Have your say: Are teens pressured into having sex too young?

Alexandra Gregg • Published 12 Mar 2013 14:30 1 Comment

A BINFIELD girl, who accidentally revealed on a reality TV show that she is virgin, has used the experience to highlight the pressures teens are put under when it comes to having sex.

Zoe Meade, 18, has been inundated with hundreds of Tweets since appearing on ITV2's 'The Magaluf Weekender'.

Many of her 2,700-plus Twitter friends - the majority of whom have started following her since the showed aired on January 29 - have described her as an inspiration.

But the former St Crispin's School pupil said the revelation over a drinking game was inadvertent.

"I didn't plan to tell people, it just came out," she told the News. "I've had messages from both girls and boys saying things like: 'you've inspired me to be myself and not to worry about whether or not I've had sex' and 'you've made me feel so much better about who I am'.

"I think it's quite sad that a lot of people aren't confident enough to be able to say that they're virgins. They should be proud. If they're like me, they're just waiting for the right person."

She added that although the majority of the Tweets were nice, there were a few horrible ones. "There's a lot of games with boys and I absolutely hate it," she said.

"There's also so many expectations and everyone thinks when you get to a certain age you're not normal if you haven't [had sex]."

Zoe, who works in Pandora Reading, admitted she was apprehensive about the show being aired after her confession, however was pleasantly surprised by the number of people in the same situation who came forward as a result of the show.

"I was really scared about the reaction and a bit embarrassed at first, but it made me realise that there's a big gap in the market for talking about this," she said. And it is clear her message has rung true with the masses, as she is still getting Tweets from people now - a month on.

She has even started a hashtag on the social networking site, #betruetoyourself, and said: "Everyone just needs to be true to themselves. They've got to not worry so much about what everybody else is doing.

"When they're ready, do what they feel is right for themselves.

"There's more to life than just sex; it's about relationships and people and having a good time."

Follow Zoe on Twitter @Zoemeade

Do you think youngsters are growing up too fast? Are they pressured into have sex at a young age? Leave your comments below or email news@bracknellnews.co.uk

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  hazelann70
  59 posts
  Mar 20, 08:08
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  What has changed in the last 30 years? It was no different when I was young in the 80's than it is now. Same peer pressure, same raging hormones.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

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