Adolescence is a time when if one feels normal then that is a significant indicator that in fact they are not. That statement has been true since the first teenager cursed out his parents until the last teenager to exist on Earth curses out his parents. The adolescent time of life always has been and always will be tumultuous. Likewise, each generation of teenagers will firmly believe that they have it harder than the previous generation while the older generation shakes its head thinking, “kids these days…” and “in my day…”
This paper intends to examine the similarities and differences between adolescents of today and those of approximately fifty years ago. Also it will touch upon the similarities and differences between male and female adolescents facing the pressures of being teenagers in today's society and very superficially glance upon the effect that socioeconomic status (SES) has on their level of functioning and perception of the world around them. For the purpose of this paper three adolescents, two females and a male, and an older individual, a male were interviewed about their experiences as adolescents. Their responses have shaped the conclusions drawn here.
[...] If one were to watch the latter then they (if part of the Catholic Church) would be excommunicated unless/until they went to confession and were absolved from what was considered a mortal sin. Parents and religion in those times trumped the media which was a servant to a culture that wouldn't have supported overt sexual content. Today the media is far more racy, is visual, and more families are single parent or two working parent homes which means the adolescents have no one to be accountable to regarding many aspects of their lives. [...]
[...] Though many more comparisons can be made between the generations of adolescents, they are beyond the scope of this paper and it's time to consider the differences between adolescent boys and girls of today. While both Francesca and Michael spoke about problems with their parents and conflict within their families, they discussed the problems in different ways. Michael, for instance, talked about his mother as a “psychobitch.” He didn't elaborate on what makes her so bad to deal with and he didn't imply that he takes responsibility for her. [...]
[...] Today adolescents go to Screamo concerts and rap, hip hop, pop, country, alternative, and rock music flood the airwaves. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No. The United States is a diverse nation and different people have different taste in music but the diversity that in so many ways should be a great thing, in the world of adolescence separates and creates cliques and groups and a dress code accompanies each type of music and one dress code cannot like another group with a different dress code. [...]
[...] He knew others whose parents withdrew from the neighborhood completely and eventually moved to start over because an early and unplanned pregnancy of a daughter brought shame upon the family. A girl actually committed suicide rather than bring her family down in the eyes of everyone else. Michael in his interview called his mother a “psychobitch” and Francesca goes home to an alcoholic mother whom she takes care of as much as possible. This isn't to say that there weren't alcoholics and angry kids when Dr. [...]
[...] The act of using one's imagination actually develops one's ability to think and contemplate and consider the future. Thus the adolescents of today may seem inexplicably more impulsive than those of generations past but it's potentially due to the increase of television watching and a decrease in reading that is hindering their ability to actively think about the potential future consequences of their actions. When Dr. Windhover was young one of the top songs that could be heard on the radio, public radio was Great Thou a Christian hymn. [...]
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