batting an eye, to relieve stress or to "fit in" with peers.
It does not help that prominent artists in creative fields do not hide their drug habits - surrealist painter Salvador Dali and music band The Beatles prove my point.
While I will never condone sacrificing personal health for unbridled success, some of my peers have fallen to the irresistible lure of imitating their role models just for the holy grail of immortal fame.
The desire to be successful and popular is too strong, the spectre of anonymity too nightmarish.
A whole generation of daredevil youth is the inevitable result.
Melissa Khong, 21, is commencing post-graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 22, 2008.
