[An anonymous 14-year-old student decries the "lifestyle" of their classmates.]

I live in a good neighborhood and go to a very fine frum yeshiva. There are many shuls, yeshivas and kosher restaurants in our area and one would think it is a great place in which to thrive and grow in Torah. While, Baruch HaShem, many do, many more, specifically teenagers, succumb to the pressure and have become lost.

[...]

It takes only one girl to put a boy's screen name on a good girl's computer and that girl's life could change for the worse forever.

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I don't know if any parents are aware of the amount of time boys and girls spend hanging out together. The most innocent places are turned into hangouts. Places that nobody would suspect. And the fact is many kids have no trouble lying outright and casually telling their mothers they are going one place, when in actuality, they are going somewhere else. Girls and boys go into cars together, they talk to each other on cell phones, they chat constantly with each other on-line. Then they go to school the next day and exchange their stories, making their lives seem enviable and exciting to everyone. Teenagers these days are "dating" and these are kids who are considered "good" kids from "good" homes. And believe me, they are not dating in the hope of getting married.

Probably the worst problem in this whole situation is that much of this is considered to be normal. It's all too common nowadays for girls and boys to talk to each other or hang out together. I hear stories of the best girls talking to boys. It's not even an issue...it's become NORMAL. But this can't be normal. It's not right; it's not the way Jewish young people are supposed to live their lives. I heard a great girl once say that she doesn't think it's bad to hang out and listen to music - it doesn't define who you are. Then what exactly defines you? What has our sick culture done to us?

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The music everybody is listening to these days is totally opposite from everything that our Judaism stands for. It is so common to listen to non-Jewish music that many people don't even think twice about it. It is so easy for kids to burn CD's for their friends who have parents who don't permit them to buy non-Jewish CD's. Teenagers will sit for hours with their music, out of touch with the world, exposed to the disgusting and filthy words found in this music. There is no way that it cannot make an impact on them and the way they act. Indeed, the language that is used and the way that kids will curse everyone and everything is disgusting.

Some girls dress inappropriately and walk around without caring the least. Girls can be ridiculed for wearing stockings and their loosely fitted shirts are mocked at. And it's not just dress, but an entire behavior pattern. They shriek and cackle in the streets. Yet, this is the way to be a "fun" girl. There is a certain carefree, careless attitude. They want to believe that they can do everything they wish, go wherever they want, and no one can stop them. They believe that there is nothing wrong with being out late on any night. If they have to lie to their parents to be where they are, so be it. They rationalize that their parents would never understand anyway. This attitude is carried over to camp as well. Girls are on the constant "lookout" for boys, making up places to meet them, and are always on the phone with them.

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You may wonder how I know all this. I know because people love to talk and I see it going on with my own two eyes. At the same time, I am not a nerd. Baruch HaShem, I have many friends who are like me. I have to say however, that the temptations are strong and it's a struggle every day.