I think part of the mirroring of teenage life, though, *is* the sex, drugs, and swearing, which is part of why there aren't any shows about teenagers on tv these days that are realistic. (With the exception of Friday Night Lights, which I'd say is more a show about community and family than teenager life specifically.) My So-Called Life is a rare little gem that managed to do it and do it well but, you know, it only lasted one season and tv execs are looking for a formula that sells, not a formula that is critically lauded but a ratings disaster.

Obviously when you over-exaggerate those things, as Skins is prone to do, it becomes ridiculous, but those moments that aren't exaggerated are the ones that really speak to what it is to be a teenager in the late '00s. Kids swear A LOT, kids sit around and smoke weed and get drunk, kids have lots of bumbling, stupid sex before they're ready and with people they probably shouldn't be having sex with and it's just everyday life for them. I don't think American tv can accurately portray the debauchery of the average teen's life with the kind of normalcy is deserves. It either gets glamorized, a la Gossip Girl, or after school special-ized, a la Glee, neither of which is realistic.

LOL. Basically I just hate teenagers on US tv shows.