One cup, no. See parents will not allow kids to have coffee, but allow the kids to drink tea (like Lipton's - iced or otherwise), Coke, Pepsi, etc - all of which has MORE caffeine per serving than a cup of coffee. I look at it this way, your 16 and holding down a job, your adult enough to manage your caffeine habit (having one cup O' Joe in the morning. Yes drinking excessive amounts of any caffeinated drink is 'bad' for ya. Ideally one should not drink more than 3 strong cups of coffee in the morning, and no more than 2 other caffeinated drinks during the day, and none after 5 PM. however we live in a society which has us drinking a a lot of things with caffeine in them, so over time our bodies become accustomed to high levels of caffeine, thus the 'negative' effects are marginal when it comes to that one cup of coffee in the morning. BTW I do drink 3 cups of coffee every morning. I used to drink coffee 24/7 - when I did finally cut way back on caffeine I did reap some incredible rewards such as actually having more energy through the day and being able to use a cup of coffee later in the day as a pick me up (when used on occasion).

Not at all, it's healthier than diet coke.

No, I drank coffee when I was sixteen, didn't hurt me. Gives a nice start to the day!!

No, (unless your 16 year old is one of those that even small amounts of caffeine really wind them up). But, in general, no, it is not "bad". I actually started drinking coffee with my Mom every morning when I was 8. She DID monitor it until my teens, (she didn't want me going to school and acting like a "speed freak", LoL! But, actually, I can drink a pot of coffee and sleep like a baby. Caffeine has never had an effect on me, anyway.