Gone are the days of innocence, gone are the days of teenagers running happily through fields of long grass in white petticoats or playing football nicely in the local park.
Not that any of this was ever really true, in more recent years, but I want to exaggerate the point; teenagers are just not the same any more. I'm actually inclined to believe that the teenage years, as I knew them, are ceasing to exist. The awkward stage between childhood and adult hood, the years of angst, the school nights spent indoors on the phone to your friends - there just seems to be much more going on now.
Surely, when you are a teenager you are meant to think that you are rebelling, but not actually, properly (seriously break the law) rebel! When I was at school, smoking out in the orchard was about as bad as it got. There were the odd few that would really test patience but it seems that the teenagers of today are much more ballsy or just more obsessed with being '2 cool for skl'.
The majority of teenagers seem to push the boundaries now - late boozy nights, bunking weeks (not days) off school - choosing instead to hang around outside Tesco for hours on end or skip from festival to festival in massive groups, drinking way too much for even a large 40 year old adult male to handle, and just generally abusing themselves.
It's not that teenagers have never rebelled, of course they have, surely that is the point. But the lengths at which kids are willing to go to now, and the number of kids that are willing to go to these lengths has grown enormously. It's not just what they are doing, but their appearance also. So many teenagers, just simply, 100% do not look their age; they all look at least 3 years older than they are.
Whether this is just nature - the idea that generations are gradually getting taller - maybe, they are also beginning to look older when they are, in fact, young. Or its the amount of make-up that they wear, their uber trendy hair styles, the fact that fashion seems to be much more accessible to the younger generations now?
Without exposing the embarrassment of my youth too much and at risk of sounding, like totally, 'uncool' - I had absolutely no idea how to dress myself in an acceptable way until I was about 17 and if I'm being completely honest, maybe even older! It is possible that I was the only teenager that has ever had this problem, I wouldn't have called myself normal then (or even now, for that matter) but I just wasn't really aware of what was going on around me, added to that I didn't really care!
It's a whole different ball game now, in what seems to be a race to have the best hairstyle, clothes, boyfriend/girlfriend, music taste, film collection... the list is endless.
Maybe then, that is the problem, the younger generation are becoming a lot more aware of themselves at a younger age; what they look like, who they are, what they want to do and particularly, why they shouldn't be allowed to do certain things.
I guess then the question is why? I blame myspace. Well, not solely, but partially. Myspace and the internet and any social media/networking site available to teenagers, or anyone that can read well enough to fool the "please click here to confirm that you are over 18" button.
There is so much material, information, music, clothing (just everything) available now, and to everyone that no wonder kids are becoming more aware at a younger age. Sites like myspace encourage peer pressure and a pressure to be and look a certain way, encourage kids to want to try things younger because, well, 'that person is doing it, why shouldn't I'?
No wonder the youth of today are turning into the vagabonds that they are. Obviously this is not the only reason, but I would say it is a large part. So the next time you jump on the band wagon to blame the bad parenting, take a long hard look at that beautiful and efficient piece of technology that is now glaring you in the face!
Not that any of this was ever really true, in more recent years, but I want to exaggerate the point; teenagers are just not the same any more. I'm actually inclined to believe that the teenage years, as I knew them, are ceasing to exist. The awkward stage between childhood and adult hood, the years of angst, the school nights spent indoors on the phone to your friends - there just seems to be much more going on now.
Surely, when you are a teenager you are meant to think that you are rebelling, but not actually, properly (seriously break the law) rebel! When I was at school, smoking out in the orchard was about as bad as it got. There were the odd few that would really test patience but it seems that the teenagers of today are much more ballsy or just more obsessed with being '2 cool for skl'.
The majority of teenagers seem to push the boundaries now - late boozy nights, bunking weeks (not days) off school - choosing instead to hang around outside Tesco for hours on end or skip from festival to festival in massive groups, drinking way too much for even a large 40 year old adult male to handle, and just generally abusing themselves.
It's not that teenagers have never rebelled, of course they have, surely that is the point. But the lengths at which kids are willing to go to now, and the number of kids that are willing to go to these lengths has grown enormously. It's not just what they are doing, but their appearance also. So many teenagers, just simply, 100% do not look their age; they all look at least 3 years older than they are.
Whether this is just nature - the idea that generations are gradually getting taller - maybe, they are also beginning to look older when they are, in fact, young. Or its the amount of make-up that they wear, their uber trendy hair styles, the fact that fashion seems to be much more accessible to the younger generations now?
Without exposing the embarrassment of my youth too much and at risk of sounding, like totally, 'uncool' - I had absolutely no idea how to dress myself in an acceptable way until I was about 17 and if I'm being completely honest, maybe even older! It is possible that I was the only teenager that has ever had this problem, I wouldn't have called myself normal then (or even now, for that matter) but I just wasn't really aware of what was going on around me, added to that I didn't really care!
It's a whole different ball game now, in what seems to be a race to have the best hairstyle, clothes, boyfriend/girlfriend, music taste, film collection... the list is endless.
Maybe then, that is the problem, the younger generation are becoming a lot more aware of themselves at a younger age; what they look like, who they are, what they want to do and particularly, why they shouldn't be allowed to do certain things.
I guess then the question is why? I blame myspace. Well, not solely, but partially. Myspace and the internet and any social media/networking site available to teenagers, or anyone that can read well enough to fool the "please click here to confirm that you are over 18" button.
There is so much material, information, music, clothing (just everything) available now, and to everyone that no wonder kids are becoming more aware at a younger age. Sites like myspace encourage peer pressure and a pressure to be and look a certain way, encourage kids to want to try things younger because, well, 'that person is doing it, why shouldn't I'?
No wonder the youth of today are turning into the vagabonds that they are. Obviously this is not the only reason, but I would say it is a large part. So the next time you jump on the band wagon to blame the bad parenting, take a long hard look at that beautiful and efficient piece of technology that is now glaring you in the face!