I did LOTS of stupid thing when I was a kid too, but I knew lots of kids that did even stupider things and it was mostly boys.
I am just saying - as adults I think we forget the sense of invincability teeneagers have. I cringe at things I did - especially driving at very high speeds - and I never thought of dying.
Yeah, I had the same sense of invincability, but it wasn't manifested like that. We did things with explosives/black powder, and got drunk skiing when we got older, and would go whippin' through traffic on our bikes, etc. But never in a million years would anyone have convinced me to try that. Can't speak for my friends, but I cannot imagine that most wouldn't have been a little concerned.
For me, the second I'd have read about one death, let alone two, three, or an epidemic, I'd have thought three and four times about that easily. IDK, different perspectives I suppose.