Beach lures in unsuspecting teens

Summer time: a two month reprieve from the stresses of school assignments, tests and teachers. Most South Florida students spend their summer days at the beach, relaxing and soaking up the powerful southern sun. This beach-going phenomenon has grown stronger with the passing of each summer, and it has become noticeable that students are falling for the beaches deceptive front.

Going to the beach comes with great responsibility, and in this day and age, responsibility as a trait has gone by the wayside. The sun’s incredibly powerful rays continue to maim students’ skin, causing unwarranted medical issues. Students are reluctant to wear sunscreen, and one cannot attend the beach unless they are willing to do so. Students believe that wearing sunscreen hinders their time at the beach, but the reality is that not using sunscreen actually makes the time spent less enjoyable. Since 2005, skin cancer rates in teenagers ages 13-16 have risen by 10 percent. Students, because of their ignorance, risk skin cancer and other sun related illnesses while attending the beach.

The beach has become a popular hangout for students on their time off, and often times illicit drugs and alcohol are involved in these get-togethers. Arriving with coolers and lighters is the popular high school student who believes that the only way to have fun on the beach is to get “wasted.” Students rely too heavily upon illegal substances to have fun at the beach, and this so called “Turn Up Nation” is turning into a nightmare. Police activity at Florida’s beaches has grown within the past year to prevent students from becoming too rambunctious, and so has the number of partying, worry-free teenagers. Students are too wrapped up in this nautical drunkenness to realize why the beach is not the place to be.

The beach puts up a beautiful facade. White sand and serene surroundings entice teenagers to test the waters of South Florida’s main attraction. But much like a siren would, the beach is not as beautiful as its alluring whispers. Behind all of the beauty lies a dangerous trap that students all too often fall into. Florida’s beaches are not all they are cracked up to be.