Switched-On Magazine

With the overwhelming amount of stress that is being placed on some teenagers, they will often seek an escape from it. Procrastinating from homework is a commonly seen phenomenon amongst teenagers as they get distracted by other things. Sometimes they will end up finishing though other times they might not due to procrastination. A similar patterning can be seen with other things such as alcohol or drugs. Alcohol consumption is acceptable, but only in small amounts, much like procrastination. Otherwise, it could potentially ruin your life as you head toward alcoholism. Drugs, on the other hand, should not be taken carelessly. Prescription drugs or drugs like cold medicine are okay as long as the instructions are followed properly. However, the intake of illegal drugs in unauthorized amounts is harmful for your body considering that they may hamper with your senses in ways that may seem pleasurable at the moment, but will be unpleasant later on as a potential addiction develops.

Another now commonly seen "escape route" from reality is the virtual world. Like drugs, they allow for the user to become immersed in another state of being, though it is more dependent on the user's imaginative capacity instead of stimulating their physical being. The introduction of  virtual worlds for teenagers could be considered both a good thing and a bad thing. Granted, it does provide a slightly less direct stimulation of the body and allow for them to temporarily escape from their roles in society. However, the risk of getting addicted to this virtual world of different experiences still exists. Furthermore, internet addiction is still a newly explored area, previously considered similar to work addiction and the such and neglected because the effects did not seem to be too extensive. There are cases in which internet addiction has caused someone's life to be severely affected though due to their self-isolation from society.

A short break is fine. Even procrastination is acceptable (minimal). Excessive diversion of your attention to harmful things such as drugs or alcohol is not as they will end up ruining your health. Drowning in a virtual world is also not a good habit to form since although it may not seem to affect your health, the loss of sleep, destruction of social life, and other potential side effects could be linked to this. Reality is something that cannot be escaped so easily. In the end, you'll just end up hurting yourself more than if you had just faced reality and learned to deal with it in one way or another instead of escaping and having to deal with even more problems related to the time you escaped reality.