Kindly allow me some space on your reputable media, to share my views on the above topic, Teenage Temptation Problem.
Arguably, temptation is as old as humanity, dating as far back to Adam and Eve, and continues to entice and influence mankind in many spheres of life, across ages, sexes, and cultures. 

There is a lot of hope and expectation on the youth from the society but the impacts of temptation on humans are glaring, and its influence on teenagers and the youth cohorts cannot be overemphasised. 

In my view, teenagers, especially the thirteen, fourteen, fifteen to nineteen years category, are liable or prone on their growth and maturity journey. Youthful exuberance serves a fertile ground for temptation pull factors due to curiosity, experimentations, hasty decisions, and even poor judgement.

That teenager-hood, associated with rapid physical, psychological, and emotional development, independence and energy, denotes susceptibility, if not craziness. This period of changes and transformation, needs some level of adult guidance and counselling. 

With regards to communal ethics, values, and culture, children, including teenagers should be the collective responsibility and involvement of parents, teachers, and the society. 

Together, the shared partnership between home, school and the community can help improve the welfare of the youth cohorts and minimise the negative impacts of temptation on the tricky road to growth and maturity despite the enticing lures ranging from smart phones, online games, relationship, drinking, smoking, and vaping, drugs, gambling, and anti-social behaviours. 

Adolescence, faced with worldly desires and pleasures becomes a persuasive burden of trials of temptation that needs proper guidance. 

This is a period of self believe and daring spirit, when a young man looking in the mirror, can see a superhero in himself, brave and fearless, with defying attitude.

Accordingly, regardless of uncle’s age, such a fearless superhero young man would say “if not because uncle so and so is my dad’s friends, anything that he wants, I am ready for it”. 

“Does he think that I fear him?”

“I don’t fear anyone, except God,” he may add.

This teenage-boy phenomenon is equally true, mutatis mutandis a teenage girl; who would also see in herself, in the mirror, an embodiment of beauty and heroines; thus, perceiving everyman’s eyes are on me.

If any man reprimands her wanting behaviour, the next time she may play victim, say to friends, I don’t know why uncle so and so is always on my case; he is wasting his time, I don’t love him.

Apparently, influenced by the egos of youth force, the burden of formative years can be like carrying the world on one’s shoulders. Very cumbersome, difficult to resist peer group pressure or the tempting invitations to smoking/vaping, drinking, drugs taking, or in some cases even gang membership. 

These nuances occasionally can lead to anti-social behaviours, terrorising communities with violence motivated by gang rivalry and competition for territory. 

However, with all hands-on deck, the collective partnership and contribution of home, school and society can help guide, manage, and positively steer teenage/youth tendencies and behavioural attitude to minimise negative temptation trial impacts.

Alh Yahya Ceesay
Greenwich, London