I remember back when the Jonas Brothers were a thing, one of their big selling points was that they wore purity rings to symbolize how they would never have sex before marriage or do drugs. And in case you’re wondering how imposing limitations like that on a teenager works out, here’s Joe Jonas (age 24) telling Vulture that he lost his v-chip at 20 and smoked weed with Miley Cyrus and (ex-girlfriend) Demi Lovato when he was a teenager. So yeah. Purity rings. They’re super effective.
We decided to take the rings off a few years ago. I lost my virginity when I was 20. I did other stuff before then, but I was sexually active at 20. I’m glad I waited for the right person, because you look back and you go, “That girl was batshit crazy. I’m glad I didn’t go there.”
The first time I smoked weed was with Demi and Miley. I must have been 17 or 18. They kept saying, “Try it! Try it!” so I gave it a shot, and it was all right. I don’t even smoke weed that often anymore. I was caught drinking when I was 16 or 17, and I thought the world was going to collapse. But I was in another country, and it was legal there. (READ THE FULL ARTICLE)
So basically, purity rings are great as publicity stunts and marketing opportunities, but really aren’t that effective at actually keeping kids from being kids because SURPRISE! Rings can’t make a person do anything. People are going to do exactly what they want to do, so the only thing we can do is try and educate them and hope they make smart decisions. Not “right” decisions, because there’s no right way to make personal decisions, but smart decisions. Decisions based off of understanding your own limits and the consequences of your actions. Stuff like that.