Teenagers love parties, but most parties include some age-inappropriate activities like drinking or vaping. Another vice plaguing the younger generations is phone addictions, which circles back to these predatory parties, since a teenager may be peer pressured into a party by a friend or random people on the internet. Many people, parents, teachers, and other students have voiced concerns about these types of extracurricular activities and the best way to combat them. Well, there might just be an answer: Tea parties.
Most people think of tea parties as an old-fashioned activity for the elderly, but that doesn’t have to be true. A tea party can be flexible; it can include or exclude anything you’d like to tailor it to your needs. From a casual get-together with friends with a can of Arizona iced tea to a formal party filled with acquaintances. It can be a great way to meet people.
Some teens have noticed a slight uptick in tea party-related trends on the internet. Horizon High School junior Hannah Conover said “I have [seen a lot] of fantasy based and fairy tea party [trends] on Instagram and TikTok.” and Evie Bonsell also a junior at horizon said “I have noticed these coquette influencers who post [tea parties]” From fantasy content creators to coquette influencers teenagers have been posting a bit more than usual about tea parties. Since teens are the primary target and users of social media, a small spark like this could be the precursor to a whole new trend; tea parties could be lying in wait to take the whole teen world by storm.
Even though this trend is spreading on the internet, tea parties could help curb teen phone addictions. Most teens cite their dependence on phones on their ability to interact with friends and family, along with meeting new people, but all of these things could be done at a tea party. Miles Duke, a senior at Horizon High School, said, “I feel it would benefit us. I think it’s a good way of bringing people together.” If tea parties become more commonplace either in public spaces like parks, gardens, libraries or regular everyday teens hosting them, that’s a whole new gateway to social interaction – the negative effects of social media and electronics like blue light, doomscrolling and toxic posts don’t exist at a tea party.
Longtime tea party goers like Valeria Galaviz, a junior at Horizon High School, endorsed the idea that a tea party could be beneficial, she said, “I think it would help us mature [and] some calm would do us some good. It’s good to have a brain break.”
Overall, there seem to be many benefits of a tea party for teenagers, from more social interaction to lessened screentime and an overall good time. It may be time for some teenagers to pick up a teacup.
