Risky thrills just for fun

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If you have been resting the blame for your edgy behaviour on raging hormones, well, you could be in for a surprise. You may be right. There are biological motivations behind the stereotypically poor decisions and risky behaviour associated with adolescence, a new research by University of Texas reveals.

Experts feel it’s the dire need to stand apart from rest of the crowd that triggers risky behaviour among youth. Friends have nicknamed 19-year-old Seema Shah as a “fighter”. And Seema considers herself just that. “After all, I love to do what is challenging,” she says. Seema narrates with pride how she often sneaks into her boyfriend’s house when his parents are watching TV in the other room. “He does get hassled sometimes, but I’m always relaxed and chilled out. It has been a year now and I still find it thrilling. Even he is sure that I won’t get caught, so he takes it easy now,” she says.
For today’s youth, taking risks and playing with danger is “cool”, says avid traveller Rashi Walia. She blames reality shows like Roadies and Dadagiri for such influences on youngsters.
“Many of my friends don’t think twice before taking any kind of risk, thinking little about the consequences that may follow. Be it trying out an adventure sport, drinking while driving, asking out a girl/guy in front of everyone or taking drugs, they try everything,” she says.
“I myself am a risk taker and why not? You get this adrenaline rush when you do something risky. I remember racing on the highway with a friend at the speed of 145 km/hr and trust me, it feels out of the world. I knew it was risky, but I wanted to try it once, so I did it,” says Rashi.
Rashi adds, “I have a friend who is an introvert and had never tried anything exciting in her life. When she came to college, her friends introduced her to many new things and she changed drastically. Recently, she got her boyfriend’s name tattooed, without letting her parents know. Having said that, they recently broke up. She regrets it as it’s on her arm now and when people ask about it she just keeps quiet. So, the adventure didn’t turn out to be that exciting for her.”
Clinical psychologist Dr Rajat Mitra agrees and adds that many youngsters indulge in risky acts to discover themselves. “They feel they are in a way reinventing themselves,” he says. And taking risks is not bad after all. Even according to experts taking “calculated” risks for positive things can inculcate confidence in youngsters.
Aseem Sachdeva,19, loves to party, so jumping off the balcony in the middle of the night has become a daily routine for him. But Aseem never misses out on his studies, which work as a backup plan for him. “So even if I’m caught someday, I will at least have a backup,” he laughs.
“Life is too short to regret anything, but one should think about the consequences before doing anything,” says Seema.