The article “A Tangle of Discourse” by Rebecca C. Raby, the definition of a teenager is discussed. The article uses interviews from teenage girls and their grandmothers to show how the image of the teenager has been defined. Teenagers have been described as becoming, in a storm, at risk, social problem, and pleasurable consumption.
“Most fundamentally, there is a contradiction between the idea that as a teenager you are coming into yourself, identity, and at the same time, every action that you take or thought that you express is framed as an inevitable feature of adolescence.” (17) This quote is a good summary of what this article proves. Teenagers are constantly doing things that are being judged. They are constantly told their actions are silly, and part of this time. They are risk takers or they are materialistic. Teenagers are generalized despite their individual actions.
“I think it’s a tough world, and they haven’t got much discipline”. (15) This quote came from one of the Grandmothers describing the behavior of teenagers. This goes right with the image of being a social problem. Blame is put on the parents. Sure there are rude teenagers but there are also rude adults. Because it is a teenager that is rude the whole population of teenagers automatically is. This is something I hear about a lot, especially with cell phones and texting. Teenagers text a lot and this is often seen as rude when they are doing it while in conversation or at the dinner table. This is considered a part of the storm. Technology has changed things for adults too as many adults have issues with their cell phone matters.
Another quote I found interesting was, “Observing that many parents face mid-life at approximately the same time that their children become teenagers, Steinberg contends that jealousy loss, abandonment, powerlessness, and regret are triggered in adults.” (7) This says that parents are raising teenagers when they themselves are dealing with life changes. Maybe the way teenagers are represented are the perceptions of adults going through these emotions? These make things look differently. It is interesting to think about many parents being of the baby boom generation and going through the 1960s. Teenagers today might be considered out of control, but the Hippie culture of their youth was risky as well. It is important for adults to reflect on their own adolescence and remember what they went through.
http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_teens,00.shtml
When I read this article the first time the quote about parents and midlife crisis really stuck out to me as well. It is interesting to think about the way that adults interpret teenagers' actions as being shaped by biases related to their own insecurities. this sheds a whole new light on the attitudes toward teenagers. I am interested to hear more of what you have to say in class.
ReplyDeleteMelissa I agree with you total on your quotes GREAT JOB explaining all of them so well. I also feel that in today's society I think some of the blame should be slightly lifted off of the parent's shoulders a bit because many of the teenagers in today's society are a lot more sneakier about their actions. A lot of the time many of these teens live a double life they are very respectful to their parents but when their parent's are not around or even at most times when they are on the internet they become a different person far from what they show to their parents.
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteI love your insight into Raby's statement “Observing that many parents face mid-life at approximately the same time that their children become teenagers, Steinberg contends that jealousy loss, abandonment, powerlessness, and regret are triggered in adults.” (7) I, as a parent myself, never really thought about this. This can certainly be an issue in many families. Just as teenagers go through their stages of adolescence differently (some have more issues then others, some deal with it differently) so do parents. If a teenager who is going through a difficult time is being raised by a parent who is "finding" him/herself this can be the perfect storm. Mid-life crisis can breed some very selfish parents...
Diana,
ReplyDeleteI really agree with this- if parents and adolescents are both going through challenging times, it can def. create more problems for both. I never really thought about this til Raby pointed it out.
after reading your blog i was in total shock everything you state in your blog is true.
ReplyDeleteI give it up for Nneka i totally agree with her comment about kids living the double life. for instance, like she said around their parents they act a certain way and when there parents are not around they are a whole other person.