The Necessary Evils of Modern Day Living

Sofie Dooley

Recently, especially for us teenagers, it is easy to feel torn between our morals and societal norms; there are cultural pressures and norms that we feel like we must conform to, even if we don’t agree with them, leading us to feel that we sometimes “can’t win.” These are the necessary evils, the most prominent I believe are a driver’s license, sunscreen and social media. 

As soon as you turn 15, the pressure is put upon you to start studying for your permit test. Once you get it, it’s expected for teens to be jumping in their seats waiting to get their license the moment the clock strikes midnight on their 16th birthday. But what about the kids who would rather take a nap in the car, be in charge of music, or simply feel that they aren’t ready to operate heavy machinery, taking on the responsibility of everyone’s safety, in addition to their own? Unfortunately, these kids can’t catch a break. Although California has decent public transportation, it is inarguable that in this day and age, you need a car. Plus, if you don’t get your license, your friends, parents and older siblings will slowly grow resentment towards you for having to be your chauffeur. 

Little is known about the true dangers of sunscreen. In the summer, teens in California either refuse to wear sunscreen to get their tan on or are consistent in using sunscreen in fear of skin cancer. If you don’t wear sunscreen, you increase your chances of getting skin cancer and if you do, you are exposing yourself to a whole world of possible negativity. Many people don’t know that much of our sunscreen immensely damages our coral reefs with a chemical called oxybenzone which bleaches coral when exposed to the sun along with damaging coral DNA and coral larvae. Oxybenzone and other chemicals are said to cause hormone disruption and allergic reactions. Aside from the actual ingredients in sunscreen, to actually protect yourself from the sun, it is recommended to use about one shot glass of sunscreen on your face a day. That is just crazy considering that at that rate, we would all be buying new sunscreen once a week (and the good ones are not cheap). It has also been said by dermatologists that for sunscreen to be fully effective you cannot mix it with any makeup in products, like tinted moisturizing SPF. So say goodbye to lightweight sun protection because through the dermatologist's eyes, you must either go all in or all the way home. 

And I think we all know by now that we should cool it with social media. It eats up our time, can become pretty self-centered, and has the potential to spread false information. Yet, somehow we all can’t live without it. Aside from teenager’s recent addictions to short-form content, we as artists, in particular, can’t really share our work or make connections without social media. I would argue that social media, especially Instagram, has become the biggest networking ground for aspiring musicians, artists, writers, etc. Similarly, some of the biggest musicians of the past five or so years have blown up on TikTok because of catchy choruses and visually-pleasing videos. It is much less work than going to open mics, playing a full set, and actually introducing yourself to the people around you. This has led to a rapid increase in TikTok-famous musicians who are well-liked but lacking in authenticity. 

Do your research before buying sunscreen, resist getting your license and ride your bike everywhere just to prove you can. Delete Instagram, get out in the real world and introduce yourself! These things may feel out of your way and inconvenient, but if we all work together to squash these norms, we can create more options for future generations! I truly do believe that we can do it if we try.