Муниципальное образовательное учреждение

Средняя общеобразовательная школа №2

Карасукского района Новосибирской области.

Учебно-исследовательская работа

«Problems of Teenagers in Russia and  English-speaking Countries»

Автор:  Мартыненко Валентина

11 «Б» класс МОУСОШ №2

Руководитель:  Цыганкова

Наталья Ивановна

учитель иностранного языка

г. Карасук, 2010 год

Plan

Introduction_____________________________________________________________3

Chapter I______________________________________________________________3

1. Who is a teenager? _________________________________________________4

Chapter 2 _____________________________________________________________5

2.1. What kind of problems do the teenagers have nowadays?_____________________5

2.2. Widespread teen problems______________________________________________6

2.3. Personal problems____________________________________________________8

2.4. The most serious and dangerous teen problems____________________________12

2.5. New teen problems__________________________________________________19

Chapter III ___________________________________________________________21

3.1 Social survey________________________________________________________22

Conclusion____________________________________________________________26

List of literature_______________________________________________________27

Introduction

TEENAGE LIFE
There are many people
but you feel alone.
You want to do what you want
but your parents say when to come home.
You want to be a grown-up
but on the other hand you miss your childhood.
You are allowed to do so many new things
but there is the fear of decisions and responsibility.
You laugh, you cry, you keep quiet, you want to sing.
Sometimes you can’t explain what you feel. Those are problems of TEENAGE LIFE.
Sometimes it’s really great but it also can be as hard as a knife.

Urgency of research. The problems of teenagers from the English speaking countries and compare them with the problems of Russian teenagers. My classmates and friends face different problems and I want to learn if young people in the English – speaking countries have the same or different problems.

Next goals of my work are to practice English and to find out more information about life, traditions of the UK, the USA and Australia.

Main objectives to be achieved:

1. to study articles from magazines, newspapers, books and the Internet;
2. to describe modern teenagers in English - speaking countries;
3. to describe and to make classification of teens problems;
4. to write a questionnaire for teenagers in our school and to learn if they have the same problems;
5.  to compare teen problems in Russia and the English- speaking countries;

The actuality of the work is in genuine interest of people of all generations to the teenager problems because they are very acute and touch most families, most schools and most societies, especially nowadays.

To attain the mentioned above points I used various literature on different stage of my analysis such as newspapers, magazines, reference books, fiction, dictionaries, the Internet.

The work consists of introduction, the basic part, 4 chapters, social survey, conclusion, the list of literature.

The basic part starts with the description of a teenager and teenager’s problems in modern English - speaking countries. It also contains classification of teen’s problems in these countries and there is some advice how to manage successfully these problems.

Chapter I.

Who is a teenager?

In “Oxford student’s dictionary of current English» we can read the definition of the word “teenager”. A teenager is boy or girl in his or her teens or up to 21 or 22 years of age.

According to Jeremy Castle, (an author of the article “Teenagers: What problems?”) a teenager is anyone aged from thirteen to nineteen inclusive.

 But most people would probably think first of the younger age group and exclude 18 and 19 year-olds. After all, once you reach eighteen you can vote, get married without your parents permission and join the army, so it seems logical that you are considered as an adult rather than a child.

These days children are developing more quickly and 11 and 12-year-olds would like to include themselves in the ‘teenager’ group, which has their own group title now – ‘Pre-teens’ or sometimes ‘Between-agers’.

So, what we really mean by ‘teenagers’ are people who are in the stage of their life when they are developing from children into adults. This is really a 20th century idea because in the old days children used to grow up much more quickly, with boys working full-time in the age of eleven or twelve and girls either working or helping out with younger children. In many parts of the world this is still the case.

 Teens age is the most beautiful period of life as young people usually experience their first great love and they have many friends. And they are sure they will have a long and happy life. But at the same time it is the most difficult period, as teenagers have many problems and it makes a process of becoming a teenager very difficult. Nowadays, it's not very easy to adapt to hardships as quickly as they happen. Teen years can be very stressful. 

So being a teenager is an exciting and yet strange part of our life.  Everyone goes through the teenage years, but as people get older, they seem to lose touch with their teenage experiences and feel as though they can't relate to anything that teenagers go through.

Chapter 2

What kind of problems do teenagers have nowadays?

Today it is much spoken about teenage problems. More and more social problems are associated with being young. Teens mention the following ones:

Widespread teen problems.

School problems.

The first problem of teens is school. Young people learn a lot not only at school, but they also attend different kinds of courses, which will help them to enter colleges and universities. Of course, it’s very important, but it’s not possible to learn all the time, especially if every teacher considers his subject as the most important one. After school they come home and have to do homework again. Teachers and parents think that doing homework develops a pupil’s ability to work without assistance and to prepare for a high school education more successfully. But many teenagers think that homework in some subjects is totally unnecessary, and they don’t have time for developing their personal interests, like playing computer games, listening to the music, etc.

The other common school problems are bullies, poor grades, skipping school, or bad peer groups. A large number of teens experience them in high school. But it is important to note that despite the fact that teens face common school problems, the manner in which they deal with them and the details of these problems can be seen as individual issues.  Teens and school life is basic synergy. Whether it is struggles with math, homework, or the social structure, teens are intricately involved in school. A mini society all its own, the school campus is a model of the real world. Although, tagged with quite a bit more drama!

Family problems

        Another important problem is relationships with parents. . Teenagers have a difficult time relating to their families, their parents and their siblings. They don’t understand the problems of young people. It is the so-called generation gap. Generation gap is the difference in ideas, feelings and interests between older and younger people, it’s lack of understanding. The problem is that parents differ from the teenagers. They have had a different education with different norms. Generally speaking two different worlds confront each other. This sometimes leads to conflicts as if you meet people of a different nationality. Parents forgot what they did when they were young. They give advice young people too often and they treat teenagers as they are still in a nappy. Sometimes parents and children don’t talk to each other, do not share their problems, and do not express their expectations and feelings. And that’s the main reason of the conflicts in the families. 

Teenagers and families have problems even in the 'perfect' home setting. Though having a safe, warm home to call their own certainly helps, there is no guarantee there won't be conflicts of some kind throughout teenage years. Teenagers look for their own identity and life goals. They are busy with themselves. Parents think that their problems such as work, family life, etc. are really important and teenagers are too young to be taken seriously. This misunderstanding produces many problems. Actually, a lot of parents are indifferent to their children’s problems. And a lot of teens get upset when they can’t solve their problems. As a result the generation gap becomes wider and wider and the teen’s problems increase.

Teen Depression

Family and school problems are the most widespread problems among teenagers  and their parents quite often disagree. But these problems may become more serious ones. When they make young people believe that there is no way out and they feel that they are not cared for they lead to depression.

Depression in teen age is an alarming illness, made much more so by the finding that teenagers and their parents often disagree about the extent of the problem; or even whether there is a problem at all.

What is Depression?

Depression is a serious illness that can affect anybody, including teenagers. It can affect teen’s thoughts, feelings, behavior, and overall health. Having depression doesn't mean that a person is weak, or a failure, or isn't really trying... it meaning they need TREATMENT 
    Dr Michael Sawyer is in no such doubt about the problems posed by teenagers depression. "Teen depression is a major health problem," he said. Approximately 4 out of 100 teenagers get seriously depressed each year.  Sure, everybody feels sad or blue now and then. But if you're sad most of the time, and it's giving you problems with:

1. Your  grades 
2. your relationships with your family and friends 
3. alcohol, drugs, or sex
4. controlling your behavior in other ways 

    Structured interviews with those who care for teenagers (usually their parents) produced an estimate that 4.8% of teenagers suffer from clinical depression. In Australia nearly 61,000 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 suffer from depression. But the great majority (88%) of them was not identified as depressed by their parents.. "Only 40% of teenagers identified by parents as depressed, had attended a professional service for help with their problems in the previous six months," said Dr Sawyer, "Only 18.5% of teenagers who reported themselves as depressed had attended a service for help," he added.

Personal problems.

First Love.

Another thing about teenagers is their first love. There is no right age to begin dating. Dating may begin as young as 13-14 years old, but becomes common around 16-18. Teenagers generally date people of they own age, though girls sometimes dates boys two or three years older than they are. They may go out with one person, one week and someone else the next one. Young people may date several friends at the same time. They go to the parties, cinema, and dances together. And they are very proud of having a girl or a boyfriend.

Love is such a wonderful feeling, especially the first love. It can make you the happiest person in the world. But sometimes it can bring you real sufferings. Teens can get upset or depressed very much.

  What is one of the biggest milestones during teenage years that mark adolescence change from a kid into an adult? Dating! Yes - dating and having relationships and all the stuff that goes with it. This is an exciting time - but for a lot of teens - it is really scary! The world of dating can be a confusing and mysterious place. Here are a few tips and ideas that can help teens along the way to dating success!

Dating: What is a date?

Well, what is a date? It is many things to many people, but here are a few suggestions that may help you sort out whether or not you have ever been on one - or so that you can plan some future dates! A date is:

* A planned time with a single person or a group of people.
* Sharing an event - such as a lunch date, a movie date, or dance.
* Sharing time together - e.g. at a friend's.

Why date?

Dating is a way to get to know people and to tell if you would like to become more involved in that persons life. There are so many people in the world, and everyone is unique, therefore dating is useful in that you get to meet different people and find the ones you would like to get to know better and possibly have a relationship with.

Other reasons that people go on dates are because:

* They are Fun!
* Everyone is doing it.
* They create closeness between people.
* They are physically attracted.
* They want more popularity.
* They just want a friend.

Teen Aggression

     Social psychology states that violence is a learned behavior. There are no born criminals. Children observe violence in people around them and imitate them accordingly. They may also assimilate hostile ideas through the media. Destructive lyrics in rap and rock songs may be doing more damage to your teenager than you realize.
Finally, socio-economic factors like poverty, severe deprivation, unstable family, single-parent family, unemployment, lack of family support may also play a role in inciting teenage aggression.

     Teenage aggressions scream at you from newspapers and voices of newscasters, every moment. A subtler manifestation of the same aggression occurs in your own home—when your youngster shouts at parents hysterically, when he stays out all night, when he slams doors, and breaks chairs on being denied something.

   School shootings are an extreme form of aggression among teenagers. However, teen violence can take many other forms. Ragging, bullying, fighting, and gang rivalry also constitute violence. Suicide bombing and suicides among youngsters have a high incidence. Rape and molestation are other expressions of violent behaviour. Aggression can manifest through arson, destruction of property, and any kind of vandalism. Other expressions of aggression include cruelty to animals and uncontrollable outbursts of anger or tantrums at home.

Bullying

Unfortunately, bullying is one of the most common worries among young people. It may have been at school or in the workplace, or it may even have occurred right at home – where such abuse of power is played out with alarming frequency these days. Nowadays it was picked out as the biggest problem for 13% of teenagers in England.

Perhaps no single definition covers all aspects of bulling but it has been called “a willful, conscious desire to hurt another and put him/her under stress.” The stress is created not only by what actually happens but also by fear of what might happen. Tactics may include harsh teasing, constant criticism, insults, gossip, and unreasonable demands. Bullies and their victims may be of either gender and from any walk of life in any part of the world.

A survey published in Pediatrics in Review reveals that in Norway, 14% of children are either bullies or victims, while in Australia and Spain, the problem prevails among 17% of students. In Britain one expert figures that 1.3 million children are involved in bulling.

Professor Amos Rolider of Emek Yizre’el College surveyed 2,972 pupils in 21 schools. The professor found that “65% complained of being smacked, kicked, pushed or molested by fellow pupils”.

In Britain a report in 2000 said that out of 5,300 employees in 70 organizations, 47% reported that they had witnessed incidents of bulling in the last five years. More than 20,000 children called Child Line about bullying between April 2000 and March 2001 “far more than for any other issue. Bullying was the top problem for the fifth year running. There were four times as many girls as boys ringing in. Many of them were worried about people calling them names, threatening them, hitting them or being teased.

One girl, Shamila, 15, told counsellors she was being bullied by girls in her class. 'I am about the only Asian girl in my school,' she said. She didn't feel she could tell her parents because they weren't getting on well and she didn't want to add to their worries.

Jackie, 14, rang up, deeply upset. Her best friend had turned against her and was calling her names. 'I took an overdose a couple of months ago,' she said. 'I just wanted someone to notice me “to notice the bullying.'

Bullies are:

6. Physical Bullies: These are the easiest to identify. They act out their anger by hitting, shoving, or kicking their chosen target – or by damaging their victim’s property.
7. Verbal Bullies: they use words to hurt and humiliate their target, through name-calling, insults, or persistent, harsh teasing.
8. Relationship Bullies: They spread nasty rumors about their target. This behavior is predominantly adopted by female bullies.
9. Reactive Victims: These are victims of bulling who turn into bullies themselves. Of course, their having been victims of bulling does not excuse their conduct; it only helps to explain

The most serious and dangerous problems

Teen Suicide - Why Does It Happen?

Many teenagers get upset or depressed when they can’t cope with their problems and they see the only way out - to stop living and they commit suicide.
Across the United States teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for teens from 15 to 19 years old. Some of the risk factors are as follows:

1. Psychological problems: Depression, previous attempts at suicide, and having received psychiatric care in the past.
2. Personal failure: Unmet high standards set by the teen or parents, including failing grades in school or poor performance in sports.
3. Recent loss: Death of a close friend or family member, divorce, abandonment by a parent, pregnancy, and the breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
4. Substance abuse: Abuse of alcohol and other drugs as forms of self-medication for overwhelming depression. A combination of depression, substance abuse, and lowered impulse control can lead to suicide or attempted suicide. Substance abuse in other family members can also lead to suicide.
5. Violence: Violence against the teen either at home or outside the home, including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or bullying. Violence at home or against the youth teaches teens that the way to resolve conflict is through violence, and suicide is the ultimate act of self-violence.
6. Communication problems: The inability to discuss anger or other uncomfortable feelings with family members or friends. These feelings can include loneliness, rejection, and awareness of one's gay or bisexual sexual orientation.

Alcoholism

Smoking, taking drugs and alcohol are dangerous and serious problems of teenagers. Unfortunately, these problems always were and will be. They are serious problems for society because teen drinkers are likely to become criminals and heavy drinkers as adults according to new research.

Why Do Teens Drink and How Does It Affect the Body?

Alcoholism is an illness that needs to be treated just like other illnesses. Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.

When teens drink alcohol, it's absorbed into their bloodstream. From there, it affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls virtually all body functions. Because experts now know that the human brain is still developing during our teens, scientists are researching the effects drinking alcohol can have on the teen brain.

Just about everyone knows that the legal drinking age throughout the United States is 21 but most teens can get access to it. And according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, almost 80% of high school students have tried alcohol.

There are several reasons why a teenager may take alcohol. Some teenagers are just bored and like to experiment, while others do it to be accepted by their peers. Teenagers who are shy, lonely and lack self-confidence often find that drugs and alcohol transform them into life of the party. For them, these vices are the key to social success. Other teens that drink put themselves at risk for many problems - problems with the law, at school, and with their parents just to name a few.

On average American has his or her first drink around age 14. It's a fact of life that teenagers are likely to experiment with drugs, alcohol, clothes and makeup on the fast track to adulthood. Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens use alcohol are:

1. curiosity
2. to feel good, reduce stress, and relax
3. to fit in
4. to  feel  older

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, almost 80% of high school students have tried alcohol.  Adolescents who drinks regularly also often have problems with school. Drinking can damage a student's ability to study well and get decent grades, as well as affect sports performance. Teens with drinking problems can't stop drinking until they are ready to admit they have a problem and get help.

Alcohol puts your health at risk. Teens that drink are more likely to be sexually active and to have unsafe, unprotected sex. Teen drinkers are more likely to get fat or have health problems, too. One study by the University of Washington found that people who regularly had five or more drinks in a row starting at age 13 were much more likely to be overweight or have high blood pressure by age 24 than their nondrinking peers.

In some states, this treatment is completely confidential. After assessing a teen's problem, a counselor may recommend a brief stay in rehab or outpatient treatment. These treatment centers help a person gradually overcome the physical and psychological dependence on alcohol.

Teen drinking leads to adult problems

Teen drinkers are likely to become criminals and heavy drinkers as adults according to new research.

The study found that adults who were binge drinkers at 16 ran almost double the risk of having criminal convictions, were 60% more likely to be homeless, and 40% more likely to use illegal drugs and have mental health problems.

The research monitored the health and prospects of more than 11,000 UK children born in 1970, at the ages of 16 and 30.Almost 18% fell into this category of drinker, with more young men than young women binge drinking.

The study found that they were 60% more likely to be dependent on alcohol and 70% more likely to regularly drink heavily than those who were not binge drinkers at 16.

Scientists said the differences in outcomes between the 16-year-old habitual drinkers and 16-year-old binge drinkers suggested that binge drinking brings a distinct set of worrying problems.

The research is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health Irish health

Children and Alcohol

Alcohol is legal for adults but it is very harmful for teen’s organism. The facts say otherwise:

1. 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem.

1. 4 percent of high school seniors drink alcohol every day.

2. Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of death among young people 15 to 24 years of age.
3. About half of all youthful deaths in drowning, fires, suicide, and homicide are alcohol-related.
4. Young people who use alcohol at an early age are more likely to use alcohol heavily and to have alcohol-related problems; they are also more likely to abuse other drugs and to get into trouble with the law.

-    In an average month, about 9 million American teens drink alcohol

A study of estimated blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of so-called binge drinkers using a survey of 500 young adults age 18-24 revealed that 63% of the "bingers" did not reach a BAC of .10% or higher and 48% did not reach a BAC of 08% or higher.

The New York Times has pointed out an important irony: some researchers define binge drinkers as college students who consume five (or even as few as four) drinks on an occasion. The same students are advised by health educators to be responsible drinkers by pacing themselves at no more than one drink per hour. But since students often attend social events for five or more hours at a time, that consumption rate would label them as bingers. Thus, careful students would be both responsible drinkers and bingers at the same time!

Teens and Smoking Tobacco

    Teens like to act as if they are someone special or dangerous. By smoking they can act on those feelings. Because it is so forbidden it becomes more alluring to teens. The idea that they are breaking the law or going against their parents and schools is an addiction within itself. Kids like to get attention. They crave attention and by smoking they get big attention. The other teens look at them in all kinds of ways and the adults get upset and don’t know what to do.
    Nicotine is considered the number one entrance drug into other substance abuse problems. Research shows that teens between 13 and 17 years of age who smoke daily are more likely to use other drug substances. The use of other drugs is part of the peer pressure that our children have to face.
    Why is tobacco so addicting? It is because nicotine acts as a stimulant, which is stimulating the mind, body, and spirit. When the body tolerance levels high then one ends up needing to use larger doses of nicotine to maintain a certain level of the physiological effect. When the body becomes accustomed to the presence of nicotine, it then requires the use of the chemical to help the body to function normally. This level of dependence is referred to as an addiction. 

Facts on Tobacco

We know that smokers are 10 times as likely as nonsmokers to develop lung cancer and 3 times as likely to die at early ages from heart attack. In fact, in 1985, smoking was the leading cause of early death among adults. Nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco, is as addictive as heroin, and fewer than 20 percent of smokers are able to quit the first time they try. Despite these facts, many children use these products.

1. 18 percent of high school seniors are daily smokers; 11 percent smoke 10 or more cigarettes per day.
2. Young people who use cigarettes are also at great risk for all other drug use.
3. 70 percent of all children try cigarettes, 40 percent of them before they have reached high school.
4. Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 harmful substances, several of which cause cancer.
5. 12 percent of boys and 1 percent of girls have chewed tobacco or used snuff. Smokeless tobacco is just as addictive and harmful as tobacco that is smoked.

   The American Lung Association estimates that every minute four thousand eight hundred teens will take their first drag off a cigarette. Of those four thousand eight hundred, about two thousand will go on to be chain smokers. The fact that teen smoking rates are steadily increasing is disturbing. We are finding out that about 80% of adult smokers started smoking as teenagers.

    The times are changing; what the public and science did not know twenty years ago is now coming to the surface. The fact is that smoking cigarettes can cause many health problems including emphysema, high blood pressure, and various forms of cancer. We are seeing people live longer and healthier lives and the old idea that smoking makes you cool and attractive is gone. This is the truth about cigarettes; they are loaded with harmful chemicals and the end result is that they are a dangerous drug that can seriously harm people.

Drugs.

Another problem is taking drugs which are taken frequently by the teenagers nowadays.    This problem can be solved with teachers, parents or even friends help, who can try to keep them far away from those vicious. In many cases, teenagers are influenced on doing bad things by the group they are spending their free time and don’t listen to the advice that are given by the ones who care about them and they only want their best.

Parents are out of touch with the problems faced by teenagers. That's the finding of a survey by the Get Connected helpline. It showed that almost 42% of all parents who were questioned think drugs are the biggest problem faced by teenagers. But the survey showed that teenagers are more worried about relationships and health.

New Problems

Teen Terrorism in Great Britain

As if we didn’t already have enough problems with teenagers, now comes word from ABC news that Al Qaeda are recruiting teens as young as 15 to become terrorists.

      Sexuality is another of nowadays problems of the teenagers and not only. They are interested on this thing and sometimes become more important than family or school, and they should not. If they have a sexual life they should protect themselves from AIDS or another disease. In our opinion, those are the most important and the most serious teenager’s problems.

Too young to gamble

Gambling's turnover in the UK has soared sevenfold in recent years, from £7billion in 2001 to £50billion last year. Research from the National Council on Gambling indicates there are some 370,000 problem gamblers in the UK.

According to the Salvation Army, the proportion of problem gamblers amongst adolescents in the UK could be more than three times that of adults, at 1.7% for 16-24 year-olds. In fact, the UK is still the only western country which still allows children, of any age, to gamble. 'The problem is that under the Gambling Act, category D fruit machines still have the label of 'amusement', and the implication of fun', explains Sue Fisher, author of Gambling and Problem Gambling among Young People in England and Wales. 'Slot machines are a mainline for addiction, presenting the perfect entry point for any young would-be gambler to get their buzz', she says. 'Add in the ease with which the internet enables people to gamble simply because they've managed to get hold of a credit or debit card, and you have a potentially huge social problem on your hands.

Last year's new law has allowed all existing casinos to put in twice as many slot machines, paying out twice as much money, with jackpots of £4,000. The new law has also abandoned the 24-hour 'cooling off' period, meaning anyone can walk in off the street to gamble on impulse. 'What's certain is that while fruit machines might seem like harmless fun to teenagers, those same children all too often graduate on to harder forms of gambling as they grow up', Fisher says.

Meanwhile, separate data from the US shows that gambling can lead to drug addiction, alcoholism and depression. Teenagers in particular are vulnerable to the addictive behaviour associated with gambling, it says, which can lead to other psychological problems. The Yale researchers found 16- and 17-year-olds had higher rates of alcohol and drug use and addiction if they gambled; while a similar trend was seen among young adults aged 18 to 29 who had been gambling since their early teens.

TV link to teen problems

Children who watch more than a couple of hours of television a day are more likely to have attention problems as adults, researchers from New Zealand have found.

"The two-hour point is very, very clear with our data, very consistent with what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends," said the study's first author, Carl Erik Landhuis of the Dunedin School of Medicine at the University of Octagon. "We're not saying don't watch TV, just don't watch too much TV," he said. While there was a widespread perception that TV could contribute to attention problems, there was very little data on the issue, he said. To investigate, he and his colleagues looked at 1037 boys and girls born in 1972 and 1973, following them from age five to 15. On average, children watched about two hours of TV daily when they were five to 11 years old, but were watching 3.13 hours on weekdays by age 13 to 15.

Study participants who had watched more than two hours of TV in early childhood were more likely to have attention problems as young teens, the researchers found. Those who watched more than three hours were at even greater risk.

He and his colleagues suggest that teens who get used to watching lots of attention-grabbing TV may find ordinary life situations – such as the classroom – boring. It is also possible, they add, that TV may simply crowd out time spent doing other activities that can build attention and concentration skills, such as reading and playing games. It was likely, Dr Landhuis said, that teens today watched much more TV than the participants in his study, who had only two channels to choose from in the late 1970s.

Nowadays teenagers can’t imagine their life without their computers and mobile phones. They say that computers and mobile phones have become their extension.  Teens are too dependant on the electronic gadgets which rays may cause headaches and even more dangerous diseases.  

Chapter III (practice).

Teenager problems in Karasuk

During my work I learned and analyzed articles from magazines, newspapers, dictionaries, fiction and the Internet, I’ve come to the conclusion that in reality to be a teenager it’s not easy and maybe it’s the most difficult and strange period in our life. Because teenagers are the happiest people on the Earth, they say, but at the same time teens have much more problems that in childhood or adulthood. So, a process of becoming a teenager is very difficult.

I know that most of my friends and classmates have some of these problems.

After studying different information about teenagers in English – speaking countries I decided to find out some facts about adolescents in my native place and   compare the results.

I made a questionnaire for teenagers in Karasuk and gave it to the students of my school. Here are my questions and the answers:

Social Survey

Also I compared lists of teen problems in Russia with teens’ problems in the UK, the USA and Australia:

  According to my questionnaire teenagers in Karasuk have less problems than their peers in some English – speaking countries. But in general Russian teens have the same problems. The most important problems for teenagers in our settlement are problems with parents, a shortage of free time, depressions, relationships with classmates and unhappy love. The most serious and dangerous problems are smoking, taking alcohol. The other problems are TV, computer games and mobile phones addiction, party life style, bullying, vandalism. Only few students face the following problems: communication with teachers and taking drugs.

Conclusion.

Working with the paper I’ve come to the following conclusions:

1. a process of becoming a teenager is very difficult;
2. Teen age’s not only wonderful and happy period, but it’s a period when adolescents have very much problems which they must  decide;
3. Teen age is a period when teens feel like adults but they are not ready to an adult life.
4. The most widespread problems of adolescents are problems connected with school and parents;
5. The problems of teens in Russia and  English – speaking countries are practically the same;
6.  every year teenagers’ problems are growing up and they become a serious problem for adults;

The main conclusion of the paper is:

The teenagers’ problems are like a mirror which reflects problems and hardships of any society

List of Literature

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2. Петрова Н.И. Экзаменационные вопросы и ответы. Экзамен на 5. - М.: АСТ-ПРЕСС ШКОЛА, 2004. - 256с
3. Кузовлев В.П., Лапа Н.М., Перегудова Э.Ш. и др.  Английский язык: Учеб.  для 10 – 11 кл. общеобразоват. учреждений – 5-е изд. – М.: Просвещение, 2003. – 336с.
4. И.Цветкова “Speak out”, 6/2001 ноябрь-декабрь. Журнал для изучающих английский язык – изд. «Глосса», 13 – 14с.
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 7.А. С. Хорнби при участии Кристины Руз. Учебный словарь современного английского языка – М. Москва, изд. «Просвещение», 1983.673c

1. Поисковые системы интернета Yandex, Google.

THE APPLICATION.

The problems of teens in my school: