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Articles: -"79% of the teenagers described a situation in which they had been suspected of illegal actions by a store employee because of their age. 100% of the teenagers said they have been treated differently because of their age. 97% felt that many adults have a prejudice view of them because they are teenagers." -"This point was made in the Atkins v. Virginia Supreme Court decision (2002) that banned the execution of the mentally retarded. As supported by recent scientific research, this argument applies equally to offenders under 18 years of age." (If only it were really true that people magically became rational at 18.) -"These young people have frequent negative interactions with adults who seem bent on expecting the worst from them, based entirely, in their view, on their age or the actions of a few of their less civilized peers." -Teens on bail to be tagged -A teenagers guide to emancipation -Should we lower the voting age? -Stupidity doesn't discriminate by age |
'Teens Inferior,' Say Superior Adult Experts
written June 25th, 2003 Teenagers today are in a not unlike the Blacks of American history. Not only is anyone who seems to be a teen dispised with suspicious looks and demeaning coments, they are often either asumed criminals or consiously ignored because they don't deserve "adult respect" (see Discrimination and The Infantilization of Teenagers). More than also being refused the right to vote is the fact that anyone under eighteen in this country is the sole property of his or her parents, ie. a slave. So, is it any wonder that recent articles compare the average teenager to everything from a primate to a retarded adult? "Yet last year this nation prosecuted over 200,000 mentally challenged individuals belonging to another minority by virtue of their proven neurological handicaps. We call them teenagers."Are teens and older adults different? Yes. Are teens somehow inferior? No. In fact, pointing out the "still developing" brain and body actually undermines the case for adult superiority. You see, in these sturdies, the assumption is that adults are superior, so, if teens are different, they must be inferior. However, facts that don't support the preconcievved notions that the "superior adult experts" had are ignored. Well into someone's twenties, the brain continues to grow and develope. In addition to the occurance that most people stop learning once out of school, the brain begins to break down with "adulthood". The frontal lobes, in addition to the rest of the brain deteriorate. Reflexes and recal both slow. Another consideration is that most teenagers are overworked and experience far more stress than the "adult world" provides, so most teens are sleep deprived and show signs of vastly greater stress than found in adults. Yet, because teens are younger, they are able to cope with many of the biological effects of stress better than adults. While neither Joey nor I were "risk takers", risk taking is stereotyped as a typical teen trait. However, it is really a primarily male trait which remains active until testosterone and survival hormones decline or environment necessitates a change. For example, if teens were to start a nine to five job early on, they wouldn't take many risks, just as we can see in cultures where teens work. So, why do so many adults defy all logic to attempt to portray themselves as superior to teens? One word: Insecurity.It's the reason many people drive SUVs. Unfortunately, it's also the reason that an entire class or people are treated as thrid class citizens. Books like The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch portray teens as animals which are not fully human, while mothers desperately try in vain to make their teenagers think like infants or toddlers by treating them as such. The insecurity that many adults feel around younger people who have not yet begun to decay runs deep. When a parent angrily yells, "Don't get smart with me," he or she is really saying, "Don't get smarter than me." No one wants to be talked down to, but adults must learn that teens are people too. Adults may be infatuated with youthful looks and experience jealousy, but they have to overcome their "imature feelings". Teens deserve the same respect as any other human. If teens were given rights, such as being allowed to vote, we would not end up with Justin Timberlake as president. We would simply end up with more voting. Perhaps that's what adults fear: teens who can vote would be more inclined to do so than adults. Adults tend to have either become disallusioned or simply tired and old. Coming up with studies to prove their superiority wore them out. Perhaps it's coming time for the Baby Boomers to relinquish the throne. And I don't mean the toilet. Previous | My Thoughts | Topics | Next |