Elizabeth Korbert The Terrible Teenagers Essay

Teenagers. People find them to be absurd just by looking at the way they dress and act. They are often times stigmatized and stereotyped, called “millennials”, and written off as a reckless, thoughtless generation. In modern days, they dress provocatively, consume pop culture, and constantly judge and get judged by their peers. They behave in the craziest ways, from “hooking up with strangers, [to] jumping from high places into shallow pools, [to] … steering a car with … [their] knees” (83). It is a wonder that they grow up to become “civilized, intelligent adults” (83). In Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Terrible Teens,” she asserts that teenagers take risks because of their brains. Teenagers are known for making impulsive decisions that may lead

According to neurologist Francis Jensen:
The brain is still busy building links between its different regions. This process involves adding myelin around the axons, which conduct electrical impulses. (Myelin insulates the axons, allowing impulses to travel faster.) It turns out that the links are built starting in the back of the brain, and the frontal lobes are one of the last regions to get connected. They are not fully myelinated until people are in their twenties, or even thirties. (84)
The deficiency of myelinated axons causes the impulses in the brain to travel slower, which means that their thought processes do not have time to process and lead teenagers to execute their rash decisions. It may be the reason why there is a long-standing debate about raising the drinking age. Because alcohol has lasting effects on the brain and may slow or damage the process of myelinating axons, raising the drinking age from twenty-one to an age where the brain is fully developed could lead to healthier, more intelligent adults. The thought processes of teenagers are not at their full potential, however, Jensen also mentions that “this is where parents step in. ‘You need to be your teens’ frontal lobes until their brains are fully wired,’”(84) even though the amount of nagging and scare tactics may not amuse or encourage your teenager.

‘The notion that adolescents take risks because they don’t know any better is ludicrous,’ Steinberg writes” (85). It is inevitable that teenagers will perform reckless activities to receive the pleasure and rewards they want, but “The leading cause of death among adolescents today is accidents; this is known as the ‘accident hump.’” (85). This ‘accident hump’ accounts for large numbers of teenagers doing drugs or drinking alcohol, crashing cars, or making rampant sexual advances; however, that is only one part of the