The oxford dictionary of current English defines behaviour as, to act in a polite or proper way. The conveniences of the twenty-first century technology has brought with it, a lot of foreign cultural beliefs that is not exactly conducive for ours and our affairs in Africa. From television to computer, such negative values like pornography, drugs, alcoholism and crime are portrayed to make them fashionable and acceptable habits.

Mindful of the fact that these mediums are used to convey useful information to the public as well, the general tendency for people to cling hurriedly to bad things has made the scale to tilt in favour of those who crave for the negative values.

Behaviour is the first sign to show that a child was raised properly by the parents, and people, wherever the child goes, will feel very comfortable associating with such a child. In our society today some people believe it is weak to act properly all the time, or that one is not in tune with happening of the new age.

Disrespect has been renamed as modernity, as most children are no longer conscious of the older members of the society around them. It is common place to see teenages talk to even their parents in ways that are unacceptable by cultures and well organized societies.

But, like every bad thing in life, disrespectful behaviour comes with it's attendant consequences. The truth is that nobody likes to be disrespected and treated inappropriately; and so when teenager begin to relate anyhow with those who should correct and show them the right path to success in life they are indirectly asking for failure. The example is like a  child who is drawn to the attractive colour of a candle flame. If the baby insists against all restraints to touch the flame, the best lesson will be to allow him/her.

Older people are more experience, wiser (in many cases) and quite able to handle problems than younger people. They have made more mistakes than the teenagers and younger people, even though they never get to say so; and as a result their advice to younger people is meant to make the younger person become a much better member of the society. To us teenagers asking us to slow it down is like trying to prevent us from enjoying ourselves which is never the case in a long run.

Disrespectful behaviour makes the boy or girl as the case may be a bad person. What adults are as fraud stars, drugs barons, prostitutes, armed robbers and the other ills of society, were all as younger people disrespectful.

Teenagers will someday, become adults and expected to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of the society. If asked what we'd like to be in the future, so many of us will go for noble professions like Engineer, Medicine, Law etc, but yet we are not prepared to pay the price that will make us become what will benefit us and the society.

We are young and so this is the best time to learn some of the best lessons of life; and the best way to learn and grow, is to be humble to those we can learn from. Respectful behaviour gives you worth as a person, because if you want to be respected, you must yourself respect other people.