Why are teens nowadays expected to juggle so much work and pressure?
Being a teenager has never been easy. Raging hormones, stressful social lives, and parental control all make it one of the most trying times in anyone's life. It seems that recently the stress has simply continued to build, with teens often spending twice as much time as their parents at their "job" of being a highschooler.
Teens are becoming more and more competitive when it comes to getting into college. Once upon a time, participation in a single sport or the ability to play an instrument was the expected extracurricular for a teen, with maybe a summer job between years. Nowadays, highschoolers are expected to juggle diverse and simultaneous extracurricular activities, as well as complete hundreds of hours of required community service or work and struggle with a minimum of two hours of homework each night.
At times, teenagers spend more time working than even both their parents combined. The average adult works 9:00-5:00. Of course hours vary, but the total hours per week averages at about 40. Compare this to teens: a highschooler spends the same amount of time, if not more, on schoolwork alone (7 hours of school, plus at least an hour of homework each night). Then, of course, there's required work or community service hours, which depending on the school vary from 10 hours per semester to over 100 hours per year. We can't be forgetting extracurricular activities, necessary for staying in shape, staying popular, and being competitive in college applications; these add another 10-30 hours of work per week. Let's add on some chores that one must complete at home, adding perhaps 5-10 hours of work per week. With all of these activities accounted for, a teen can end up "working" as much as 80 hours per week, DOUBLE the average work time of an adult.
You pile this ridiculous workload on top of the stresses teens have dealt with for all eternity (which I'm sure you all know, having been teens at one point), and I honestly can't understand how they can handle the work. Many teens just see this as normal, as the way things are. Do you think it's appropriate?
?2010-07-09T23:09:57Z
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I think teens today live with more of an entitlement mentality than ever. Everything is handed to them. In a culture that rewards gimmie gimmie and I want, me me. I don't think there's ever been a time in history where more "things" are so easily available and given to teens. In other words, they're spoiled. Those that don't work hard won't get anywhere if they don't have family money to buy their way into something.
At the same time, there are more college students than ever before, more colleges, community colleges are full, budgets slashed, private college tuition through the roof... and it is competitive. College degrees are becoming devalued because every kid's got one - supply and demand. Those that didn't work hard fall to the wayside and become as valued in the labor force as someone who dropped out of high school in the 80s.
These extra curricular pressures on teens aren't the norm... but they are the norm for those achievers that want to make something of themselves, or are being pressured by their parents or guardians to do so. And with good cause. Because with the competitive nature of college increasing, it's going to take every last drop of effort and every ounce of competitive edge to get placed into the top schools.
It's like law school. Law schools will let anyone in if they meet the requirements. But good law schools will only let in the most competitive applicants. If you graduate from a mediocre law school, you've got to be head of your class to be really successful. But you can be a weaker student at a better law school and be just as successful afterwards. The difference is the caliber of school - which requires the competitive edge.
The same thing is happening with college. Better schools are getting more and more applicants and those with competitive edges will get in. A C student from Stanford is going to have an easier time entering the job market than an A student from an unpopular state school. The state school student is going to have it much easier than the University of Phoenix online student, etc, etc...
So, it's pertinent that teens push themselves to achieve higher qualifications during this essential time before entering college. Those that don't will make up for it later on. Plus, the world is getting more advanced every day and we need the smartest people, hardest working people that we can possibly get to keep us afloat in the future. If the kids slack now, it could be chaos later.
So, is it appropriate. I'd say so. Break the lazy entitlement mentality that plagues so many and push for excellence for all of our futures.
Good question, i suppose the media is to blame in some circumstances. The objectification of women for one, don't try to tell me it isn't sexist because it's blatantly obvious. I'm not a feminist, but i believe that these glamorous women who wear skin-tight clothes, sky scraper heels and are considered to be beautiful are putting pressure on girls to look the same, to look much older. I feel like you often, this may sound a bit over-dramatic but i sometimes feel like i really don't fit in with teens my age. I'm glad i've found someone i can agree with on this matter, about petty unnecessary gossip. Not to mention the bitching about superficial things such as: "Oh my god, did you see her hair it's so f***ing ugly!" "Why, yes i did and i don't give a f*ck." It is not only disgusting, but also worrying. What so called "responsible" parent would allow their child to dress like a streetwalker? I've never seen girls take pictures of themselves as you've described and i find this pretty shocking. I would never have a one night stand, sex should be for people in relationships. Just ignore those people, their minds have been warped, their innocence lost. I've drank alcohol before, but i've never had more than three and i've never drank without an adult, I never want to get drunk. I know, it's frustrating. Other than peer pressure, hormones, rebellion and the media, there isn't anything else i've thought of that could be the reason. You just be yourself, who cares what they think about you. Not everyone is like that, i'm not.
Its because teens today carry the burden of every accomplisment of the past in a constantly developing world. Everything is getting more complex, things are getting more expensive, teens are expected to buy more things for social status, teens are expected to do well in school and work. School will only get more and more difficult for teens because we want society to get smarter and smarter, and work for students will only become longer and longer, because capitalists want to exploit the labour of teens, and exploit the fact that they are years away from getting a high school degree, let along a post secondary one...and teens will also be expected to pay for that...(depending on how much your parents help)...its just going to get worse and worse for teens as the expectations increase...hopefully something will help the teens of the future....
In a few years, you'll look back at your teen years and realize how easy you actually had it. Don't believe me? I didn't buy that as a teen either, but found out after entering the real world of adulthood.
Let me say this, yes. You will survive and all that is expected of you is your best at least most of the time and I will continue to be there for you as a parent should.