Gangster’s paradise

In many ways, the world is turning into a safer place. Diseases are becoming treatable due to huge advances in medical research... until the pandemic came. Suddenly illnesses became harder to treat due to overcrowded hospitals and fear of contracting COVID-19. While many of us don’t think about the virus too much any more, the ripples of its effect remain. One of the worst affected age groups is our own. The teenage life has never been easy, being too young to be taken seriously and too old to be irresponsible, and Covid definitely exacerbated everything. Aside from all the regular issues social distancing gave us, like an increase in depression and loneliness, everything being closed limited what we could do and there were only so many things we could turn to. Unfortunately, even though the problem has been lifted, habits have been formed and once you’ve crossed the line once, it’s easy to justify doing it again.

Alcohol

Getting a little tipsy before the legal age is far from uncommon and can be harmless, it’s important to remember that the age limit is there for a reason. Although getting a little tipsy at a party will probably just end in you being embarrassed, getting drunk on the streets can be a lot more harmful. Not just for yourself but also for others. Almost half of violent crimes are the result of alcohol. While you probably know that booze can be dangerous, if all your friends are having a drink, it can be hard to resist joining in.

Peer Pressure

being a part of the Blueprint Collective?

Robin: I love the community! Everyone is so friendly and accomodating, and its really nice to interact with people my own age who have similar interests whilst all doing something that we enjoy together.

Tag: What made you join in the first place?

Robin: There were lots of posters at college about it, and I initially wanted to join to boost my personal statement for uni. However, I am so glad that I did as I have had so much fun and made many great friends.

Tag: Is it just for artsy people?

Robin: I think that anyone who has an interest in art and creativity is artsy! But you don’t need to have any experience in art or think that you are ‘good’ at it to come we always have things that everyone can enjoy, whether you are interested in film, photography, writing, music, painting or drawing, making, or any other form of creativity!

Tag: Do you need any skills and/or interests to join?

Robin: I think that the only thing that you need is an interest in being creative, in any form! Often, we do workshops that introduce a skill that is new to everyone, so by no means do you have to have any creative experience to come along.

Tag: What difference do you think the collective is making to Bexhill?

Robin: For many of our projects we work alongside the community to create things that the public can enjoy, not just the collective. The collective also gives an opportunity for young people in the area to use art resources they may not have access to, and to express themselves as part of a community, without the pressure that might come from doing a creative subject as part of education.

We have it in good conscience that you know what those two words mean. The trappings of peer pressure have been explained to death by our parents, teachers and any other adult working with us. Despite this, we are still terrible at dealing with it. While people of any age can fall victim to peer pressure, teenagers are most at risk. Not only because we will be pressured into more harmful activities but also due to the fact that we’re at an age where we will stop looking to parents for guidance and friends often fill that void. Add the fact that, according to the Mental Health Foundation, one in six teenagers experience some form of anxiety, it makes sense why we can fall into peer pressure so easily.

Crime and Self Defence

Depending on where you live varies how consciously you avoid this kind of danger. While some can look over this point, others might have this as their biggest concern. A common crime is mugging. If someone approaches you with a weapon, often the best thing you can do is give into their demands. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee your safety, and you want to keep your possessions, but losing your phone is better than getting stabbed. Unless you have training in self defence of some kind, fighting usually will just escalate the situation. Of course if you are in a relatively populated area calling for help is often helpful as even if members of the public don’t do anything, witnesses being present can scare attackers off. Even if they don’t, having a witness in court never hurts, if it escalates to that. Less common is thugs just starting a fight without the motive of greed and the advice mostly stays the same. Remain in relatively populated areas so you have someone nearby, don’t escalate the situation and try to stay with friends.

Advice

Tag asked a group of Eastbourne teenagers what advice they had for staying safe. One said, “Start saying no to smaller things so when something actually dangerous comes up, you’ve built up the confidence to say no.” Another said “When drinking for the first time, the effects of alcohol don’t appear for a bit so drink slowly so you don’t get more drunk than you think you are.” Further advice given to Tag was “Stay in threes at least when walking at night.” Our favourite tip was the excuse, “I don’t want a drink because I want to remember you

Journalist: Frank Grover

Designer: Frank Grover

Photographer: Rebecca Walters