When the sun's out and the weather warm, we teenagers are often bombarded with magazines, billboards, and commercials featuring flawless models with perfect, golden skin-tone glows. Not surprisingly, one unfortunate effect of this is an entire generation of young individuals fixated on the dangerous tanning trend.

          Just a bit of research reveals the extensive complications that tanning, both indoor and outdoor, can cause. One is premature aging, as excessive exposure to UV light can accelerate the onset of wrinkles. Another is melanoma, a skin cancer that is known to progress with dangerous rapidity once it commences.

          But despite all the knowledge that science has provided us about the dangerous effects of tanning, it seems that a sufficient number of teenagers are not getting the message. After all, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that 32% of high school senior girls admit to engaging in some degree of indoor tanning in 2011.

          This figure, simply put, is astonishing. For, as Dr. Millard Zisser, a L.A.-based dermatologist, said on a popular television program, knowing the effects of tanning and still continuing to do it is comparable to “mortgaging [one’s] future for temporary pleasure and satisfaction.” What’s more, Dr. Zisser affirmed, “Once you do the damage, you can’t undo it. It’s cumulative over time. Then you have to deal with the consequences that develop.”

          No doubt, this begs some weighty questions. Why wait for the ramifications to develop at all? Why not take effective preventative measures now? And, perhaps most importantly, what does this entire phenomenon signify about the mindsets of young people in today’s world? Does this mean that some teenagers are still willing to exchange their health for a leathery exterior? 

          Clearly, what we need to do today is acknowledge that this issue has morphed into a serious matter meriting crucial attention. We need to enlighten young folks about the cold, hard consequences that tanning presents.

We need awareness programs that can help teens realize that skin color is independent of what really defines a person. For, in reality, one’s outward appearance cannot unlock one’s treasure trove of character traits, talents, and attributes. As trite as it may sound, beauty truly is only skin deep. Dedicating one’s time to cultivating personality and developing what’s within makes a much deeper impact than a new skin color that is sure to fade in just a short while.

So, the next time you feel pressured to step into a tanning booth for that golden skin-tone glow, remember that each day life presents us with an array of choices. You can either choose to conform yourself to suit society’s standards, or you can choose to take the path that preserves the healthy, happy individual you are.