It would be hard to quarrel with most of the concerns raised by Ms Ho Lay Ping ("Teenagers' sexual activity a worrying trend"; Feb 26).

In an ideal world, everyone would enjoy sex within a loving and supportive marriage.

But the world has changed, and it is better to face reality and accept that we are no longer the society that prevailed one or two generations back.

The Internet means even children can access sexually explicit videos. Through this, and even the general media, they are far more aware of sexuality in all its forms than previous generations.

A major change is that humans are now reaching puberty earlier, sometimes at even 11 or 12 years, but getting married later.

Once upon a time, there were only a few years between puberty and marriage; now, we see a gap of 15 years or more. Young people may find it hard to turn their backs on sex for that long, especially when hormones are at their peak.

I agree that young people "feel as if they are immune to the laws of mortality and probability".

They take chances when riding motorcycles, mountain climbing and skateboarding down steps, while old folk like me desperately hang on to the handrail for fear of falling.

As adults, it is our duty to protect youngsters from the consequences of foolish actions in all aspects of life, and that includes advising them on the protection offered by contraception.

The point raised on the pain suffered from early relationships is valid. I believe we have all had our hearts broken as teenagers, whether we had sex or not.

However, my observation is that young people are resilient and bounce back a lot quicker than, say, a mature woman or man whose long marriage has been ended by the other party.

Allein Godfrey Moore