“How did the emergence of a teenager affect the American Society”
The Origin of a teenager; the emergence of a hero.
“Adolescence, youth, and teenager are cultural constructions, or socially constructed categories, that have evolved in meaning and common usage in the last century. Only in the last fifty years has the term teenager, introduced by merchandisers and advertisers in the 1940s, meant anything at all to the U.S. public. Today we typically think of teenagers as people aged 13-19. Youth emerged as a category in the 1920s in sociological and ethnographic research studies of deviancy. While the term youth originated in scholarly circles of urban teen deviancy, the term adolescence refers more to a biological and psychological category of development. The beginning of adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty, and refers to biological (growth, sexual development) and social (independence from parents) factors that mark the period in our culture.” (What is a teenager? by Kathleen Knight Abowitz, with Richard Rees)
Teenage years are the best, and this period is one of the periods that has multitude of songs attributed to it. For instance, “Die young” by Ke$ha. Never to growing old by Avril Lavigne. Teenage dream by Katy Perry. The question to you would be did you like your teenage life? As mentioned in the above quote that the term teenager was first used in the 1940s. This time period was more bit of in the WWII (Kauai). So it was such a fun time. Fun time that made the teenagers of this period the heroes more than the adults. So the emergence of a teenager had a huge positive impact in the American society during that time.
“In 1939, I was in junior high school. Like everyone else, I worked an after school job. I think I made $10 a week and I worked every night after school. This was during the Depression and everyone was poor. There weren't as many distinctions between who makes this, and who's in here, and who's down at the bottom. We were all the same and it was very tough, but everybody pulled together and we managed(Ellie Kaufman).” The teenage life was affected by two things in this period the Great Depression and the WWII. As summarized above, a teenager’s average life was to go to school, work and/or help out at home. However, the Great Depression had a huge impact that made all the families equally poor.
Because of this new demographic, people started seeing teenagers differently than children, as they did before. They had more freedom; they would be able to go out after school, they would start doing some “adult” activities, such as working. They had more independence from their parents. Teenagers would usually want to stay alone in their rooms talking to friends over the rotary dial phone (if they had one) or they would sneak out at night to go to clubs and parties.
Palladino creates a historical background of the thirties in order to show how history related to and effected the personal experiences early teenagers were having. When Palladino wanted to talk about the challenges and repercussions faced by teens of the 1930s, how they were beginning to go to high school and develop a social group of their own, she first had to explain the historical context teens of the thirties were living in which was the Great Depression. Describing the historical context without directly bringing in teenagedom shows Palladino uses sociological imagination by implying a relationship between the Great Depression and the personal experiences of early teenagers. Palladino explains, “But the realities of economic depression, severe and unrelenting by the mid 1930s, altered their plans. Between 1929 and 1933, professional incomes dropped 40 percent, and the supply of white-collar workers dangerously exceeded demand...During the great depression there were 4 million young Americans sixteen to twenty-four who were looking for work, and about 40 percent of them--1 million boys and 750,000 girls--were high school age” (Palladino, 35-36). Later she elaborates to explain that much of teenage life was affected by this historical occurrence, showing that she understands history connects to the personal lives of the early teenage societal group. Palladino does this again when analyzing teens of the forties, “Although the nation had been gearing up for war ever since the fall of France in 1940…” (Palladino, 63), Palladino creates a fuller awareness of the historical context teenagers were living in, in order to examine the group by showing their relation to societal forces as a whole and the history being made around
Watching films from the Great Depression era today, we can see how people survived and made a living during the crisis. Everyone’s common goal was to find work and would do whatever they could to be able to provide for their families and themselves. Work could be very demanding when trying to make a pretty penny. Some ways people made a living was by working in a factory, as shown in Chaplin’s Modern Times, or in a more dangerous way of the ...
The Great Depression was the greatest economic downturn America had ever faced. With the fall of the stock market in one day, the entire country was in chaos. People’s entire life savings as well as plans for the future were destroyed in minutes. This paper will discuss how the Great Depression affected family dynamics and everyday life as the result of economic hardship. Before the Great Depression happened, American family life was very different.
Most of the teens, affected by the great depression, quit school and couldn’t talk or play with their friends. Instead they were working low paying jobs or taking care of the house while their parents were at work to help with their family’s troubles. Those who were able to talk to friends talked about getting money for food, clothing, and paying bills, rather than other topics. When they talked to adults, they mostly were asking for jobs, money, or food, like when they sent letters to Eleanor Roosevelt for items they needed or money.... ... middle of paper ...
...inning to show more interest in music and dating. They also began to start deviating from what parents wanted and rebelling against them. The changes in school also left adolescents wondering what had happened to the easy schooling they had had. The end result was a new time and a new kind of people. The teenager was a new beginning.
In other industrialized nations, teenage turmoil was a fraction of that seen in the U.S. The author proposed that turmoil was the result of infantilizing- a phenomenon largely attributed to American culture. When treated like adults, teens are capable of rising to the...
A quote taken John McKeon which served as a very accurate representation of teenage life and culture in the 50’s. But, of course, the teenagers didn’t care about the rules in this decade, especially in North America. With newfound freedom from an economic boom after WWII which didn’t require teenagers to work anymore, teenagers, with a lot more free time, did all sort of things like listen to “rock n’ roll” and “bop” or go dating or adoring black rock stars, all of which were considered “rebellious”. The lists of “rebellious” activities are endless in number and some are quite ridiculous by today’s standards. However, the only reason teenage life is what it is today, is solely because of the sometimes “rebellious” acts of independence from teenagers in the 1950’s. The creation of modern dating, the outlandish and irresponsible appearance of teenagers, and the unapproved interests and behaviour of teenagers all made very good points of proving their independence as teenagers. Despite having little to no presence before WWII, the teenagers of the 1950’s would drastically change the definition of the term “teenager” and change the lifestyle and culture of teenagers for decades to come and did it all without even knowing the legacy they would leave.
Before the big evolution of rock and roll, the United States was heavily involved in World War II. In this era, teens were expected to grow up at a very early age. Going to school was not one of the main priorities for these young adults during this time, and because of that "teens were expected to take life seriously. [Meaning,] the young men were expected to join the military or go get a job to support their family or their future families, while the young women were taught to take care of the household and prepare themselves to be a dutiful wives and to take care of their [future] children," (Cox). Even though they were expected to grow up early, “teens had very little economic power, freedom, independence, and input into [many of their own] decisions" (Cox).
Thirteen: The Age of Adolescence Adolescence is the stage in life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There are many things that still need to be explored, learned, and conquered. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to conquer Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends, that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we have learned in class can be applied to this character, from identity development, to depression, to adolescent sexuality and more.
Adolescences has always been the most crucial time for developing identity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between racial identity development of African American adolescents and the role of education. This paper will discuss the effects race has on identity and adolescent development. Following, it will compare students education from a racial perspective and the lasting effects after adolescence.
“Definitions of ‘youth’ in Western societies usually refer to the life stage between childhood and adulthood, the transitional period between being dependant and becoming independent” (Kehily, 2007). The age of this transition can be best defined by the House of Commons as starting at 16 and ending at 24 years old (2013). This transition from youth to adulthood has altered considerably in recent years; the traditional norms and values that youth once followed are no longer respected or easily attained. Current youth have very different life styles and expectations, consequently; adolescents are taking longer to complete the transition into adulthood. Twenty-five years ago the traditional norms were to get a job straight after school, start courting, get married, save up enough money to set up home and eventually start a family. The fact that this is no longer the norm for the majority of youth reflects that the changes in education, employment, housing, and benefits have affected the model of transition significantly.
“Definitions of ‘youth’ in Western societies usually refer to the life stage between childhood and adulthood, the transitional period between being dependant and becoming independent” (Kehily, 2007). The age of this transition can be best defined by the House of Commons as starting at 16 and ending at 24 years old (2013). This transition from youth to adulthood has altered considerably in recent years; the traditional norms and values that youth once followed are no longer respected or easily attained. Current youth have very different life styles and expectations, consequently; adolescents are taking longer to complete the transition into adulthood. Twenty-five years ago the traditional norms we...
Adolescence is a period of transition between the ages of 13 – 19, after childhood but before adulthood. Adolescence can be a difficult period in a teenager's life. Many teenagers do not know how to react or how to adapt to all of the physical, social, and psychological changes that occur during this period. Some adolescents pass through this period without problem, while for others, it is a period of torture, discomfort, and anxiety. With all the biological and social pressures that occur during adolescence, many teens fail to assume their identity. Sometimes family and society does not help to make this task easier. Challenges teenagers face due to biology and society are body image, hormonal changes, social and parental pressures, family problems, school pressures, alcohol, drug abuse, homosexuality, and suicide.
Myths of adolescence are perpetuated because adults do not spend the time and effort learning about normal, expected changes during this period. It is much easier for us to put a label on people rather than to try to understand them. The teen years are truly "high speed, high need" years. Here are some concepts of conflict and some areas to look out for.