Teens, your first thoughts are typically immoral, rebellious, wild, and promiscuous. The way older generations evaluate younger generations is that they always seem to get worse. Is this really the case or are teenagers misjudged today? When it comes to sexual behavior among today's teenagers, this is certainly a false statement. Especially when compared to the teenagers of the 1980s, who are most likely their parents. Do these changes appear to be caused by improved values ​​and morals, better attachment with parents, or a stronger tone in sex education? It's been almost thirty years since I started high school and the news of HIV was everywhere. There were many false threats about how HIV was contracted, some of the ones I remember were through saliva, toilet seats, and even sharing lipstick. However, these fears paralyzed teenagers, including me; it did not prevent adolescents from engaging in sexual behaviors. After the seventies, characterized by an attitude of peace, love and happiness, the eighties were much more rebellious against parents and authority. Eighties teenagers, like me, who lived in big cities (like me, who grew up in Philadelphia) wanted to take risks and participate in parties, drinking, and of course, engage in sexual behavior. Overall, 43% of teens participated in some form of sexual contact, oral sex, and masturbation. The average age at which a teenager in the 1980s could have sexual intercourse was 16, and some even began shortly after puberty (PubMed, 1989). Teenage attitudes towards sex were whatever you do, just don't get caught. We didn't really believe that STDs were something we personally needed to worry about. The use of contraceptives with... middle of paper... education must be taught in schools as well as at home.Resource:Bostrom, M. (2001, December). The 21st century teenager. Public perception and adolescent reality, 1-39. Bukatlo, D. (2008). Child and Adolescent Development: A Chronological Approach, 1st Edition. Mason: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.Helge, D., (1989) Needs of Rural Schools About HIV Education; Bellington, WA. 19ppNational Education Association, Washington, DC, Commission on Professional Rights and Responsibilities. 1970 33 pp (ED042255) PubMed, (1989) Retrieved January 25, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12143748Singer, Alan. (1994) Why schools should make condoms available to adolescents; Educational Leadership, v52 n2 p78-79U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), table 188