The Teenager Throughout History
What is a teenager? The American Heritage Dictionary definition of a teenager is (n.) a person between the ages of 13 and 19 years of age; adolescent (American Heritage Dictionary). The idea of a youth or child has been present within American society since the early 1920's, but only since the mid 1900's during the Post Industrial era did the idea of a teenager become relevant within society and pop culture. Before the 1900's the transition from childhood to adulthood was unnoticeable or instantaneous due to the need for manual labor. Children were expected to mature faster so that they could help their parents work. (Abowitz).
This changed following the industrial era coming to an end. The economy began to improve, and children no longer needed to work in factories. Children then had more time on their hands, and thus schooling became common and accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy class. From 1946-1951 there was a very large population spike, now referred to as the Baby Boom, that left America with a really large population of youths that now had a lot of free time on their hands. Media outlets such as TV and radio were also introduced, and within a number of years teenagers became their own established group within society making an identity for themselves (Abowitz). Artists such as Nirvana, and Elvis, and TV networks like MTV, took risks and changed society and teenagers in particular, stretching the limits of what was socially acceptable. Teenagers have even started trends that reflected onto the entire society such as the unprecedented growth of social media (Morrison). In today's age teenagers are very relevant within pop culture. The teenage social class is so large and influential that the majority of media outlets, stores, products, advertisements and other institutions appeal specifically to teenagers. In society it is now expected for a child to go through a transitional period in between childhood and adulthood. In fact, teens are now almost expected by society to disobey authority and act out. In general, much of literature shows that teenagers are still immature and are not fully ready to be adults despite the fact that they have lost their childhood innocence. It states that teenagers make it a point to go against society and attempt to be their own individual, but without help from adults they will ultimately be forced to give in to society. In literature, sometimes teens will hide from reality because they cannot handle society's pressure. Another idea about teens within literature is the idea of teenage love, however teenagers are still not at the point in their lives where they can experience true love. It seems that not just literature, but society in general shares this same negative view on teenagers. Now this view is not necessarily unwarranted, but as teenagers ourselves, we would like to look at the potrayal of teenagers, and compare it to actual teenagers and see if the perception is correct. Overall, through our research we came to the conclusion that the literal interpretation of the teen is indeed correct. History of Teen: http://www.units.miamioh.edu/eduleadership/courses/334/334_what_is_teenager.html Growth of Social Media: http://socialtimes.com/the-growth-of-social-media-from-trend-to-obsession-infographic_b141318 Works Cited |