Gone are the days of being proud of good grades, sports awards and volunteering on weekends. Now, it’s about how wasted you were at yesterday’s party, how many classes you’ve ditched in the last week, and the number of fights you took part in.

Our generation has suddenly switched their attention and awe to activities labelled as “rebellious” or “defiant,” when in reality, they’re typically stupid, irresponsible and dangerous.

It’s well-known that teenagers have a love for bold recklessness, but it usually doesn’t go beyond staying out past curfew or spending too much money on games.

But now? Students are smoking, drinking and doing drugs — and broadcasting it to the world, because they think it makes them ‘cool’.

It doesn’t make a student cool. It’s nothing to be proud about.

Smoking pot and cigarettes lead a person into a potential life-long addiction, deteriorating their health every step of the way. Ditching school undermines a student’s education, and with six or seven classes in a single day, it’s hard to make up late work.

And this sort of “bad bragging,” where students purposely do dangerous activities so they have something to boast to their friends the next day, doesn’t just affect the bragger.

By bragging about all the reckless things they’re doing, it influences their friends and encourages them to “be badder.” It’s some sort of sick domino effect of being bad.

Some live by the acronym “YOLO” and argue that because you only live once, it’s better to do the things you want rather than stick to the rules. But that’s exactly the reason why teens shouldn’t do those things. We only have one chance to live our life right, and every drug and cigarette we take for the sake of “being cool” or “fitting in” ruins it.

Not only are we pointlessly damaging our lives, but we’re also urging others to do the same.

So let’s get a grip and stop being so proud of the wrong things.