Monday, September 16, 2013
Teens Today
Write 150 words or so about how you perceive teenagers today versus when your parents were teenagers. How have the times changed? What sorts of things do teens today find amusing or important that maybe didn't exist 30 years ago when your parents were teenagers? Consider technology, entertainment, popular culture, education, or even world events. Do teenagers have more pressure on them today than yesterday? Explain. Don't forget to reply to at least one post from a classmate.
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I think that teenagers of every generation have life completely different. I think everyone does it is just that you hear more about teenagers because they are the central focus of the society. A lot of everything that happens in the world at anytime is focused on teenagers because they are the next adults. I mean within a few years they are new adults of this world. Teenagers nowadays are centralized around internet and social media. back when my parents were teenagers, their lives revolved around being outdoors and the ever so amazing television. I firmly believe that teenagers do have it harder in the long run. Well 1 example, back then teenagers could go into anything they wanted in life after high school and were almost always guaranteed some type of job with it. Now teenagers need every degree under the moon to get at least a decent job. So all in all, times change, everyone knows that. But its how the times have changed that effect us all.
ReplyDeleteI really agree that each generation has it harder than the last. Now may seem difficult but I think it is only going to get hard and as a result things will hopefully get better and we can continue to advance.
DeleteI agree. Most of teens are centralized around social media. It's sad, however, most of us are guilty. I also agree that teens now have it harder school wise. It's not as easy to get jobs as it used to be, therefore school is much more important. There's a lot more pressure on our generation to get schooling beyond high school.
DeleteI agree 100%. Not only is it harder to get prepared for college and the job world it's harder to find jobs and occupations you love. In some ways, I believe technology has ruined all privacy and individuality. in our parents generations, they became who they wanted to be, not who they saw on instagram, youtube,ect.
DeleteI completely agree with you. Especially about the life after high school part.
DeleteI agree with the social media aspect, I wrote about that in mine too.
DeleteI agree with Justus about how our lives are centralized around social media. I despise the fact that such things like twitter, facebook etc. keep us from having real interactive relationships.
ReplyDeleteI think our society has changed very much so since the time our parents were teengagers. Back then, it was not as stressful to take the ACT because you only took it once and whatever score you get, you get. And now, you can re-take the test multiple times. Therefore, we are always studying to get our score as high as possible because the college competition is alot higher than thirty years ago. I like the fact of not having facebook, twitter, texting, snapchat, vine, instagram, pinterest in our lives. I like this idea because I can think of how many doors that would open up for us. Instead of being on our iphones all the time talking with one another or checking out the latest tweets, we would be out for coffee nights with real world interactions with friends. That right there creates close bonds that grow so strongly. I wish that we could take advantage of simple things in life. For example: taking a stroll with your family and dogs, reading a book, riding your bike, spending time with friends, playing an instrument etc. I also feel like morals in todays society have gone downhill. Back then, it was looked down upon for underage drinking, pre-maritual sex, smoking etc. and now it has just become a social norm. I strongly believe in living life simple and old-fashioned. Just like the olden days.
ReplyDelete-Emma Mitchell
Your right about close bonds being important. I believe we should try to go one week without electronics, just to see what its like.
DeleteI agree that real world relationships are in fact important, but just because twitter and Facebook and social media exist, that in no way means that we as teenagers have to be enveloped in these things and forget about simple things like talking face to face.
DeleteTeenagers will always be teenagers, no matter the time period. They will think everything their parents say have no importance. That homework is the worst thing to have next to a job. And people will notice the pimple that you were trying to hide. Some things have changed though. To talk to somebody back then, it was either person to person or; to call that person and actually say hello. You got to hear emotion and respond correctly to it. Now a days, there's multiple social media tools to say hi. But you can't react to their reactions. I believe that teenagers now have a little more pressure than past generations. I say that only because of the job market. For most jobs now a days, you need some type of degree, whether a college or high school. Which means getting decent grades is essential. Back then, if it didn’t work out in school, you had Uncle Vinny’s farm to go work on. It just seems there was more help for people, to get to survive just a generation ago. But my parents will probably say our generation has it so much easier.
ReplyDeleteGeoff Gabala
I completely agree with your points, and I think that while teens will be teens it is by far harder now to actually be a teen.
DeleteI also agree entirely. I like the way you ended it, I think every generation would say they had it the hardest, but in terms of just pressure, i'd say we have them beat.
DeleteI agree with what your saying. It is the same emotionally throughout generations but it is harder to be a teen now .
DeleteI believe that teens are growing up way too fast in our generation. It seems to me that people do not want to be kids, and acting like adults is what would make them happy even if they are not able to care for themselves or make the right choices. I think that teens are by far more pressured today by their parents and society about the way they should act and live their lives. I think that if we could go back to a simpler time subtracting all the social media and technology that does not necessarily help, we would be happier and live longer. I think the breakdown of our society in one or two generations from now will be due to the lack of social skills stemming from our overuse of technology.
ReplyDeleteI really agree that teens are growing up too quickly. I think part of this is due to the technology and social media that exposes young people to the problems/issues of adulthood prematurely. Also, I agree with you, Chris, when you say that we overuse technology, and it hurts our social skills. I sincerely hope that the imagination of children of the generations to come will not be squandered by technology.
DeleteI agree with the part where you said teens are growing up way to fast. I think that having that pressure from your parents and society contributes to teens growing up to quickly.
DeleteI think it's true that teens are growing up much faster than they used to, but I think it comes mostly from wanting to be seen as adults and being treated like an equal by the adults around them. Especially the younger teens who try to do this and try to act mature end up looking foolish.
DeleteI agree with the statement that our society will begin to decline with more technology. So many kids these days do not know how to go without a phone or computer for any more than a day.
DeleteI agree, also the pressure put on students by schools is another major thing that effects some students, being the schoolwork, pressure to get into schools and by the parents as well.
DeleteI guess it depends on the time period, I mean, in the late seventies, early eighties, there was an older, traditional standard of parents than our own. I'm sure my parents had the same angsts and anxieties teenagers have today, but I suppose they were over slightly different topics.
ReplyDeleteThere was probably the same kinds of hierarchies/cliches, fads and stereotypes of High School, just in a different timeframe. Remember, a teenager will always have their vices, no matter the time frame. Drinking, drugs, sex and rebellion were probably common events, the only difference is that there's better communication to spread the stuff around...and the weed during pregnancy didn't help in our stupidity in getting caught. Dazed and Confused was based in 1976...our parents did NOT ride bikes and sing Kumbaya because there were SO ethical and responsible.
The idea that youth becomes worse and worse with each year happens every generation. (Eventually, the old folks will think kids like to run into poles every time they walk and chew gum, simultaneously.) The controversies just differ, being types of music, rising substance abuse, women's rights/civil rights, etc. instead of the demise of traditional morals, the increased reliance of technology, and the weight issues of today. Actually, many of those issues are still going on from our parents' age.
With world events, like today, the Nixon/Ford/Carter/Reagan administrations were heavily involved in problems with oil, Communism and the Middle East, including issues like the Iran hostage situation and the ending of the Vietnam war. The economy and the price of oil was low and high as everyone thought of a potential war arising, kind of like now. You know what, humans suck...EGGS!
But does our generation have more pressure? Though I can't say for certain because I wasn't a teen during that time, I will say that we'll have a harder time transitioning out of our teenage years than did our parents. With the job market going down and the economy following, we don't have as much freedom to do as we please. And like I sort of said before, the past generational problems have somewhat compounded to us, in addition to new ones. I do not feel sorry for my unborn brats; by the way these problems keep on piling, they'll all be screwed to Kingdom Come.
We are currently in a transitional stage now, like them; however, we don't know where ours will go because we are dealing with the present and the future, not the past.
TL;DR. Teenagers are always interested with similar kinds of things, however, problems get worse as time goes on.
I believe I made this long enough so no one'll read this crap. Mission accomplished.
I have read the whole thing and there are many points I agree on. Like how we are in a transitional stage, and how a lot of the problems we face now, I'm sure our parents have faced before us.
DeleteI believe that some of the same problems our parents faced when they were teenagers were some of the same problems the teenagers of this genre face as well. Have you seen the 80's movies? Granted, those movies greatly over exaggerate lots of the stereotypes, but the undertones remain the same. We still have cliques in school, we're still tempted to try drugs and sex, and we still have all the same raging hormones as our parents.
ReplyDeleteSome of the major differences though is the use of technology. The internet, cell phones, tablets; they have all changed how the world works. Nowadays, it seems every teen in America has some sort of social media device. Almost every single one has a facebook account, or twitter, or pinterest, or instagram, etc. And they're constantly checking it. They can't not check it. Every minute, every hour of the day. I'm sure it's one of the key causes of why people are doing worse in school, what with texting and other apps to keep them entertained.
And because the use of technology has risen so much in the past ten years, I think pressures to do better in school have increased on teens. Now that we have instant access to anything one wants to know directly at our fingertips, we should be expected to use that to our advantage, but I think most of use it to watch cat videos. A lot of teachers post homework and helpful links, and projects that need to be done with the use of the internet online so kids can access them.
There are some really good points in here!
DeleteI completely agree with some of the things you had to say on the topic. Adding what teens in our generation have access to can make the pressure for getting good grades a must! I get that lecture from my parents all the time.
DeleteI really like your ideas in here. It makes a lot of sense.
DeleteI think some things are the same and some things are different from when our parents were teenagers. I do think teens today, at least in the context of academics or their futures, do have more pressure on them. While it might not be harder to get into college than when our parents were kids, I think that teens today are pressured to excel in school in order to get scholarships. Because college is so much more expensive now than when they were in school, scholarships are vital to avoid going into debt. Even with scholarships, most students will end up taking student loans. At the same time, teenagers are being told (and in most cases it is true) that if they want to be successful, at least in the context of having a stable job, they must go to college... so starting out our adult lives debt-free is nearly impossible, which is a lot of pressure.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we are screwed, thank you very much. We'll be paying for our debts for a while with a salary that not might not exist, but that's the way the world turns.
DeleteI'm pretty sure we all feel stress about our future in college. It makes me nervous thinking about affording college and being able to make it in the real world. I'll feel bad for future generations if the expense of colleges doesn't reduce.
DeleteOur parents' grew up at a different time. A time with limited technology, less money, and a time when families were less busy-therefore closer to each other. Teenagers today sometimes don't see that time is valued. This past summer, I went to my great-aunt's 100th birthday party; talking to her and seeing things that have changed over 100 years is quite amazing! A loaf of bread was 10 cents and it was very rare to have a car, let alone letting your kid have one. Another thing that has changed is the value of family. When my mom was a kid, she was dragged to all of the family events, but now she goes because she likes to. Lastly, and probably the biggest thing that has changed is technology. Thirty years ago the internet didn't even exist. Now you have everything on your phone-it's amazing how quick technology has grown even in my life.
ReplyDelete-Allison Rumptz
DeleteI completely agree that families used to be closer to each other. People don't value their family as much today.
DeleteIn every generation of teenagers, there are always going to be the social pressures. Granted, those social pressures are different, but nevertheless, there are, and will be, social pressures. When my parents were teenagers, there was a lot less emphasis on school and more on helping around the household. They also didn't have the technology we have today, so they spent a lot more time outdoors or finding other sources of entertainment. Today, I believe there are a lot more pressures in terms of school. We must be involved and excel in a bit of everything: academics, athletics, arts, and volunteerism. Somehow, we must find the time for all the activities to fulfill the expectation to be a "well-rounded" student. College is also not much of an option anymore; it has become almost a must. So, while teenagers of the past may have had more pressures in other areas, I believe this generation has more pressure placed on us as students.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree when you say that there was less emphasis on school and more on the helping around the household. Teenagers back then certainly spent their time outside. I think our generation should try to get back to that and get away from all of the technology even though it is very useful.
DeleteI agree with you about college not really being an option any more. College is pretty much required now and there is way more pressure on teenagers as students.
DeleteAlso the reason why we have high obesity percentage in the US now is because everyone spends all their time indoors on their new technology instead of going outside and doing something productive.
DeleteI think you made some really good points, especially about being well-rounded. I think that a lot of things teenagers participate in isn't because they're passionate about it as much as the fact as they think it will make them look good for colleges.
DeleteTeenagers will always be the rebellious ones in different ways. However, I believe the idea of teenage rebellion is diminishing as the years go by. Looking at history and the way they portray the 1950’s with the beatnik culture, or the 1960’s or 1970’s with woodstock it seems a lot more extreme than what rebellion is like today. Social Media is kind of the defining aspect of the average teenagers life now, they are always connected. I believe this kind of limits the rebellion and makes the teenagers grow up faster than ever. There isn’t a true trend that the majority of teens follow and this allows the general society to have a bigger impact. I believe that idea is get good grades, do your homework, and get into a good college, otherwise you won’t succeed. That may in some ways be true and seemingly positive. However, I feel that teenagers are losing their sense of identity and growing up a faster pace than what we should be. It is just that teenagers may not have as much fun, or as many experiences as what they used to have. I think they might be working too hard, and things like making kids go to school year round even makes it worse.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest difference between today's generation and our parent's generation is technology.
ReplyDeleteThere have been so many advances in technology within the past 30 years. It's a great thing, however, in my opinion, it is a distraction as well. If I have my phone while I'm doing homework, I am not 100% focused on my homework. The distractions of social media always seem to be surrounding me. When our parents were teens they didn't have this constant distraction. As I am typing this I am uploading the iOS7 to my iPhone. I'm so full of angst waiting to try it out. Our parents definitely didn't have this problem as teens. I think other major differences between our generations in the teen years are laws and the enforcement of laws. We have much more strict driving rules then our parents ever did. Same for underage drinking. I think it happens the same amount as it did then, however, in today's society if you were to get caught the repercussions are much greater. I could list so many more reasons. There are huge differences between our childhoods; I just wonder what the differences in our adulthood will be.
I totally agree. People say that technology is becoming a problem now, just think what it will be like when we are 30....
DeleteI agree with the biggest difference being the advanced technology. And I also agree that it can be both a distraction and a positive thing.
DeleteI think that a lot has changed since the time my parents were teenagers and how teenagers act today. Back in the “day” my parents didn't have cell phones like we do today. They didn't have the social networks that seem to consume our lives today. (Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, vine, Instagram, etc) My.parents would all hang out with their family and friends, go to the drive in movies and just hang out - all without cell phones. I’m not saying that we don’t this stuff today, but we have cell phones and get mad if the cell phone doesn't load our YouTube video within five seconds. It is not a bad thing that we have this technology at our fingertips. We will just learn in a different way. Instead of learning how to do the problems, we will be learning how to find the information that tells us how to do the problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this and think that teens today rely a lot on their phones and cannot get through the day without them.
DeleteI definitely agree with this, technology is going to end up hurting our generation as we get older
DeleteTeenagers in today's society seem to have it much harder than our parents did. For example, my mom tells me stories about all the times she skipped school her senior year, how her driver's ed teacher only made them wash his cars, and other stories like that. One of the big differences is the pressure to be mature and adult-like very early in your teen years, and to achieve great things by the time you leave high school. College has become more of an automatic thing, but there is more and more pressure to get top notch grades, be active in several extra curricular activities, and do something in your personal life. Teens are definitely under more stress than our parents were when they were teens.
ReplyDeleteThe other major difference between our generation and our parents' is the advancements in technology. The role of smartphones, computers, and social media sites have caused today's teens to grow up much differently. The distraction of the internet, and specifically sites like Twitter and Tumblr, can add to the stress of being the "perfect teen".
My parents tell me the same types of stories of them skipping school. I like that you noted good grades, extra curricular activities, and things in your personal life. I think that's a good point in showed how much the minimum of what we have to do is.
DeleteI think that your point about your parents stories is really good. We have all heard stories and it makes me a little sad that we have a gigantic amount of pressure on us that was not there before. People expect mature and great things from us that they were not expecting before.
DeleteMeghan Leete
I feel like this response is very spot on with todays society. Parents expect a lot more from their kids been of how much growth there's been for education since they were in school. The stories are always ridiculous and funny but parents don't expect us to do things like that.
DeleteToday's teenagers have higher expectations than our partents did when they were teenagers. Back then it was a great achievement if you went to college, now it is expected that everyone does. A 4.0 GPA and 35 on your ACT is what everyone strives for; when my parents were in school, they rarely had to do near the amount of work we have to do each day. Everyday new technology is coming out like a new ipad or the iphone 5c. Everyone-young or old- these days has some sort of a smart phone. You cant keep up with the world if you don't. I think the first computer came out when my mom was in high school. Right now everyone is going crazy waiting for the iOS7 update to download on their phones, our parents never would have waited on technology like that, nor would they be as dependent on it as we have become. Its weird how easily it is for us to adapt to new technology and just be able to figure it out when its first handed to us, where it takes our parents weeks to learn the same things. Its crazy how different things have become in such a short time, it will be interesting to see what technology is current when we are our parents age.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. We have so much pressure on our shoulders to be perfect. If we aren't, everyone looks down upon you. Our parents definitely didn't have to worry about it.
DeleteMy dad told me last year that I spent more time studying for one AP Bio exam than he spent his whole high school career. This shows that different areas of our lives are "more important" now, like school. This may be for the worse, seeing with our busy lives that we get less family time.
DeleteTeenagers today have extremely changed from when our parents were teenagers. There is way more technology today than there was when our parents were teenagers. We have ipods, ipads, wireless things, etc. Today, teenagers express themselves through social networking sites and not through each other like our parents did. In my opinion, there are a lot more rules than there were back then. I know for sure that there are different rules. Today, school is taken very seriously and although school was important back then, I don’t think it was as hard as it is today. Therefore, students don’t get as good of grades as students did back then. I also think that the teenagers today are a lot more rebellious than teenagers back then. Teens think that public humility is amusing as well as inappropriate behavior. Back then, those things were completely shunned upon even by teenagers I’m sure. I definitely think that teenagers have more pressure on them today than they did back when our parents were teenagers. I’m sure the pressure is at the very least different from back then.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that we express ourselves through social media more often than face-to-face, like our parents did. I also agree with you saying teens not only like to publicly humiliate people and do inappropriate things, but aren't as looked down on like our parents' generation- they're laughed at.
DeleteI also agree that schooling is much more grueling then it was back then. we are forced to get the perfect grades and test scores so we don't fail. I do think we are more rebellious then our parents, but also I think we show it off more. I'm sure back then there was drugs, under age drinking, and rebellion, but they were better at keeping it quiet.
DeleteTeenagers today are different from the pervious eras teenagers because of the drastic change in technology over the years. On one hand you have all the neighbor hood kids meeting at a certain spot to all play a game of baseball I the street. Then on the current hand you have kids all over convening on social media sites in place of actually talking to on another in person. This eras teenagers can either be described as social or anti-social as you perceive them with the social networkings and such. Like you message your friends through an app and our parents would just knock on their friends door or maybe just give them a call. Not just send a tweet or a message over Facebook. I feel like it was a lot easier back then, there was no subtweeets and social media beef or drama. If you didn't like someone back then you couldn't just post a an anonymous sounding tweet to the public. Also being so able to view everything new that happens in pop culture most definitely has a big affect on todays tees but also has an even greater affect on the kids younger than us who already have phones and a lot of us can recall when we receives our first phones that were not in the smart phone category; that was a huge step for the teens of our generation. Now its just expected that you have a smart phone.
ReplyDeleteI agree technology has changed the way teens are today. Even kids now today are in front of the tv playing video games rather than playing sports outside.
DeleteTo me, I feel as if teenagers today just care about themselves and the newest technology rather that what is going around them. Teenagers can get away with a lot due to the internet (Iphones,Ipods,even spell check) as of the teens 30 years ago who had to look up vocabulary in a dictionary. Some teenagers today don't even know how to use one. When it comes to the latest television shows and the radio, sex is common and isn't really frowned upon, but 30 years ago that wasn't the case. Our generation has it easy compared to times back then in most ways, but in other ways there are more ways that a teenage student can go beyond "the basics" because of AP classes, duel enrollment and tech classes that were unheard of years ago.
ReplyDeleteIs it easier for us today? Whereas thirty years ago they had to conform in one way - in person. But today, we are expected to conform in many more ways, such as on Facebook, Twitter, texting. Just some food for thought.
DeleteTeenagers change very little, if any, throughout generations. Our parents, and their parents, were just as rebellious as we are today. We all enjoy hanging out with friends, and always trying to escape. However, the main difference is technology and trends. With our technology, our friends are just a phone call or text message away. With trends, catchy pop songs mixed with computer programming is on the rise, and thoughtful songs with instrumentals is on the decline. In the 1980s, artists such as Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, and Bon Jovi were popular. Comparing to today's popular music, they are very much different. However, teenagers are still rebellious to their parents, conform to the masses, and dislike school. At least, this is how the majority of teenagers feel.
ReplyDeleteThere have always been "outsiders" in every generation. People who stand out from the norm of things. These people, however, sometimes help to define their era. For Samuel Adams said: “It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
The point gets across, but minorities can't really get much done nowadays. It's all politicized, even at school. Actually, school is EXTREMELY politicized. You can trust me on that one...
DeleteI agree with Derek in the fact that teens have always had a reputation of being rebels.
DeleteI think some things are different and some things are the same for teenagers today as they were when our parents were teenagers. In terms of peer pressure, teens have the same pressures today as they always have. But, in terms of technology, social media, and college things are quite different. There's so much technology out there now that its almost impossible to not have communication with our friends. The only way we would not be able to communicate with our friends outside of school would be to have the internet and cell service down at the same time--which is not likely to happen. In school teenagers have way more pressure than they did when our parents were teenagers. We're told from a young age that you have to go to college to get a good job and be successful. This is fine, but teenagers are also pressured to not have to have much debt when finishing college. College is expensive and being pressured to not have debt from college is a pressure that teenagers have way more now than they ever used to.
ReplyDeleteTeens nowadays are lazy, entitled narcissists. We've always been like that, but now we have smart phones. And a bit more arrogance and delusions of intelligence. And misconceptions about the future. And expenses. Things are kind of crap nowadays, actually. The economy tanked to the point where we struggle to get a minimum wage job to pay for 5% of a college education we'll spend the next decade or two working off. Back in the day, you could quit your job over a douchebag boss, then walk across the street and be employed again. On the other hand, parents and teachers could cane you for talking out of turn.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this is the big issue with teenagers today that bothers the heck out of me: They seem excited to grow up for some unknown reason. I mean, it's inevitable, there's no denying that, but it's not something to look forward to. Sure, it means independence, but it also means being responsible and filling out tedious paperwork. At least back then it was SLIGHTLY simpler. Once we graduate, we'll be lucky to share a one room apartment with some jackass roommate, much less get our OWN place. Back then, you had 10 bucks, BAMN 100 acres of land. You build a house, it's yours. Now everything has a bill attached, even stuff you own. Why would anyone want to grow up, especially nowadays?
I feel the reason why we're so desperate to grow up is because we're more desensitized to the truths of the world than any other generation because we've been exposed to the internet. We know through the accounts of others that life after high school is crumby, but we feel we've heard enough to be ready for it. We're wrong in thinking such, of course, but that's the delusions of intelligence and misconceptions we hold of the future that you mentioned.
DeleteI think that we have a lot of pressure on us today to be mature and act like adults, but I also think that because of these added pressures with the combination of technology our generation is sprouting some very lazy people. People who would rather not try instead of failure, thinking that the amount of things that we are supposed to accomplish is too big to even try. They stick to hanging out on the computer and doing things that have nothing to do with the pressure laid on top of them. They also don't need to gain amazing social skills because technology keeps everyone connected. Our parents generation had to actually hang out and form the essential social skills for being out in public.
ReplyDeleteThis was Meghan Leete
DeleteI completely agree that technology has really put a damper on kid's social skills. It is a bummer that teens don't think they need to actually talk to other humans. Also, these people generally just don't know how to simply converse, which later will be a problem for "the real world" or the working world.
DeleteI agree that we have a lot of pressure to act like adults today. I feel like we have much more pressure to do well in school and get into a good college, and we are forced to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives at a very young age.
DeleteI think that every generation of teenagers are different. Our generation is very dependent on technology. Most kids have smart phones and if they lost it most of them would be on the verge of having a heart attack. When our parents were teenagers in their mind they thought it would be impossible to have a cellular device. They were pretty content with just talking to eachother in person anyways. There is alot more pressure on teenagers now a days to do good in school. 30 years ago it was alot easier to get into college now. Most colleges now (other than community college) have a requirement of at least 25 on the ACT. Which to some kids is almost impossible to get. And it's not because they're not smart, it's because they are not good at testing. We rely so much on testing now that it sometimes doesn't even matter that you have a 3.95 GPA if you only got a 22 on the ACT. Also it costs alot more to go to college now. When my dad was in school if he got a B that was just fantastic. But if I got a B all hell would break lose and all of sudden I'm not trying hard enough. It's amazing how much more technologically advanced we are and how much more is expected of us in a time span of only 30 years.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with how it was easier for our parents when they wanted to get into college or if they got a B that was amazing. Back then it seemed hard, but really it wasn't.
DeleteThe average teenager has dramatically changed over time, and will forever be changing. Kids today have access to incredible devices at their fingertips. Although this new innovation has changed the world, it has also changed the teenager. Technology is part of everyday life in the 21st century teenager. Teens are engulfing themselves and making screens become part of their daily lives. There is a fair share of pros and cons when dealing with technology. Technology can be a huge benefit to learning. For example, having an entire text book online is pretty handy. One major problem that people keep saying is that social media is making our generation become less social, largely because there is little face to face contact when sending a text message for example. I have to agree. If looked at on a large scale, most teens would rather have a conversation via text than face to face. Back during our parents age there was nothing like this, so face to face contact was the only option. For the most part, it is mainly through interpersonal communications or face to face contact where meaningful connections are developed. It would be rare to have a connection through text messaging, and if there was one it wouldn't be very strong. The world has changed into a place that is less forgiving. Back during my parents youth they had much more freedom as teenagers. For example, my dad could drive out onto the beach in Grand Haven in a jeep with his friends. If the police caught them they would tell them to "get off the beach". Days have defiantly changed from when he was a kid. Today that freedom would never be acceptable. Today's teens have strict guidelines on what is considered appropriate and correct. Kids are expected to graduate with at least a bachelors degree, although it is changing to where majority graduates with a masters. Competition for jobs is fierce, with many young college graduates unemployed. One could say that teens today have many more advantages than our parents may have, but with that the consequences are much more harsh and less forgiving. My parents say they lived a much simpler life when they were teenagers. Over all, life is much different now than it was back 30 or even 10 years ago. I wonder how long my parents could last in my shoes.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about how technology changed communication. It's hard to read emotions through text so social connections are different than they used to be. Face to face conversation is way better, and our generation is missing out by not having as much of that.
DeleteI think teenagers are hugely different in many aspects today than they were the last generation and before that. Even our slightly older friends, employers, or cousins had it a lot differently. I've noticed, similarly to many others that have already posted that teenagers today revolve around social media or video games. Rarely do you see teenagers entertaining themselves outside, or really entertaining themselves period. When my mother was younger she would do many things outside and it would be fun for her and her friends. Not that teenagers don't do that now, but its a lot different than it was. In addition, schooling is tougher. Living in Spring Lake, teenagers put a ton of pressure on themselves to have great grades. Also, not long ago, people didn't have to get huge degrees for huge amounts of money to ensure a job. Now, college is just expected to happen right after high school. Teenagers are expected to know exactly where they are going, what they want to do, and why they are going to do it right away. How can teenagers know the answer to these already?
ReplyDeleteThe media, technology, and even society have grown to feed off of what teenagers' opinions are, and what they like or dislike. Everything and everyone is catering to our age group. We are the "cool" "tech-savy" generation. If you don't know what "LOL" or "TTYL" means; if you don't know every feature on your iPhone, you are suddenly the odd one out. This constant catering causes teens to become self-centered and close-minded. Elderly people are quickly blown off as "old" and "slow", whereas our parents' generation looks to them as wise, intelligent people with years of experience under their belts, people we can learn from. But teens today have been raised to focus on themselves: THEIR goals, THEIR accomplishments, this ACT score, that scholarship. During our parents' generation, more people had the freedom to focus on things outside of themselves. Now, with the world becoming more competitive job-wise, teens have an added (almost forced) pressure to get into a good college, get a good degree, and find a good job.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that there is a lot of focus on scholarships and testing scores compared to the the things our parents generation. Today we apply to multiple schools, and retake the ACT or SAT multiple times to improve because if you don't you may not get into the school you want. There is a lot of heavy pressure on kids to do well and get their academics and scores high. Back in the day, they didn't take classes to improve their scores or get into tons of colleges.
DeleteI agree with this a lot! Even the children who are younger then us are becoming very focused on themselves and having an iPhone is an important thing to be considered "cool". We are being to think about ourselves and how we can do things with our lives and not on how we can improve the lives of many people.
DeleteEvery generation of teens change over time. Test scores matter more then ever. Back when my parents were teens they didn't have to do well to have a job. They didn't need to get a full college education, like a masters degree to get a decent job like we do now. The ACT didn't matter as much. They didn't have Iphones, or Ipads, or any of that technology like we do now. I think more pressure is put on this generation, then last generation.
ReplyDeleteThis generation thinks that partying, smoking, drinking, etc. is cool and a must do. Maybe the last generation did do these things, but they were much better at hiding it. This generation is more lazy and spoiled then the last. Not as many teens are forced to work, And if they do work, then it is because they have to. My parents were not given a car when they were teens like this generation does. This generation I feel hides behind technology: texting, messaging, calling. Some of us lack the social skill of communication between people face to face. Over all I feel like this generation gets a bunch of punches of what we've become, but people should also realize who raised us, and let us get away with things.
I agree about how our parents didn't have to worry about our ACT scores to get a job or to get into college. I also like the way you put: " This generation I feel hides behind technology..." Also agree about communication, how everyone just texts an argument and doesn't face it with each other.
DeleteI agree too, the ACT wasn't as big as a deal as it is now a days. And we have sheltered ourselves into our technological devices is completely true. I couldn't agree more about the laziness, my mom pretty much tells me that weekly.
DeleteMeh, I don't know about the partying, drinking and smoking stuff Alyssa. As prevalent as this stuff still is, I'm fairly certain is was much more common back in our parents' day. Heck, when some of my aunts and uncles were in school, they had a SMOKING room. The running joke was that "tobacco's not the only thing being smoked in there". I also recall hearing about kids who straight-up just took beer into class. I mean, they didn't draw attention to themselves to get caught, but they did all kinds of stuff that most kids now would not even think of doing.
DeleteWill: I think that might have happened because parents weren't aware of it. Now, if one parent gets pissy about one thing, everything has to change because everything has to please the parents.
DeleteEverything we do in high school reflects toward our future and kids are becoming more aware of this. Our parents didnt have to worry so much about where they were going to college and the criteria needed to get in like the ACT.
DeleteTime has changed between teenagers now and when are parents were teenagers, and its all because of generations. Generations is the main key to how life is so different in today's world. The main difference is that now teenagers are always on there phones and are following back on everything, like they know so much about social media or other things. Mostly like following up on new technology, like how the iphone5 came out, time to pre-order it and finally get it. As of education, teenagers now really have to focus about there future cause they don't know what can happen anytime throughout their life. When are parents were in school, they hardly had anything to worry about, everything was so cheap. Life now for teenagers can be very difficult, cause if you don't make the right choice for college and a career, then its going to be very difficult to pay off loans for colleges cause the price for colleges are increasing, then the debt will increase and taxes will increase and then our pay checks decrease. So the pressure falls on us to make the right/correct decisions for the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that things have definitely changed since our parents were teenagers, however things aren't totally different. I think that if a teenager from the 70's and a teenager from the 2010's met, they would relate just as easily if they were from the same era because I truly believe that we all go through the same types of situations, have the same sources of stress and have the same issues- with a few deviations, naturally. I think that people in general when my parents were in high school were more relaxed and had more leisure time because they weren't tethered to their phones, or facebook, or other things that we hold in super high regards these days. Also, kids these days are pressured to go to college directly after high school (with ridiculous student loans, might I add)in stead of just going into the working field with an entry level job.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers now are very different from when our parents were teenagers. For one our entire lives seem to revolve around technology. For instance when you're bored, pick up a phone. When you have to do homework, Google it. Our parents did not have that sort of thing. They didn't carry phones that could do as much as a computer in their pockets. Also, teens are now more likely to drop out of school. Either because they don't like it, they have a kid and get married, or they just hate it. I also feel like there is more pressure on teens now. We constantly hear about how we have to do well in school, score high on test, and be the perfect candidates for colleges. Teens also seem to be geared at finding love, so they spend all this time looking for their life long companion in high school. Thus, putting a lot of emotional turmoil on the teen. Even though we do not match the way that teens acted back in the day doesn't mean it's all bad. If we didn't change, we would never learn.
ReplyDeleteI agree that teens have more pressure now because of colleges and testing. Also you're so correct on the whole "life long companion thing", people in high school shouldn't be thinking so long term yet.
DeleteTechnology seems to be the main difference between teens today and when our parents were teenagers. With advancements in technology we are typing all our papers, looking up definitions for words online and even doing these blog posts instead of having discussions like this in class or as written homework. Our parents didn't have the ability to look up any questions they had online and they sure weren't worrying about when the new iphone was coming out and what it was going to look like Back then in high school they were teaching classes on how to use typewriters. Other than technology changes to todays teens, our parents were once a lot like us. They played the same sports and had the same different friend groups that we experience at Spring Lake HIgh School every day.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. Besides the new and improved technologies that we have today, teens today are the same as when our parents were teens. I think teens will always be teens no matter how much time changes.
Delete-It's in a lot of ways true. They were teens just like us at one point and time and had to make a lot of similar decisions. If our parents grew up in this day and age I would bet that they'd be a lot like us. But for now, they might not all like the same music and wonder what's so grand about talking to each other without moving your lips. I think your points are very valid.
DeleteI agree. As much as our parents don't want to admit it, they were a lot like us back in the day. The only difference is the incredible advances in technology.
DeleteTimes have defiantly changed between our parents high school days and ours. When my parents were in high school they didn't have the technology to text or tweet. Instead, it was mostly face to face communications unless they talked on the telephone. MIPs weren't really passed out back in the day, the cops and the town didn't really care. They just thought of teenagers are being teenagers. Now though someone is getting an MIP each and every weekend. I was complaining to my dad how gas prices needed to lower and he started talking about how gas were less than a $1.00 during his high school years. I guess we could say we were blessed with the technology and they were blessed with the low gas prices. Also, going to college wasn't as big as a thing back then. People did go to college, but not as many in today's society. Then again, not going to college didn't affect your paycheck by a lot. Now, if you don't go to college your paycheck will be severally lower. Overall, I think what my Dad experienced here at Spring Lake High School socially is the same for me. But the times have changed; new rules, new technology, and a bigger push towards college.
ReplyDeleteWhen our parents were teenagers life was definitely different. Obviously technology was far less advanced at that time. When our parents were our age a college degree was great because you could easily find a job and work on repaying your college loans. Now, more people are going to college and it's getting harder and harder for college graduates to find good jobs with their degrees. And yes, gas prices and whatnot were lower, but there has been inflation since that time. Minimum wage was far lower than $7.40 at the time our parents were teenagers. It was somewhere around $3.30 when my mom was in high school. I think there has always been a lot of pressure on teenagers not to mess up, but I do think it has increased. A lot of people our parents age were first generation college students and their families were just excited to send them to college. Now,just about everyone goes to college, and it's all a competition to see who can score the highest on the silly standardized tests. Overall,yes, things have changed. But I can't say whether it's for the better or for the worse.
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about it, the more I realize our generation of teenagers really doesn't differ much from out parents'. Obviously, there were differences in fashion (the flashy colors and unreasonably ugly hairstyles), music (good rock bands and more bearable pop artists), world events (Carter, Reagan, USSR), and technology (Pac-Man was the only game I ever heard of my parents playing). Other than that, though, I'm not sure much has changed. They loved sports just like we do, and they loved the same ones too; they liked hanging out and going to movies and gas stations; and most of all, they loved partying and doing all the stupid things that teenagers have always liked to do and will most likely continue to do. I don't think mobile devices and social media have made us as different as some think. If a time machine were invented and we were to mingle with our parents and their friends as teenagers, I think we'd get along just dandy. With regards to pressure, I feel that it lessens with each passing year. I know so much less is expected of us than what was expected from our parents and grandparents. Whether this is a good or bad thing, I can't really say. It seems that while the world changes constantly, teenagers seem to act pretty much the same way, no matter at what point in history.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the points you make here. It seems it's only the inconsequential things that change among teenagers each generation.
DeleteI'd say you're pretty much correct, especially since the time frame is only 30 years and people and attitudes take much longer than that to fully change. As mentioned though, fashion is quite the opposite. ech
DeleteTeenagers today are very different from teens 30 years ago but face simaler sort of roles in society. It was not uncommon for an 18 year old to go sustain life on his own 30 years ago but that is very uncommon nowadays.Most teens now are with their parents while theyre not in college. Teens though today are much more relevant in the world of pop culture and sports today. Stars like Bryce Harper capture the national spotlight because they are so young yet so talented.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that there is a lot more pressure on my generation than that of my parent's. They did not have all of the technology that we do now and they certainly didn't have parents checking their power school accounts everyday hounding kids for their poor grades. College was not as expensive, the economy was not in such a poor state, and they had a lot more employment than we did now. Times change and people are always on to the next best thing. That can be very nerve racking for people who have a lot on their plate and can not handle what is going on. Of course their are always going to be rebels in the inner teenager, but past teenagers didn't have to worry about cyberbullying to the point of suicide. My generation is being handed a lot more problems then my parents were with all of the debt in the economy and rising taxes, putting more worries in teenagers than ever before.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers today have a ton of pressure on them- grades, jobs, household chores, the friends they hangout with, and the activities they participate in. Now a days parents can easily keep track of what their children are doing and how they are doing in school which increases the pressure on the student. Lets say a student fails a test, it takes that student's parents less than a day to figure that out with powerschool. Every student dreads that 'PowerSchool Monday.' Teenagers today have the pressure of making themselves more marketable to colleges by doing various activities on top of their school work and their jobs they are pressured to get at a young age. With technology in this generation, the pressure increases. If you post one thing, that shouldn't have been posted, then it could ruin many opportunities in their future.
ReplyDeleteI've always heard stories of how my parents' lives were simpler without all the pressure of social media, but our parents and even our grandparents had similar problems that we struggle with today. We make think that teenagers, now a days, are different than they were thirty years ago. However, teenagers don't change or haven't changed very much. Our parents were probably just as rebellious and insane like us when they were our age. The only difference I see that affects today's teens is technology and our food diets. We focus so much on playing video games and spending time on the internet that the lack of exercise and healthy foods we eat our affecting the stress levels of everyday teens. A study shows teens now a days are suffering from high anxiety and stress because of the higher expectations of our education, our diets, and the technology we use everyday.
ReplyDeleteI agree that while a lot has changed, there are still a lot of similarities between today's teenagers, and teenagers from a while back. I think it's interesting you pointed out those similarities, and not just the differences.
DeleteTeenagers today aren't that much different than thirty years before. A lot of the same things still happen. Teens don't want to take responsibility but at the same time want to have more freedom. The re's more pressure, made possible by technology and increasing the speed of news and such. Like George mentioned, I don't think our parent's parents were able to check powerschool every day and hover on their grades. They still got report cards, but it was delayed so the parents had less knowledge of their life. Now, there's facebook and twitter and so parents can look on that and see what their kids are doing, or even have "family locators". So back then, I think it was just easier for a teen to figure stuff out by his or herself.
ReplyDeleteI have come to believe that teenagers nowadays live in very similar yet different worlds. My mother in particular is continually talking about how she can immediately access my grades and keep track of my academic progress, whereas her mother had no idea about her grade point average (GPA) until the next report card. Also, college expenses have skyrocketed in our time, driving us to strive for our best, both in school and by participating in many extra-curricular activities, so we can attract the attention of the various universities and garner scholarships to squeeze by with the least amount of debt after we graduate and try to secure jobs. Unfortunately, jobs were in abundance back when my parents were teens as well. Another discrepancy between the past and present is the technology. Teenagers have greater connections with other places and things, nationally and internationally, because of internet websites such as Facebook. My dad brings up the topic of the phones the teenagers of his time used quite often. He talks of the one phone the entire family used to share, stretching the cord all the way down to their room for some semblance of privacy. Now, we have cell phones we drag around with us everywhere, as inseparable from us as an arm or a leg. Yet in many ways we are the same, we are avid sports lovers, rooting for our various teams in the stands or raising hell on the playing fields. We are band nerds, my mother and father were on the marching band, just as I was. We are music lovers, indeed, some of us still enjoy the same tunes. We are party throwers, movie goers, and social butterflies, We suffered breakouts of senioritis. We are the breakfast club of our generation. We are the same, essentially, it's only the outlying things that change.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers today are similar to teenagers 30 years ago in that we all want freedom and to be independent, but we are still in high school and still under control of our parents. We rebel to demonstrate that we are more mature than they think we are and that we don't need them. Today, teenagers go to parties, go boating, hangout with friends, and see movies. I'm not sure that much really has changed that much except for the fact that there are many more consequences for our actions oppose to 30 years ago.I also think that there is way more pressure on us today. Everything we do in high school determines our secondary schooling or future occupations.
ReplyDeleteI think that our parents as teenagers were just like us, in the sense that they wanted their freedom and wanted to grow up too fast. But teenagers today have a lot more pressure on their shoulders. My parents didnt have to worry about taking the ACT, it wasnt a big deal. Now a days there is so much pressure in doing good on the test. Our parents could get into a decent college without taking the ACT. Now, it's almost like you cant even get into college if you didnt take it and do good on it. Also, there is a lot more pressure in applying to colleges. Our parents could still get decent jobs without a college degree. Now, you might as well work in fast food if you dont want to go to college.
ReplyDeleteI really dislike this question because it's simply that, as a teen surrounded by many other teens with no perspective of having been a teen at any other point of time my entire opinion is going to be fed by things I've been told more than whatever insight I might have? I don't know the big picture man. What I can say is certainly different is that we've been handed an enormous amount of technology, all of it so new that we're more or less the guinea pigs for discovering the blessings and consequences of an increasingly digitized society- we're some of the first to receive digital books and be warned about cyber bullying. Secondarily of course, there are the economic issues of college. That's the problem we're saddled with- the ubiquitous expectation to go to college goes hand in hand with hard work for good grades and test scores and enourmous debt, all at a younger age than perhaps our elders were expected to be so industrious and so indebted.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the college thing, especially because that's so relevant to us right now.
DeleteHey Mea, how are you? I like your use of this class's vocab, good for you. I do agree that expectations of income and education are much different. Not getting a degree in that time left you unscathed, but now it's murder.
DeleteTeens today are pretty much the same as teens 30 years ago. We all like to have fun and break the rules sometimes. We all want to fit in and be liked by everybody. We all have responsibilities and have goals to reach. Teens are always going to be teens. Nowadays we have more and improved technology that in a way make our lives easier but also more difficult. We have different rules now than 30 years ago that restrict what we can do. Things are also more expensive, like gas for example, but we make it work into our lifestyles. Overall, teens have not changed. We just work around the rules and new technology to have fun, make mistakes and live a little before we all have to grow up.
ReplyDeleteTeens hold a lot of pressure and expectation from not only their parents, but from peers, colleges - society in general. Freedom is very important to me and for other students. We know what we need to do in order to be successful after we graduate and move on with our lives but the stress for approval is incredible. The difference between our education and the education that our parents recieved is that it was 30 years ago. Today, we have social media which has greatly impacted the way students look at school and keeping in touch with friends. Everything is at our fingertips. Secondly, everything is very expensive. People want to get good grades and get into good colleges but, the funding can be hard to get. Electronics - Apple in particular - are something that everyone wants or everyone has. Simpler times were probably the best times or maybe not. This depends on the person you are because you could be a teen today or you could have been a teen 30 years ago. Things have changed but sometimes it's not always for the best while other times the change could be the best thing that's happened - especially for schooling.
ReplyDeleteI think that there's quite a significant difference between teenagers today and when our parents were teenagers. A lot has changed. I think that teenagers today are a lot more focused with the internet and technology. Obviously, our parents didn't have that stuff when they were kids. I think they were more focused on school, and being outdoors, and talking to people face to face, not just behind a screen. These simple things aren't seen as important in today's world. I also think teenagers today have more pressure put on them because it's not as acceptable to not go to college today than it was back then. Teens today are expected to do a lot more, like graduate high school, go to college, get a career and become very successful.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to flat-out say it: the current generation of teenagers are technology addicts who need constant entertainment and have some inexplicable craving for wanting to be an adult despite the fact that being an adult in today's world is pretty awful. Do I deny being like my peers? Of course not. I'm constantly on my computer or video games and I'm rather excited to be independent. However, I feel as though I do see the faults in myself and my fellow teenagers in our having these traits. We want to be adults because we crave independence and the ability to make major decisions for ourselves. We feel we're smart enough to take on the world because we're constantly plugged in to all the info the internet can offer. We feel we've grown up with nothing but war and a crappy economy, so we know that needs fixed once we take control. But the fact of the matter is we're all in utterly over our heads. What we don't know however, is that life is about to hit us like a train. No matter how much we think we know or how prepared we think we our, the majority of us are about to be hundreds upon thousands of dollars in debt trying to get a degree that can't guarantee us a job. Money doesn't go as far a it used to. We're going to have to pay taxes for everything. The independence of adulthood is more than just being able to choose what to do with your day- it's being responsible for how you're going to survive the day. How you're going to get a meal. How you're going to bring in some money. How you're going to simply get by.
ReplyDeleteDo I think we have it harder than our parents? Yes and no. We have the internet. The information we want is just a few clicks away. We don't have to work as hard to get the info we need. Entertainment is easier than ever to find. It's ridiculously simple to contact someone. In that respect, we have it waaay better than our parents. But because of this, we fail to live in the moment. We have to be constantly enthralled by something. We spend more time digging our phones out of our pocket to record something cool than just enjoying what's happening in front of our noses. We're demanding of having things right this second. In that respect, I envy the childhoods of my parents. On top of that, I envy them for having been able to come across a job. For being able to not get transfixed by a series of zeros and ones and be able to play outside and entertain themselves. I envy their childhood of little war and conflict in the world. I envy it more than those older than me could understand. But at the same time, I'm thankful for what advances the world has found that I was able to grow up with. We have it harder than our parents, but at the same time, we have it easier.
I could say more, but this is enough of a rant as it is.
This is so true! I haven't seen one teenager that isn't obsessed with their phone (me: I am also obsessed). Even when trying to learn in class, kids are looking at Twitter or posting pics on Instagram.
DeleteI also agree that we, as teenagers, have it easier than our parents did. We have every thing that they wished upon and probably more. Writing papers now takes only a matter of hours instead of days because the information that we would need is all over the internet. On the other hand we are pushed to our boundaries on being just as smart as they were back then. The material that we are learning now they learned in college or maybe they never learned it so the expected 4.0 is a little challenging now.
Either way your "rant" was spot on and I enjoyed reading it!
I completely agree. With each generation problems are solved making things easier but new challenges are also created. I think that each generation has it easier yet harder than the last.
DeleteThere are so many differences from the way teenagers are now and the way our parents were when they were teenagers. So many things have changed since then. Probably the most obvious one is the technology and social media. My parents didn't even have cell phones until college and using a laptop or IPhone to tweet statuses was unheard of. Now, when you go anywhere, you see people on their phones; texting or looking at other things while they could be doing something else. You don't normally see people making conversation while they wait in line at the store or while they are sitting on a bus or even hanging out with their friends. Apparently whatever is on your phone is way more important than spending time with people. In school, I feel like the students are more advanced as well. Kids are learning things at a younger age so when they get older they can learn more advanced things to prepare them for their future. Back in the old days, going to college was definitely a privilege and kids actually took it seriously. Now, when you graduate high school, you basically are going to college but, the academic part isn’t the most important (at least not as much as it did our parents). Our world has changed but, it is all for good in the game of life.
ReplyDeleteI think teens today are different in so many ways compared to when my parents were teenagers. They listened to a lot different music. They didn't have cell phones which is a huge difference. The clothing they used to wear was more conservative then what teenagers wear now. I think my parents parent's were a lot more strict and hard on them then mine are on me. My parents didn't have any social media sites. I think that when they were teenagers things were a lot more real then they are now. We all are on the internet and our phones so much that the amount of face to face talking has decreased greatly. They talked different and had different slang then we have today. Relationships were a lot different then too. They used to date people rather then just having a thing with people like teenagers do these days. I think the biggest difference is how much we use our phones and computers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about relationships outside of the internet, Lauren! People would rather get to know someone through texting them first, rather than actually talking face to face.
DeleteI talked to my mom about this question and we both agreed that technology was a big difference. She was talking about how if she was going to be late, she had to stop and use a pay phone to tell them. Whereas for our generation we can send a text. We talked about how if she went on vacation and met someone they really didn't speak or have any way to communicate after. For me, I've been on vacations and met people and have stayed connected through Facebook and texting them. Overall I think the communication through technology has been one of the main differences in past generations. It will be very interesting to see what the future brings for technology.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main difference between us as teenagers and our parents as teenagers is based mostly off of technology and social media. When our parents were teenagers, they did not have iPads and iPhones at their fingertips. Being a teenager today, that is what many peoples' lives are based around. The social media is a big factor, Twitter and Facebook to be specific. When our parents were teenagers, they had to have an actual conversation with someone to find out how their weekend went or what they did the previous day. In our generation, I can just go on Twitter and find out all of these things about people that I have never even spoken to before. The music style and TV shows of course have also changed a lot since our parents teenage years as well as their clothes and movies. It also seems like there were less rules in our parents generation and less pressure. For our generation, certain colleges are getting harder and harder to get in to. There is also more expected of our generation.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what you said about going on Twitter and finding out what all these people are doing, I see that happening a lot. My mom or other family members will always be asking me things, like what my friends are doing, and I can immediately tell them even though I might not have talked to them in a few days. In some ways it can be convenient but at the same time, thinking about it this way, I don't really think I want people to be able to know exactly what I'm doing with my life if I didn't tell them.
DeleteWe're very different from the generations in front of us because we're the ones who have grown up with this technology, so one day, we'll be the ones to make them and work with them. We (teenagers) are sort or the guinea pigs for life with technology because we're the ones who will have known it most of its development stages, thus, knowing what to make and what to expect in the future. While social media may be a resourceful use of technology in some aspects, in others it has opened up a whole new level of way for kids to bully others. When I was younger I remember watching videos in classes about cyber bullying and to be honest, I sort of laughed it off because 'nothing like that actually happens'. I was very wrong. These new advances in technology have opened up a new form of evil in most areas. I've seen the effects these things have had and they're terrible. Technology has made it so easy to say everything you want without holding back because you don't have the other person/people there next to you with you to talk to. Technology made bullying much easier because you don't have to be confronted about the things you say or the direct defenses that a personal conversations brings. In previous generations, communicating and personal relationships were much stronger because people couldn't hide behind a screen to say all the things they wanted to say. They either said it, or knew that they shouldn't. Those were the only options. Now we have hundreds of apps and online chats that we can say all the things we want without any discretion. To be honest, that makes me very sad, too. because they're are so many people that have been sad from technology and the things people have said. I find it horrible at times. But, I can't lie, I do tweet or instagram at least once a day. It's become such a big part of so many of our lives that, no matter how much one might disagree with it at times, technology isn't something we'd be able to just give up at the drop of a hat. It's become a way of life now. And that's just how it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree 10000% with what you say Ash. Especially that part how we are the guinea pigs!
DeleteToday's generation is totally different that our parents generation when they were teens. When our parents generation were teens they didn't have the hard core pressure that we have of getting into a college. They didn't have to take the ACT and if they did it wouldn't tell them if they got into certain colleges or not. A big difference is the technology. Back then, there were no cell phones, Ipads, Iphones, and laptops. If they wanted to hangout with a friend they would use the home phone and all. I think that part of their generation is the good part. I think that with all the technology we have today gets us in a lot more trouble. We can things to people that we would never say to their faces, see things that aren't good for us, we have the whole world at our fingertips. We check facebook every 30 seconds and have twittter up nonstop. It takes us away from talking with people. In some cases its a good thing but I think that technology has taken over in our generation, having a more negative impact that it has done good.
ReplyDeleteI agree 110% with you. They just had to graduate and college was an optional choice! I wish that we could go back to the basics before social media and cell phones. You have really good points Em!
DeleteI really like the way you went at this Emily. The guidelines and expectations for us today are so much more, and cause that much more pressure on us. Wish I would have thought of it like this too.
DeleteOur generation is very different than our parents when they were young. I think there are good and bad differences though. I don't think the use of our technology is all bad. We have cell phones, and our parents didn't, but that is helping them keep much better track of us, and it makes us safer. And I mean who would want to give up your phone? But I do believe their generation was much better at communicating in person. We are also losing the ability to actually have conversations on the phone. All we do is text. I think that each generation faces their own struggles, we obviously know what ours are, but we can't say what our parents didn't like about their generation. The thing that I think is much better about their generation though is the lack of emphasis on the ACT. My parents don't even remember what they got. I think we have way too much riding on what we get.
ReplyDeleteThere are SO many ways teens today are different compared to 30 years ago. I think kids today are put through more pressure than in the past. Careers and majors have to be decided very early, there is so much stress put on standardized tests, and there isn't any room for fun classes due to the amount of required classes we have to take. Also, there is all the sports pressure, with more and more kids playing on intense, year-round travel teams. The technology has also greatly impacted today's youth. There is so much information at our fingertips, which comes in handy for things such as education, but can also be people's downfalls. With the way everyone is connected, if you make one bad decision there is a very high chance there will be pictures of it, or tweets, or someone will text someone who will text someone else. People say things to each other that they would never say to people's faces, there is less real interaction between some people, and with the ease of creating accounts, sometimes you can't even be sure who's who.
ReplyDeleteKatie, I agree with you about the intense year-round travel teams. Sports is something that definitely is playing a bigger role in our lives than our parents.
DeleteI also agree that teenagers' everyday pressures today are greater than our parent's. Technology exponentially increases this for us, too.
DeleteI completely agree with your point about the amount of pressure put on kids is eliminating the room for fun. High school isn't fun when your entire future is riding on how well you do in these 4 years.
DeleteTeenagers today are completely different than when our parents were teenagers. I firmly believe that the reason why we’re so different is because of technology. When my parents were teenagers, they didn't sit around and watch TV (and when they did it was a family gathering and watching the same show because they only had three channels) or go out and do something with friends. I mean I go and hangout with my friends, but now a day’s we’re on our cell phones while we are hanging out. My parents didn't have a cell phone till they were thirty, so when they were teens they would have to find something to do. They usually went to a drive in Movie Theater, went to the beach, or usually had a lot of parties. The upside to having our cell phones or iPod's when we hang out with our friends is if there’s a funny moment or we all think we look pretty and want to take a picture together, we can all gather around our devices and take a picture or video and load it onto Facebook, Vine, Instagram, Twitter, etc. for all of our other friends to see. Then with education, our parents had to go to a library and find information for a subject, and today with a press of a few buttons we can find what we’re looking for in a flash thanks to the internet. So in a way it’s a good thing that our parents grew up differently than us, because they give us ideas on what to do if we’re bored or enlighten us on how differently their lives were as teenagers.
ReplyDeleteFrom listening to what my parents and their generation say about their experiences throughout their teenage years, I can only think how drastic times are now. Teenagers these days have massive amounts of pressure on them. We have standardized testing, encouraged advanced classes and college to stress about. Back in the 1980's, my mom casually decided she would go to Michigan State University. The application was simple and her high school efforts were not highly taken accounted for. For our generation getting into colleges is far more competitive. Another thing that makes our generation so much more different is technology. You can't hang out with your friends anymore and not have someone checking the twitter newsfeed or texting people. Also, social media is really what controls the trends. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and more have a huge impact on teens in good and bad ways. I think those are the major differences among teens now and teens 30 years ago.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers today are a lot different today than they were 30 years ago. I think a lot of this has to do with the technology that is available today that wasn't around when our parents were kids. Information is way more readily available today than it was back then. I couldn't imagine having to write a research paper without consulting Google for one thing or another. Social media is also something that we have access too that our parents didn't while growing up. Social media lets us keep up with people we hardly know/don't care about where our parents didn't have this option.I think it will be interesting to see in the future if our generation adjusts better to new technology because we grew up with it, where our parents generation sometimes struggles with it.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely would be interesting to see if we were still able to adjust to the newest technology as we age. Who knows, maybe as technology improves it will become foreign to us and we might struggle as much as our parents do.
DeleteIt's definitely true to say that a lot has changed since my parents were teens. Now teens have to compete way more for their grades to get in college. With the common app created it makes it more challenging to be accepted. Back then, as stated by my parents, was easier in high school. And the majority of that reason is caused by technology. Now there are iPads in classrooms and brought to classes. There are rooms filled with computers for classes to sign out. A typewriter is unseen and unheard of. Most students prefer to get away with using cell phones and iPods but some teachers feel the need to shun them while others appreciate them for their usefulness. Teenagers need to go to the next level of learning/teaching. At home kids spend a ton of their time on video games, texting, watching DVDs, and surfing the web along with social internet sites. Many teens still disobey the law just like many did 30 years ago except now the consequence is far grater. MIPs can ruin a students reputation and ability to play sports. But teen pregnancy is held to a different standard. Teen pregnancy is far more accepted than it was back then.
ReplyDeleteTechnology, it not only impacts our life drastically.. at times it seems to take over our life. Being teens growing up in this "new wave" we see hundreds of advertisements a day, on our smartphones, tablets, television, and even driving through town. Having this constant idea of life in our head also impacting our life drastically. We not only see pressure through technology, we create it. We are all culprits of making ourselves look better on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook which eventually transpires to all of our followers or friends. We create this online profile of ourselves and its a numbers game of who has the most followers, who got the most retweets, etc. And that numbers game never ends. No one wins, no one loses. Because 10 seconds later there is going to be another post, you will lose or gain a follower, and Jill from down the hall just got 6 more retweets. Our parents had pressure, don't get me wrong. But- they didn't have the pressure constantly following them. Our parents grew up with lots of the same issues we face as teens. We just don't realize it because they are our parents and we don't see them in high school, we see them making us dinner or scolding us for doing something wrong. They were once in our shoes, but from talking to them one of their main points is that when they were growing up their wasn't the desire to grow up as much as we have it. And I am a firm believer that technology is a great factor into that desire.
ReplyDeleteOne really major difference in our generation to our parent's generation is that they did not have cell phones. Cell phones are a huge part of our everyday life. For one it changes dating a lot. A lot lot of relationships today will develop through texting. Which I have to say is kind of sad, but it is true.What would you do if your spouse left the house for an important business meeting with out his brief case? Chances are that you would probably try to get a hold of him through you phone. Or what would you do if your car broke down in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night? Anything from small tasks to emergencies are made that much more simpler with the use on cell phones.
ReplyDeleteI also think that our parents had it way easier with the law than we have it. Most people back in the day didn't even know what and "MIP" was or what it even stood for. Back then if a cop busted a party, he would just make the kids dump out ll their alcohol and then just made sure everyone had safe rides home. Now we have kids that are put in jail and are sometimes their over night or even longer for the same thing. Oh and I'm sure that my parents didn't have a law that states that if they are under 17 years o age that you can't drive past 10:00PM. Times really have changed
I agree with you Collin that phones are a huge part in teens everyday life. It seems like sometimes we talk to people over text a lot and we hardly would ever say a word to them if we ever saw them in person. Being a teenager in our parents generation they never had that.
DeleteI don't think that there are really all that many differences between teens today and the teens of our parents' generations. The teenage phase of life is all about discovering who you are and who you want to be in the future. The pressures that society places on teenagers are conceptually the same in all generations (how they should look and act, what they should wear, what they should aspire to be, gender roles, and what they should believe and not believe), only the specifics of societal pressures change. Teenagers have always found the newest and latest technology important, the only difference in today's world from our parents' is that new technology is almost constantly coming out and being released to the public.
ReplyDeleteWhen your parents say "I was your age once, too" the common, and usually sarcastic, response is "times have changed," and this statement is definitely true. Teenagers today have different senses of humor and characteristics because of how society has evolved over the years. Back when our parents were teenagers, they would hang out at like arcades or movies. Nowadays, that doesn't happen and there isn't a stereotypical thing for teenagers to do. We are similar in the fact that we still ogle over pop culture and celebrities, but we do so in different ways. They would see them on television or in magazines. We see them those places along with following them on Twitter, liking a Facebook page, reading about them on the internet, etc. Technology is a huge separation between generations because it is shaping us as we grow up, but it did not shape them. I think that pressure upon teenagers is still similar, just expressed differently. Today, many teenagers experience peer pressure in almost the exact same ways, but we also have the pressure to be more successful than previous generations. We have a more advanced job market and more pressure to be the best and stay ahead of technology and the economy. Our parents didn't have as much of this kind of pressure.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that there isn't a stereotypical teenager thing to do for our generation. Good point.
DeleteThings are so different today from when our parents were our age. When they were 17 or 18 the drinking age for a year was 18. So alcohol was more prevalent. If underage kids got caught drinking they got taken home by the police, and didn't have a charge. Today we all know if we were to get busted, we would have to go to court, and for us athletes, we loose all chances of getting our scholarships. Also, they didn't have have any social media. No twitter, instagram, vine, facebook, and even IM! So to say things about people, were either said to them, or behind their back. Today there are so many different ways to bully people it's ridiculous! Also, if our parents didn't go to college, they could still find a job and provide for a family. If we didn't go to college today, McDonalds and Burger King would not provide for a family.
ReplyDelete- Lydia Suchecki 1st hour
I think that throughout the years it gets harder to be a teenager. Which is probably because of how much more technologically advanced we are compared to when our parents were kids. As we become more resourceful, we have more places to find information and become more knowledgeable about the world around us. However with these advances also comes problems. Such as, people who will use them for wrong, like bullying (that you wouldn't be able to escape). Also, is it much harder to get a job for our generation. You need many years of school before you can even look for a decent paying job, that will keep you financially stable. Which might mean our generation will have more student loans, more money to pay off. Also, the media is always depicting the "perfect" man or woman, making them skinnier or more buff. Which puts more pressure on society to be the "perfect" person with that "perfect" body. Which really isn't fair to anybody.
ReplyDeleteToday's teenagers are similar and different to teenagers of the 70's. In my viewpoint, I think people typically share the same behavior and personalities throughout time. The factors that do change are technology and social norms as other people have pointed out. These will naturally change the way we communicate and perceive the world; however, although these things are changing, the way people interact and feel will always remain. Teenagers will still be going to educational institutional as they have: they will experience academic anxiety, angst about the future, and explore their newly changed opinions of each other. Outside of school, they will still deal with the issues of friendship and romance - and the "drama" of the two converging. They will struggle between adulthood and childhood, and question their identity in this world. Well, maybe I'm making it to be more monumental than it is, but I feel this is the teenage experience more or less. Our parents' generation experienced this experience, we are experiencing this experience, and future generation will experience this experience. I really like the word experience.
ReplyDeleteHey Meredith, I'm doing fine, how about you? And well, also, I do agree with your point- very far seeing and thoughtful and you were definitely correct about the word experience. expeeeerience
DeleteIt's obvious there are difference in generations, that's a given, especially in pop culture. But, I feel one of the biggest things that's changed is the amount of pressure put on high schoolers. It's crazy, I mean you basically have these kids being told that they're entire future depends on how well they do in high school and nothing else. And college isn't even a question anymore, it's basically a requirement. Then once you get into a college there's the cost of college to worry about.
ReplyDeleteThen there's the internet, which adults seem to think is the root of all evil with teenagers, but I think with the amount of pressure put on them in school a little release is necessary. Sure, it's the leading cause of procrastination but procrastination is nothing new. If there wasn't internet I'm sure they would find other ways of avoiding their homework.
The times have changed so much thought I would almost say it's too hard to compare our times to those of our parents. Technology has come unbelievably far with internet, TV's, and smart phones or even cell phones for that matter. Back then kids were more private and conservative compared to today's kids, although just has reckless and sneaky. Now a days we have Twitter,Facebook, Instagram, Vine... etc. for kids to communicate and share. This is a huge source of entertainment for us then just recently exists. But are a huge reason for the less private era we have made ourselves into.
ReplyDeleteThough teens go through many of the same things generation to generation, the setting and technology changes greatly. Now a day teens largely spend time on the computer or their cells. In fact a study came out recently that showed that teens were spending less and less time with actual people and more on social media sights, which create the illusion of spending time with others. Who knows how that will change the way we think, but for better or worse that's the way the future is headed. In past generations if someone wanted to know something they had to look in a book for a while. Our generation has knowledge at our finger tips with the internet. With these advances comes more pressure. It's getting harder and harder to find jobs without a degree and colleges are getting more expensive. Every year schooling gets more competitive and difficult, thus making each generation of teens fall under more pressure. I think all these things come with societies continual evolution.
ReplyDeleteMy parents believe that my iPod and phone have become an attachment to my body. They think all I do is waste time with my technology, and I guess I do. When they were kids, they didn't even have internet. Television was a big thing and their first cell phone was a "bag phone." The times have changed so drastically and my parents haven't tried to catch up. They don't approve of sharing all you're pictures with the world on Instagram, or letting people in on your personal life through Twitter and Facebook. They were raised completely differently. Sure, they had lots of pressure on them then, but I feel like now there's more pressure on me and my generation. My parents, after earning college degrees, were guaranteed a job in their career field. Am I? Nope.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Anna. We really aren't guaranteed a job.
DeleteI believe that teenagers today and generations ago have similarities and differences. The same pressures and or use of drugs and alcohol were present generations ago as it is today. It's changed or metamorphosed into different things, but generally it is still the same. In the ways of technology, bullying was common however, teenagers in my parents' time were not cyber bullied. They couldn't be attacked online, or texted by bullies, they only faced it at school. For fun, my mom remembers going to dances at the roller rink on Saturday nights with her friends. Now a days, we don't really have fun places to go do those sorts of things. Sometimes I'll just drive around with my friends and we won't know what the heck to do with our night. Since my parent's generation, I feel that more and more people go to college. More and more jobs require a college education or degree of some sort.
ReplyDeleteThe communication aspects have varied the most with the differences between generations because of all the new technology. When we want to ask a friend a question or make plans we mostly text. Our parents didn't have that option, and in a way, we are only limiting our social skills. Now a days, we can be "hanging out" with friends and not even talking to them. Just being in the same room and everyone's on their cell phone having a conversation with someone who's not even there or simply checking social media sites. This is very irritating to me especially, because you invite people to hang out so you can actually talk to them. As thankful as I am for the helpfulness of technology, I sometimes resent it as well. I agree that people rely way too much on it, and it has the possibility of completely crashing, and that would create an insane amount of chaos. There are definitely a lot of positives and negatives to it, and it will be interesting to see the future repercussions.
ReplyDeleteObviously the biggest difference between us and when our parents were teenagers is that we have technology. Most of us have cell phones and we can instantly communicate with anyone we want to. This is both good and bad. One of the largest benefits we have over our parents’ generation is the infinite amount of information we have right at our fingertips. We can instantly find out anything we want to know on the internet. We can learn an unlimited amount of things that interest us. If our parents wanted to look something up or learn something they had to go to a library and get a book. This gives us a huge advantage over them, and it has completely changed the world. Our parents would just have a question and wonder about it, whereas we just pull out our phone and find the answer within 3 seconds.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers today live in a completely different world than the world our parents lived in. Nowadays, we are so focused on social media, television, music, fashion, the latest technology and appearances. Our parents, on the other hand, didn't have all that to focus on. They didn't have internet. They didn't have cell phones or iPods/mp3 players. Imagine your world without that.
ReplyDeleteBut, I do believe teenagers now have it harder. Adults are adapting to the changing world and expect more of us. They expect us to perfectly balance school work, sports, family, friends, and sometimes a job all because we have technology by our side. But, not everyone is perfect. It is almost impossible to do.
Not to mention our lives after high school and college. Starting out in the work force is hard enough now. Imagine how it will be when this class, the class of 2014, finally graduates from college- degrees in hand. No one guarantees us job, because everyone will have already gotten one.
I definitely agree, Aubrey! I think the job thing is a really good point... the economy is way worse now than it was when our parents were young, thus our job opportunities are fewer!
DeleteTimes definitely have changed since our parents were teens. Although some believe there was less peer pressure back then, I think there is just about an equal amount. There is the same stuff now then there was back then, and when people are this age, there isn't a difference in the amount of peer pressure. Like for example, I know cigarettes were the cool thing back in the day. My mother told me some of her friends started smoking in the seventh grade. You definitely don't see that now (very often). In our time, there is so much technology, that some people have terrible social skills. Parents notice this a lot more than our generation does. Teens back then never got the change to "hide behind their technology" like we sadly do today. Our generation can be as mean as we can, and not even have to leave the comfort of our couch. I find this very sad and I would never say anything on my phone than I wouldn't say in person. More of our generation should go by this rule.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is moving and improving very quickly. Yet, the teenage generation isn't far behind. In fact, many cannot wait for the latest or greatest product to come out. It is not hard to find a teenager with a smartphone in their back pocket, a tablet in their backpack, a laptop on their desk, or a music player buzzing in their ears. Teen life revolves around technology and is also why we are most popularly know as the "technology generation". However, technology doesn't jet make teens more social, but it also makes us smarter. It is easy to submit a college application online and it has become even harder to find jobs. When my parents were teenagers, there was a huge need for workers. Now technology has taken control. Many jobs that used to be able to be done by a worker, can now be done by a computer. Jobs are harder to find and therefore, teens are at a higher stress level to find a career path that is not only right for them, but also still exists in demand.
ReplyDeleteThough many things are different now than they were for our parents, things are still very similar. Every teenager has pressures of fitting in, finding who you are, and exploring the future, whether if it is 10 years from now, or 100 years ago. Thats just something every human in life has to think about. But the main difference i think is technology. Some good things from technological advancement is that we have easier communications, broad research capabilities, and new way of learning from the internet and such. But with that, a lot of teenagers today are 'checked out'. We spend so much time on our laptops and iphones, that we often dont pay attention to what is going on around us; our parents didnt have that distraction. I think there were higher expectations for our parents 20 or 30 years ago too. Teenagers today I feel are babied.
ReplyDeleteIn the last thirty years, times have changed tremendously. Kids have always been expected to work hard; however, they haven't always decided to put in the effort. Parents never had to remind kids to do their homework or go outside every once in a while. Today, teens are so busy texting or visiting social media sites that they don't do their homework until the last minute and spend little to no time outside. Cellphones, and computers have changed the lives of many. With all of this said, I still think kids are the very similar to those from decades ago. Teens still spend endless hours with their friends. The methods of entertainment for teens may have changed, but family is still replaced by teen friendships. Football games are still attended, friendships are still forever, and memories are still collected. The times may have changed, but kids will only ever change so much.
ReplyDeleteI think that things have changed a lot for teens. When our parents were teens they worked hard and did everything they were told to do. Their fun ideas are way different from now. Though what has changed the most is the technology and the difficulty of classwork at school. Now technology is so far advanced with iphones to tablets to 3D televisions. When back then they had black and white televisions. The schoolwork has gotten a lot more difficult. Then the schoolwork for high school is what students are doing in middle school or freshmen year. Seniors now are taking classes that our parents would have taken in college.
ReplyDeleteAs teens you are always faced with drugs, alcohol, and illegal things. Though we all hang with friends, go through tough decisions, and yet still have fun. Teens will always have the same parts but will have different factors affecting them throughout those years.
I agree with you that school has gotten harder. When my parents where in college many of the math classes we take weren't required until college.
DeleteToday as teens we have way more advantages with technology than what our parents did as teens, but in a way it's almost to much. Back when they were kids they didn't have to make thousands of accounts just to find out what there assignment was or to access a text book. Today that's what we have to do a lot of times and its not always accessible if your not home with technology right in front of you. All they had to do was open their text book that they had and Their assignment would be right there. The down side to that though is they could never access the things we can today through the internet. You can research something small by typing in exactly what you need and it will most likely come up. Our parents never had that. They might have to read 20 pages just to find a small piece of information.
ReplyDeleteTeens in our generation have this need to feel older by which means act older and look older. Back 30 years ago kids would love to read go outside and play, now surrounded by social norms, technology, social media, children have been growing up faster then they should, they are living their teens like a person would live their twenties with all the partying, drug and alcohol consumption. Today the pressure to get into college, the ACT's, getting good grades, all the schoolwork, can really melt down a person who cares, someone who is a smart student with a lot of potential dragged down with all the pressure and distractions of school and modern day technology.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to pretend to know how people were raised in the dark ages, or in 1900 or even what my parents upbringing was like. All I, as a 17 year old kid still in the formative years before mentioned, can compare and contrast is how my peers and I were raised and how I see kids being raised now. And what I see is people starting illegal activities at a younger age, (you know) less clique-building, less community involvement, and far less human interaction. This blog could be used as an example of the technology in our lives that can be considered useful, but also can be detrimental to our health and living. In the past, these kinds of thoughts and conversations would be had in class in groups or in a class discussion, but nowadays, we all sit here hammering our keyboards looking at a shiny screen.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some kids seem to be starting activities that are frowned upon earlier, but that may just be the kids and not a trend.
DeleteI agree that some kids seem to be starting activities that are frowned upon earlier, but that may just be the kids and not a trend.
DeleteIn my opinion, teens are more or less the same now as they were back then. No matter the time, kids will be kids and that's just what teens are. I believe the crude sense of humor has been the same through the times, because the same topics always interest teens. Teens are always looking forward to turning the corner into adulthood so they are beginning to shift toward more adult topics. However, still being kids, the use of these more mature subjects is crass and watered down. There is still the technology gap between the different generations, but that is just a n advantage to better technology. If given the same chance, parents would have been all about that stuff. Teens are teens no matter the time, and time itself is really the only thing that changes.
ReplyDeletekind of couldnt agree more about this. I feel like adults today have forgotten what they were like when they were kids - exactly like us.
DeleteToday teenagers are pretty much the same but different in other aspects such as technology. Todays teenagers have far more technology than the teenagers of thirty years ago. We have instant access to information, contacting friends ect. Along with that, social media was born which has become the teens way of life: blogging, tweeting, posting, commenting, and liking. Back then if you wanted to get ahold of some one, you actually had to go up to them and talk to them. Teens have always been seen as the rebellious ones who are trying to find out who they are. I think its harder for teens today because we have a lot of pressure on us to go to college, some how find the money to pay for it, and get a job. The job market has become quite competitive due to the lack of jobs.
ReplyDeleteWith each new generation, life becomes both easier and more difficult. The main factor which makes me type the previous statement is technology. Yes, technology makes tasks in our lives simpler and quicker, but it also creates an incomparable social challenge that we face daily. In this generation, we're constantly keeping in mind the judgement of others. What will they think about us? What will they tell the others? When my parents were younger, I feel like they didn't care. They didn't have social media websites, texting, and applications that we have today. SItuations that enable us to talk about someone without them knowing. Situations where we can reveal more about ourselves that what we should. As a young society, we're competitively obsessed with drama and what everyone else is doing. We face more pressure to succeed in life; yet, we're distracted by not only technology, but getting into other things that we shouldn't be. Drinking illegally and partying plays a bigger role in our lives than it should.
ReplyDeleteLife changes very much with each passing generation of adolescents. What my parents perceived to be popular in there is very different from how I perceive things in the present. One thing of change that causes this new perception is technology. In this, it's true that there were no such thing as iPods or iPhones in my parents day so bigger access to the world around us promotes a bigger change. In terms of pressure in us teens to succeed, I feel that it's harder now for my generation than it was for my parents due to all the distractions. All the access to millions of different things that we can place in the palm of our hand offers more of a chance to get off focus and to succeed in life, your focus has to be notched pretty high. This is mostly because of all the competition out there. Also, it's a part of the human race in which we want to know what is going on around us, so we can fall into a pit of gossip, which can get us off track. So, in order to succeed you have to be adamant in your determination. That's some of the big changes in adolescent life over the generations. So we need to take life in the present and strive for success.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers today are so different than those of our parents day and age. Today, teenagers are not nearly as self-dependent as they used to be. Instead of relying on our own knowledge to figure things out, we heavily rely on the info that we can find on google or other internet sites. That's another thing that seperates teens today from teens of the past - technology. Technology plays a much bigger role in society today than it ever has. For instance, if there was a cute girl you wanted to talk to back in your parents days of being a teenager, you actually had to be brave and walk up to that girl and use some corny pickup line to try and get her to notice you. Now all you have to do is favorite one of her tweets and maybe reply to one of her texts with a winky face to show her that you are interested. Basically, our generation of teenagers is far lazier than our parents were when they were teens, and that is our biggest problem.
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