Positionality/Problem Statement

Being a teen in America can be a struggle. As a baby grows up to become someone they knew they want to be, they are influenced by everything around them. Young children have no idea about what it means to be in America, however children do learn quickly that people around them can judge, and have an opinion of their own. That’s the influence that children are getting and they will have a huge impact on that and will try to change because they don’t want to be judged. Then as those children are beginning to grow up, they learned to have a voice. To have a voice, it is an important and powerful tool that everyone has and some people choose to use it in the wrong way. When the children reach their teen ages, between 13-19 years old, they all realize how America is. They learned about it from either school and  mostly on their own with their own eyes and ears. Teens have it more difficult to be heard than adults. Adults think of teens as young children who have no knowledge of what it means to speak out. It is difficult for teens to be understood. The rest of society thinks that teens just have school and their “small” personal life, but in their own life like small activities, sports, clubs and going out with friends. Truth is teens hide a lot because teens are more hurt from the things that they hate to see come true. Teens discover a lot of truth that can be painful. That’s the thing about adults, they can’t fully understand teens. Teens are learning more from their surroundings than when they were children and a lot of the things they are seeing are things they hoped to not see. Entering reality can be cruel. However, teenagers have opinions and have a lot to say and do. For instance, last year there was a strike on climate change that was run and organized by a young teen. The majority of those participants that went to the strike were teens. It was the teens who were speaking to get awareness and justice for our planet to get better which has worsened because of our human actions. I’m in my teen years, 17 years old, and I haven’t yet spoken out to a big crowd like the teen from the climate change strike but I have used my voice to prove my point in arguments in my personal life. I always say something I truly hate but in the end, I feel like the things I said had no matter in them. I think it has to do because I am young, I don’t do adult things like pay bills, taxes, etc.  and since I have not yet experienced all of life being in this country. Though, I think it is the opposite since we are young, we have younger minds, we are growing up with the new changes that we will soon have a vote on too, to make changes which when that time comes is when everything, our opinions and voices will matter. I know what it feels like to be ignored after shouting to the top of your lungs and see no changes. I know what it means to pour out everything you believe and know in your heart that every word spoken is valuable. But, in the end it hurts to see that every word spoken was not important, the emotion didn't matter and all the efforts were just useless. In this project I want to see how other teens feel to be in this society of America. To discover what it means to be a teenager in this society, the struggles we go through, how the influence of society can shape the life of a teenager. By the end of the project I hope I can find that teens do have a similar point of view that life in American during this generation can be difficult to live in. It is important to let older people understand that teens have just every right to be heard and understood that we can face difficult situations within ourselves and the people around us. 

Data Collection & Analysis

No one knows what role or purpose they will pursue in their future. It is difficult to know what it is that we have to complete in our lives. When a newborn is out in the world, he or she will grow to play first but most importantly learn at the same time. At a young age, toddlers don't know the life they live in until they experience something that makes them feel hurt or realize where they are living. As the child grows into its teenage years from 13-19 years of age they realize a lot of things and see more new things. During this time, they also experience many difficult experiences that makes it difficult to understand them. Adults say they know what teeagers feel because they were all teenagers once and yet it may be true, the experiences a teenager goes through is never the same as those adults’ teenage experience. Just like how each human’s body responds differently to many things, every teenager has a different reaction to the things that occur to them. It has become more difficult for a teenager to speak on their behalf in this society. The reason for that is because in this society in America, there are multiple changes happening at the same time and it is hard to trust a teenager because adults think that teenagers ages 13-19 are still young children who know nothing about what it means to an adult. 

According to Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety and Depression as a Major Problem Among Their Peers  by Juliana Menacse Horowitz and Nikki Graf, teenagers experience more pressure. People can think that the teens have nothing to worry about because all they have to worry about is their education. Education is a big aspect of why teens have it difficult. Since the adults know that education is something important they all want their children to succeed and in order to do it is by having an education. For instance, “When it comes to the pressures teens face, academics tops the list: 61% of teens say they feel a lot of pressure to get good grades. By comparison, about three-in-ten say they feel a lot of pressure to look good (29%) and to fit in socially (28%), while roughly one-in-five feel similarly pressured to be involved in extracurricular activities and to be good at sports (21% each).” (Horowitz, J. Graf, N. 2019). Teens are more pressured into having high academics, the adults expect that with long hours of being in a room full of other students can help the teen become better, which with time it can happen. But students are pressured into becoming better and thinking that with no high academics they will achieve absolute nothing. That overall thought teens hear just makes them be pressured rather than be motivated. It is almost like a fear and the teens will just stop trying. Furthermore, “Some 65% of teens who say they plan to attend a four-year college after high school say they worry at least some about being able to afford college.” (Horowitz, J. Graf, N. 2019). On top of teens being pressured into getting high grades and staying in school, there are other teen students who feel even more pressured into getting those high grades for college. College is part of their last education journey but it is not free at all. College is very expensive to pay off that causes students to rethink if it is worth it. Based on this article, 65% of teens feel more worried about paying for college. Money can be difficult to receive especially when a teen enters their last year of high school and has to pay over $5,000 for their education for just their first year of college. Overall, the adults may think that it could be easy for teens to reach the possibility of getting a free education if they focus and are determined to do so. However, that is the thing, adults only think of teens to get their education since they enter their first year of  educational school. 

In another article, How Teens Today Are Different from Past Generations by Diana Divecha it discusses other factors that make the life of teens from this generation difficult to live in this society. Influence is what is called when something around us makes an impact on how a person can act and behave. Everything around where teenagers live is being influenced by society. The society in America has brought many arguments where teens are able to collect the data from what they see and hear into their way of acting and thinking. It is around teenage years that teens have more mental issues. According to the text, “The mental health consequences are especially acute for younger teens, she writes. This makes sense developmentally, since the onset of puberty triggers a cascade of changes in the brain that make teens more emotional and more sensitive to their social world.” (Divecha, D. 2017).  This is showing that part of the reason that teens are more difficult to understand and communicate with is due to their stage of mindset, which is that during adolescence they are more sensitive. Adolescents can see what is right and wrong in our society and realize many things that the people, the adults, have wrong views on the arguments in our society. Therefore, whenever a teen tries to speak on their behalf, no one listens because an adult can think ‘what do they know’, when teens know so much more than adults think. Also in the article it states, “The good news is that iGens are less entitled, narcissistic, and over-confident than earlier generations, and they are ready to work hard. They are inclusive and concerned about social justice. And they are increasingly more diverse and less partisan, which means they may eventually insist on more cooperative, more just, and more egalitarian systems.”(Divecha, D. 2017). In this generation, adolescence focuses more on the rights of others, especially during this generation where we are all more diverse and see each other as just humans with no differences in how we look. That is the power that these teens have than the other generations. Considering that we are all still growing and learning more, teens are already ready for what it means to be an adult. 

In the interview conducted, several questions were asked to view teenager’s view on what it means to be a teen in America’s society. The purpose of the interview was to hear what other adolescents had to say about their life in this generation and society and how they see teens in general are looked upon. There were 4 questions asked; what do you feel society thinks of teenagers? How do you feel you fit into this society?/Do you think you will be able to speak out? What do you think teenagers can do now since we are not able to vote until 18 years of age? And how is the negative influence of society affecting the way a teenager can live in America’ society? There were several adolescents who answered these questions. For the first question; what do you feel society thinks of teenagers?, all the interviewees agreed that society thinks that the teenagers in this generation are useless and dumb, but think that the adults are wrong about the teenagers in this generation. Person 3 thought that the adults in this generation think that teens are just stuck onto their technology. “This generation where all we [teenagers] think is on our phones and we can’t really survive the real world in their [adults] eyes.”(Person 3). I realized that many of the answers the interviewees said revolved around the same topic; teens have no knowledge and don’t care about anything. Reviewing the answers, I concluded that possibly adults think that almost all teens who have some sort of technology, have no real knowledge of the real world because teens are only on their phones. However, now, many things are on the internet including news that has value information that informs many. Question 2; How do you feel you fit into this society?/Do you think you will be able to speak out?, I gathered that they feel like it is difficult to fit into society, when it comes to speaking out it can be difficult. I asked “do you feel you are capable of speaking out?”  “No. I feel like I’m going to be judged by people.” [Person 1]. Since, this generation has also gotten so comfortable with having strong opinions it also brought out more difficult ways to not feel judged or targeted. The media is another powerful tool that this generation of teenagers have. Question 3; What do you think teenagers can do now since we are not able to vote until 18 years of age?, it was answered with the same idea that we have the power to use social media for a good purpose. It is not just about the posts or likes and comments but that we have more knowledge on how to use the media when it comes to informing others. Teens can’t vote, at least until 18 years of age but during the years of being adolescents we can inform others about the reasons they must vote and why. I can also agree that social media can be a strong tool to use to inform others when it is being used correctly and can send out powerful messages. After analyzing the answers from question 4; how is the negative influence of society affecting the way a teenager can live in America’ society? I gathered that society influences every teens’ life either good or bad and whatever it is, it will affect the way the teenager behaves. Another thing is that even when a baby is growing it is learning from what they are exposed to and when it comes to being a teenager, they see a lot more and they are more knowledgeable from what they were and continually observing, which leads them to think that the negative habits an adult does can be okay for them to do. On the contrary, I also asked Person 6 who is 21 years old their view of teenagers and what he said on his transition from being a teenager to adulthood. From the change, Person 6 said that the change was fast. That you are expected to find a job and earn money. There are more duties involved but an easier way to be listened to since he is at the age of adulthood. 

Overall, I noticed that it can be the number of years a person has on this planet that makes their statement strong. A teenager won’t get much respect but more protection compared to an adult in the point of view of politics and speaking out. Living as a teenager can be difficult because adults just assume too quickly on teenagers. That one bad decision can negatively impact the rest of their lives, though it is not true. 

OP-Ed Article 

I am no adult, I have not yet experienced the whole world and have not yet faced many challenges. But what I am is a 17 year old teen who has experienced enough to say that life in America is overwhelming, judgmental, critical, broken, but we don’t give up. There are always assumptions in this society. Especially when it comes to teens trying to get their voices out. There is this saying, “you are going to trust a child over me” that many adults use when they encounter an argument with a teen and other adult  who in their perspective, think teens are childish, irrational people who can’t do anything and know nothing about solving problems. That's the understatement, teens have more solutions than adults, they have more knowledge than others because as teens, we are growing with the new changes that adults can’t understand like teenagers can. 

Why is it that we must trust an adult? The meaning of adult is someone who is fully grown, developed and mature. Being adult means taking responsibility, in which a lot of adolescents in this society have become full grown because of their independence. Being 21+ years of age does not mean that a teen or any other person can trust what they are saying just because they are in their adult years. It is not about the bigger number you are that one can trust, it is about their actions, behavior, knowledge and confidence that make people want to trust in them. It is incredible that there are more teens in this society that can show that type of power with logical explanations vs someone who is 10 years older and can’t win at an argument. It is not about the age you are but the maturity and knowledge that makes people vulnerable to trust. 

Being in this century can make it easier or difficult to live in. Easier because society has developed more understanding but difficult to make things happen because of the placements we have made up; stereotypes. As a society there has been many changes from accepting people for who they are to allowing them to do what any other person can do. As for teenagers, we have been put into place. Our place is school, our education. For the most part, adults probably think that teens go to school to learn math, reading, science and history but at the same time teenagers are learning how to be independent, strong leaders, learning to find their voice to solve problems(not math problems). As Paulo Freire once said, “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” School is giving teenagers the leverage of learning more about our society and having debates based on those issues happening in society. The issue is that we can freely talk about our opinions in school without being shut down by others but once we try to say something, state our opinion to the world, they don’t believe in us. They shut us down because we are teens, who are meant to be in school learning to do math, reading, history, and science experiments. 

There have been teens who are involved in big changes, the ones who are making the action of change to happen. Others may think that teens don’t have the responsibility or strength to run big marches. It can be heavy but that does not mean that we have to do it by ourselves. Those teens who are running the marches are taking charge of something big that other teens are there for support. Isra Hirsi, Sophie Cruz, Jaylen Arnold, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, and so many other adolescents have made a difference. They are on their journey of impacting others. All these adolescents are fighting for different things, from climate change to stopping bullying to women’s rights to fighting for immigration, all different actions but one thing they all share in common is, they are doing it for others not for themselves. They all have stories of their own that made them realize that they have a chance to change the world, change people’s life so whatever event they experience doesn’t occur to others. That is being an adult. Doing the best for others, having a powerful voice to let others hear them, being mature and responsible in their acts of changing the world. And it’s funny to see that these teenagers are the ones speaking up about big issues that the adults should be taking more action, instead they are listening to hear those teens-“children”- in their perspective, their ideas to get things in order, so every other person can experience a better life. With more young adults(teenagers) stepping up with their strong customized voice or joining other teen’s organizations, we can then show the adults, teens can be adults, we can have as much control as any other older person.

Yes there are people, older adults who want children to stay protective and part of that is by keeping them away from society. Knowing that the world is not perfect, that the adults don't want the children to see. Most importantly, experience one for themselves. However, the more the older adults try to prevent teenagers from seeing the darkness in the society, the more those teenagers will realize soon enough that this society is crap. Though, it doesn’t stop the teenager from living, rather build up something better that will benefit themselves and others around them. 

You can have a strong powerful voice, but what really matters are the actions you take to prove that the words you said can become real.  Pick a side, have an opinion, but will bring your words to life?

Plan of Action

Now, I don't just want this to be a work I hand in to get a good grade but to let others know about this issue of teens being put in the corner to speak up. There are so many things happening in our society today that many people out there are trying to come up with solutions to make the situation we are in a better place. Handful of teenagers are trying to get their voices out, to bring their ideas and actions to life so they can too make our world a better place. Therefore, I don’t just want to bring this paper into a pile of work but for other teens, people, anyone else to hear my view on teenagers living in this society. I am going to share my article to Teenink to possibly have others read it and together discover more ways to reach the idea that teens can be adults, your age doesn’t matter but your behavior and call of action. 

References:

Divecha, D. (2017, 20 October). How Teens Today Are Different from Past Generations. retrieved from greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_teens_today_are_different_from_past_generations 

Graf, N., Horowitz, J. (2019, 20 February). Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety and Depression as a  Major Problem Among Their Peers. Retrieved from pewsocialtrends.org/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/