Teenagers

Holidays make me reflect. It can be a personal reflection or a general one, depending on what holiday is here and what memories I have of it. But some holidays even require reflection. Thanksgiving is one of those. We are supposed to give thanks for whatever we deem needs be thanked., but I never do that. Instead, I reflect on the nature of the ordinary, as in how much society has changed and whether it is for the better or worse.

I always conclude that some things are better and some are worse. Is that not the way it always has been? Since I have been around awhile I was thinking about Jane's generation. What is it like to be a teen today? Are teens different today than when I was one? Do they have the same sense of community and traditional values? There is more that I pondered but I think those are enough unanswerable questions for now. Let me try to relate to you what I think about those questions, and ask your own view.

As to what it's like to be a teen today, we can only imagine it unless we are that age. But the pressures, distractions, temptations and opportunities of the world must all be more impacting to this generation, given the communication and technological advancement of the current era. I would not want to be 16 and face that. How today can a 16 year old understand much about the world around him or her. Most adults don't. For example, my generation worried about "the communist threat', this one worries about the threat of "global warming". Both are more imaginative threats than real ones, but the latter requires the teen to make personal sacrifices that my generation rarely did when faced with its threats.

Are teens different today? On the surface, I think not. But maybe they are over scheduled and asked to grow up too fast. It used to be that the teenage years were not a transition to adulthood. Prior to W.W. II a 12 year old was considered an adult at 13 and given adult responsibilities. Now we tell the 13-18 year olds to be both a child and an adult. No wonder teens have an identity crisis.

The sense of community by that age group is far different than it was 70 or so years ago. Today the teen culture gives teens their own identity and own culture. I think most teens are more aloof toward adults and bond more readily to peers today than in the past because today they have a distinct subculture of their own. A problem with that is that a culture needs to be transmitted though tradition. Teen culture is a "for the minute" one with technology replacing tradition. How can the cultural history and tradition be passed on if there is no recognition of it? In my view, the transportation and communication improvements make it harder for teens to know and appreciate the common culture.

Anyway, thank God I am not a teen today! I am already a mess, as is.