Friday, 20 March 2009
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A Teenager Speaking Out Against Teenage Stereotypes
It always bothers me when people just lump a big group of people together and assume they have something bad in common. Like when people say that all teenagers are bad. When they say we're underachievers. When they assume that we don't respect people, that we overstep our boundaries, that we dress horribly, are exploiting ourselves, or that we can't do anything. Even when what they say sounds more polite than that, they have the same meaning.
First of all, I would like to make it perfectly clear that there are definitely plenty of us that are bad people, that are underachievers, that are disrespectful, and that overstep their boundaries. I'm not the type to just say, "Oh, we're so misunderstood! You need to feel bad for us! We need to be treated just like you, just like adults!" But I do want to make it clear that we're people, just like everyone else.
When people think that teenagers are all bad people, it's really offensive. When you walk down the street, it's not like we're asking to get in trouble. When we hang out at the pool, at a restaurant, outside a grocery store, at a park, etc., we're just trying to have a good time. We don't mean to interfere with anyone else. We're minding our own business, just like you're minding yours. Why do people need to assume that we're all up to no good, if we're doing nothing wrong? While it's true that some teenagers go out of their way to do the wrong thing, they're the exception. Most teenagers just aren't like that.
We aren't underachievers, either. While the media likes to describe us as kids that like to slide our way through high school with a C average, doing the minimum, a lot of us aren't like that. One of my friends was telling me yesterday about how she doesn't just want to do perfect, she feels that she needs to be perfect. And I don't blame her. Many of my friends and I are taking all enriched classes next year. We're all taking enriched Algebra 2, and we're in our freshman year. (If I need to remind you, even normal Algebra 2 is a junior class.) Several of us do sports, Nick does 2 every day (and that totals to 3.5 hours or running and swimming each night). We're on the fast track to academic greatness. I, for one, play two instruments. (French horn for 4 years and piano for 6.) We're not underachievers, we're overachievers. And I can assure you that many teenagers are.
Respect, I guess, is a big issue. However, any disrespect is a reflection on the individual, not on teens as a whole. Everyone has their off days. Everyone gets into bad moods. Everyone has times where the way they're supposed to act completely slips their mind. I know I do, but I also know you do. We're not adults yet. As much as we sometimes want to be treated like adults, you can't avoid the fact that we aren't. And until we hit 18, we aren't going to act exactly like adults.
There are lots of other ways adults make prejudices against teens, but if I named them all this wouldn't hold anyone's interest.
Do you know many teenagers that have fought against these stereotypes or are all of them bad?
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- From: AmistadBaby@xanga
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Comments (89)
As the mom of eight; four either teens or darn close; I can say with all honesty, you make a very valid point.
Even in the dynamic of our own home I see the differences. I have one child that has been a straight A student since he began school. I have one that is the stereotypical popular girl, well she isn't mean, but you know what I mean. I have one that has had serious behavioral issues since he was young and is still barely making it in school. My oldest took some pretty serious wrong turns, but is finally figuring out his path in life.
If in just one family there aren't two teens alike, I guess it is wrong of me to lump them all in together. Thanks for the insight; this was an eye opening blog.
I'm considered an anomaly because a) I take all Honors classes, and am doing the same next year except plus AP classes too, b) I don't fight with my parents, c) I don't stick my nose into drama, and d) I don't have sex, do drugs, drink, etc. etc.. And I'm really polite and respectful. Haha. So not all stereotypes are accurate :]
"As much as we sometimes want to be treated like adults, you can't avoid
the fact that we aren't. And until we hit 18, we aren't going to act
exactly like adults."
It's not like as soon as we hit 18, we're adults. Being an adult is being in a certain state of mind. There are children who are basically adults, with the things they've experienced and went through. I for one am not yet an adult (I'm still scared of living by myself hehe!) but I can assure you age does not determine your level of adulthood.
Otherwise, excellent post. My mother is always saying teenagers this, teenagers that. It irks me but I ignore and move on. Lol.
@greatsneha@xanga - I agree. I know 20 year olds who still act like typical 16 year olds. Playing video games a lot, etc.
@Fairywife@xanga - i know 25 and 29 year olds that still act like they are 16
wow. you're 14 and on your way to having a kid?
but in a way i agree with you, when i go out with friends people look at us as if we're there to steal, also when we go out to eat people tend to think we don't tip (we usually give 12-15% tip for lunch as opposed to the 10%). my friends and i are ib students, we are concerned about current events, we are polite but yet we get treated poorly.
I was a teenager who watched Degrassi, and right afte rthat, fought against every stereotype or situation they touched upon.
NORMAL ALGEBRA 2 IS A JUNIOR LEVEL CLASS??????? wow things have really gotten very bad, I took accelerated algebra 2 in ninth grade and thought I was behind.
Anyway, the popular stereotype that all teens are lazy kids who only get by in school and do illegal activities is weird. I'd say that most teens are not like that. Certainly, almost everyone I associated with in high school performed well either academically or athletically. The people who just smoked pot or drank or whatnot all the time were in the very small minority.
the comment 2 above me confuses me... who's 14 and having a kid?
im ur typical rebellious kid. Im 18 in college and I love my independence.
I guess it was those 16-17 yrs at home with strict asian parents that made me go crazy...i was a good kid tho.
did well in school polite played sports it wasnt til my senior yr i said eff this and began caring abt my happiness and started to rebel....
@black_lie@xanga - and yeah...alg 2?? for juniorss...i dont think so i was in 7th grade and i took alg 2....my brother was in 6th when he took it.....
kids must realllyy be getting stupid. my god. its the stupid no child left behind act now everything is dumbed down so everyone graduates from highschool that was laready easy to begin with!!
@black_lie@xanga -
<li class="item item-1 item-odd"><li>From: AmistadBaby@xanga<li>Name: Jenna<li>Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio, United States<li>About Me: Not as normal as you'd think. I'm 14, and waiting for May 4th. Why? Charlotte. A baby, my baby, is due then.
<li>Check out my site!
the poster of the blog.
Thanks for writing this! I'm in college now, but when I was in grades K-12, I had the same complaint. I did well in school and I love to read. It was annoying when people assumed that all teens were juvenile delinquents. There are teens who have something serious to say (or maybe some serious questions) but there are some adults who would immediately think that anything teens have to say is irrelevent.
Great post!
- J. M. 713
Oh trust me, I have been trying hard to break these stupid stereotypes from so long ago. I matured very early for my age, and at 12-13 years old I could say I was definitely at the same maturity level as any 16 year old! Trust me. Anyways, I can safely say that I am not an immature, loud, rebellious, obnoxious pot-smoking teen. Ok, I lied. Maybe I'm a bit obnoxious but you get my drift. I am tired of people generalizing and putting us in a category. Not all teenagers are horrible, and I just wish people took the time to realize this before they make their judgments.
Hm, interesting. I've actually never heard the stereotype about underachieving teenagers. There's a stereotype about the underachieving, disrespectful, obnoxious group of teenagers, who tend to band together, but not teenagers in general. If we're all scraping by with C's, at least half of those C's would be weighted - not including math, because we just have to suffer with those numbers, eh? ;D
I think this is another matter of environment. Here, if you act like an adult, you're treated like an adult (for the most part. If you're a 12 year old and claim to be independent, that's not going to fly. Haha). It's not an age, it's the maturity level, the state of mind, that dictates how a person is treated. On that note, isn't it sad when you see a middle aged person act like a complete ignoramus?
I think, in certain areas, teenagers are actually expected to be adults, these days. The times are changing, and everyone expects them to know politics, literature, science...
Anyway, good luck with your child!
@xxthatsmexx@xanga - @JoeytheGenie@xanga - that's actually a long story, but just a joke between me and my friends. Just some weird conversations about my bedroom when I was on vacation last August.
So no, I'm not actually having a child at all.
@greatsneha@xanga - EVEN WHEN YOU HIT 18 PEOPLE STILL WILL NOT TREAT YOU AS ADULTS I AM 19 AND PEOPLE STILL TREAT ME AS IF I AM A CHILD
AND I THINK THIS IS VERY INSIGHTFUL
Well said. I'd like to add that everyone was a teenager at one point- it's not as if you can skip over that age. And some of us are quite a bit more mature than even our own parents.
About the Alg II debate, it is different in different schools. In my school system, you could take Algebra I either 8th or 9th grade. Then you took Geometry the next year. Then you took Algebra II the next year. I took Algebra I in 9th grade, which means I got Algebra II taken care of in Junior Year. Contrary to what seems to be the commentary on this post, kids who take Algebra II in 11th grade aren't stupid. At the moment, I happen to be attending a private college that only accepts 20% of their applicants.
Anyway, I agree with the writer's main point. Teens are often shoved into one big category. Even my friends, who were part of this age group only two years ago swear by this stereotype, which I don't understand. Unfortunately, age-ism doesn't stop, no matter your age.
ok, all teenagers aren't bad. a lot of them have good intentions, but things don't always come out he right way, and a lot of teenagers are so busy with school and they're hectic lives that they don't notice everyday things like that. teenagers are something though, but perhaps bad isn't the correct word to use!
There's too much focus on the negative. For every ten responsible, respectable and respectful teenagers, there will always be some little jerk-off who gets the attention for his/her awful behavior, and that's what gets the focus. I used to work with youth groups and I LOVED teenagers...the more obnoxious the better!! lol There were so many young women that I knew who were wonderful examples, but you don't hear about them on the news. It's sad. Keep trying to focus on the good and growing. You'll make it!
I completely understand where you're coming from. I also took all honours classes, played french horn and trumpet, regularly rode four horses (that's about 20 hours per week minimum) and had a part-time job.
However, everyone thinks it isn't them - even the underachievers blame it on someone else when they're stereotyped. And they turn right around and stereotype the teen behind them.
@JoeytheGenie@xanga - oh. Apparently it was a joke, the author commented several below your original comment haha... weird.
I totally agree. But I also think that if you don't act like a stereotypical teenager, many adults won't treat you like one. At least, that's how it's been in my experience -- I show the person that I'm not like that, and they stop treating me as such. Then again, maybe I've just been lucky with the people I encounter. I don't know.
@black_lie@xanga & @kieri126@xanga - It might just be a terminology thing. At my high school, Algebra 2 was the second semester of Algebra, and Advanced Algebra was the "typical" junior-level class (though it wasn't typically for juniors at my school).
great post !! :)
thank you for understanding :)
oh wow ur pregnant?? so young...
good luck!