Teenage Drinking

As a teen, what is your perception of drinking amongst those in your age group? Is it problematic? Do most teens, in your opinion, know and understand their limits and the ramifications of drinking at that age? What are the potential dangers you see of teens and alcohol use? Do you believe there is a problem among your age group, or is it just normal, rite-of-passage use that you witness or know about?

In my opinion, drinking in my age group is somewhat prevalent. I am straight edge, and a majority of my friends do not drink. However, I have several friends who I do not hang out with on the weekends who do drink; I quietly voice my disagreement but do not patronize them for it. I believe that a majority initially have no idea what their personal limits are; they can only speculate based on what they have heard. As for the ramifications, I would say that they do but choose to ignore it anyways; for instance, a girl posted on MySpace-

Subject- slightly drunk. going out.
Body:	yes yes its bad. drunk drivinng. but whatevvv yooo! going to go party, hit meh up!!!!!!!

I would say that this is a pretty relevant example of the careless disregard that many teenagers have for others, and answers the issue of whether it is a danger.
I would say that it is both a rite-of-passage as well as a problem. Many people think that they have to get drunk once before they graduate high school, and then get as blindly drunk as possible when they turn 21. The two might even be viewed as correlated, because this rite-of-passage view could develop into a more serious alcohol addiction.