When I see or hear the word “teenager”, whether it be on a billboard or the 5 o’ clock news, I automatically think of a snotty, whiny little toe rag that is good for absolutely nothing. I think of rebellion, drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity. I think of an angsty little parasite who feeds off their parent’s generosity, who is the opposite of independent and charming, and sits on the couch stuffing various unhealthy foods in their ungrateful mouth. I have the eerie feeling that I am not alone. Television, movies, books, even newspaper comics, all display teenagers in a negative light. And this negative light does not help in the least bit, because we see that society expects us to act repulsive. And if people expect us to be repulsive, I promise you, we will be as repulsive as they come.


Adults claim that teenagers need to step up, which of course is true, but I personally believe that part of the problem with the teenage stereotype is adults. Expectations play an enormous role in the moral declination of our culture in America, most obviously the teenage culture. Popular television stations like MTV and VH1 focus largely on entertaining teenagers, and it is blatantly obvious. MTV throws all moral values out the window in shows like “Jersey Shore”, the pop culture sensation that has hit the world like an enormous trashy battering ram. This filthy show features people in their early twenties, and literally their main goal in life is to guzzle down alcohol like freakishly inhuman black holes, fornicate with as many people as possible before death, and of course, and cause completely unnecessary drama that somehow (goodness knows how), keeps the viewer entertained. If this is what teenagers think that they should eventually turn out to be, then God help us all. Another example of teenager’s being thrust into a negative light is the newspaper comic “Zits”. Although clever and sometimes laugh out loud funny, the comic shows a stereotypical teenager going through the motions of everyday teenage life, which of course features extreme laziness and rebellion towards authority. Although seemingly innocent, I cannot help but wonder whether this has the same effect on teenagers that Jersey Shore does. I will also take a slight jab at some peoples parenting skills here. Parents should be role models, and are considered their children’s greatest authority. If parents expect and assume teenagers to drink, do drugs, and cave into peer pressure, then I do not doubt they will make excuses for themselves. I sometimes catch myself whining to my mother the typical youth-like excuse, “Well everyone else does it!” Despite its apparent lameness, it is something that is scarily valid in our society, or at least appears to be. Because of these negative expectations, I’m sure that teenagers appear to be worse than they actually are. I’m willing to bet that many teenagers who say they drink and have sex do not actually drink and have sex. Since it’s the cool thing to do in our society, and to conform is to be cool, then there you have it. They say they do these things to fit in, and it casts the semi-false illusion that the majority of teenagers live in this disgusting culture.

Adults need to make teenagers aware that they are worth something. They need to enlighten them to the fact that although they might not be adults, they still have the ability to change the world, whether it be in small steps or in large leaps. Like I said before, it’s all about expectations. When I look at the teenage culture I feel discouraged and useless, and it needs to be the opposite. As we all know, our generation will turn into adults. We will eventually be leading the country, controlling the stock market, making ethical and political decisions. We will be writing books and making movies. We will inspire, love, be loved, and give. And we need help realizing that we are capable of all these things now. We are not just good for smoking pot and drinking beer. We are good for making the world a better place. We can create things that ultimately help other people. We can make the world a beautiful and fun place to live in. We can give and inspire, right here and now, we just don’t fully realize it yet.