Photo by Helena Lopes
The Soul of Adolescence by Alfred H. Kurland is a great book and a constructive critique of old paradigms about adolescence and their apparent apathy.
As someone who’s worked with teenagers, I often hear people from my generation and older talk about how the new generation is lost, too disengaged from the world to do anything of substance. They say they are too attached to their phones, as if life was more real there. The older generations claim that they should be spending their finite time on this earth to take action and commit to positive change.
Of course, this is all crock. There has never been a time in human history where teenagers are more engaged than now.
Perhaps the only thing I’d agree with is that we all, not just teenagers, should be spending more of our finite time trying to better the world. But this article isn’t about me or my compatriots. It’s for the people who will be coming after, the ones who’ll be cleaning up our mess when we’re long gone.
While it is an annoying stereotype, mostly persisting because of ingrained prejudices from the older generation, most teenagers are not, in fact, apathetic. Some are true, but that’s true for about every generation. The vast majority are quite active in their own unique and little ways of trying to push the world to a better place.
The reason why the stereotype of the apathetic teenager exists is that the methods by which the youth of today engage with the world are quite alien to those of the older generations, and the reason why that is so is that they aren’t really given enough opportunities to engage with the world via the traditional channels.
The traditional channels are, sadly, gate-kept from them by people who are afraid of losing whatever sense of authority they have.
If you think that teenagers aren’t properly engaged with the world, albeit in their own ways, then you might be too stuck up to have ever conversed with one. Teenagers are brimming with energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. On almost every issue that adults are butting heads over, teenagers are quite passionate about, too.
Don’t just stop with your outdated views, but actually delve deeper into their world and try to understand them. I would suggest reading The Soul of Adolescence by Alfred H. Kurland, a deeply stirring book and a constructive critique of old paradigms about adolescence.
Teenagers want to change the world for the better. However, we, as a society, need to let them.
Spilling the Tea
Before anything else, perhaps I should try to dispel some of these misconceptions that older people have about teenagers. This is somewhat confusing for me since we were all teenagers once, and which one of us didn’t have that experience of being misunderstood by adults? Very well.
Firstly, it’s very important to recognize that, like every age demographic, teenagers are not monolithic. Not every teenager is the same. Try as some might to believe that they are. Teenagers come from a vast array of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. The same with everyone else. Therefore, if you want to understand things from their point of view, you should always consider their unique perspectives and needs.
This is why I’m quite relieved to know that teenagers are leading the charge for activism worldwide. From Greta Thunberg’s climate activism to the Parkland students’ gun control advocacy, teenagers are already making an impact on the world–and we can better inspire more young people to get involved by highlighting these stories, amplifying their voices, and doing our best to suppress this idea that they are as apathetic and uncaring of the world as older generations seem to think they are.
This not only helps the world become a better place, but perhaps we can also start to redefine what it means to be a teenager, how parents should interact with them, and how we can establish better, stronger families and communities.
Teenagers Want to Help Change the World
This is where adults like you and me come in. We must provide more opportunities for teenagers to actually contribute to a better world. No “you are too young to do anything” nonsense. There should be none of that.
We need to create spaces where teenagers can explore their interests, connect with like-minded peers, and take action on issues that matter to them.
When teenagers feel they have agency and can make a difference, they are more likely to become engaged and stay engaged.
The Happy Hammock 