I jus t saw a screening of American Teen. It made me think about all of those late eighties early ninty's movies. Breakfast Club, River's Edge. It's interesting to see that the lack of impathy is still alive and well in the heart of some of the American Teens. The lack of impathy is still a front for the fear of , or the fear that exists in the world. I can't wait until more people see this and form their opinions about America and the state of her teenagers. With the affront of information and myspaces and http://www.facebook.com/americanteen. I wonder if the information age will redifine teenagers. Making them more sophisticated, and informed or more apathetic and less authentic. To get an idea check out the facebook site and see where you fall into the American Teen pocket.
American Teen and The Information age
- Thread starter Alabat538
- Start date
I think you are a little behind the times. The "information age" has
(past tense) redefined teenagers as it has redefined all of us. Each l
eap does exactly the same thing. The radio age, the TV age.
I saw the movie, too. Teens today are no different than teen of the
'80's. Even the 1880's. Your grandparents thought your parents were
too sophisticated and more apathetic than they were when they were
teens. As we leave out teen years and grow up the next group seems
more - or less - sophisticated, informed, apathetic and authentic then
we though we were. Teens and their behavior don't change.
Empathy is something we learn, not something we are born with. Some
learn it sooner than others.
(past tense) redefined teenagers as it has redefined all of us. Each l
eap does exactly the same thing. The radio age, the TV age.
I saw the movie, too. Teens today are no different than teen of the
'80's. Even the 1880's. Your grandparents thought your parents were
too sophisticated and more apathetic than they were when they were
teens. As we leave out teen years and grow up the next group seems
more - or less - sophisticated, informed, apathetic and authentic then
we though we were. Teens and their behavior don't change.
Empathy is something we learn, not something we are born with. Some
learn it sooner than others.
I do think it's possible for technology to influence what a teen takes on though.
I mean...I dunno...it's like around here (Waverly, VA)...I don't think we go more than a year without a twelve-year-old getting knocked up. And I think back to when I was that age...which wasn't all that long ago...and though we definitely had some guys and girls developing just a couple steps faster than the rest of us...we never dealt with anything on that kind of scale.
Which makes me think that there is probably something to the fact that teens today have access to far more advanced means of getting information and information that I did when I was a kid.
I'm not blaming the material...I'm just saying that I do believe each generation does take on certain things that the previous generation may not be completely equipped to deal with.
I mean...I dunno...it's like around here (Waverly, VA)...I don't think we go more than a year without a twelve-year-old getting knocked up. And I think back to when I was that age...which wasn't all that long ago...and though we definitely had some guys and girls developing just a couple steps faster than the rest of us...we never dealt with anything on that kind of scale.
Which makes me think that there is probably something to the fact that teens today have access to far more advanced means of getting information and information that I did when I was a kid.
I'm not blaming the material...I'm just saying that I do believe each generation does take on certain things that the previous generation may not be completely equipped to deal with.
About 3.5 years or so isn't it?
ssshhh. 3,500 years of Illuminati efforts to throw the biggest surprise party ever and you just had to blurt it out, didn't you? Now everyone's going to have to fake being surprised so we don't hurt their feelings.
meh. Screw em. 
Been watching Zietgeist have you?
Been watching Zietgeist have you?
I don't know about that. Kids today are exposed to much worse things at a younger age thanks to the "information age." We're still seeing a change in the behavior or kids today with the increase in depression, teen pregnancies, drug abuse etc. etc. I just feel like kids have to give out the image like they're real "hard" and can't come off as weak. Think about the recent beatings put up on youtube. Getting jumped and kidnapped because you talked trash on myspace? That's just sad.
On the other hand where you said, "Teens and their behavior don't change" I see where you're getting at. Kids will be kids and do stupid immature things, but it's just been taken to a whole new level ...especially since the 1880s.
Anyways, back to the original topic, I haven't seen the film yet, but still have every intention of seeing it though!
Is it being taken to a whole new level or are we just more aware
of it due to technology?
Kids used to beat each other up when I was in high school. I got
jumped and beat so badly I was sent to the hospital (broken rib,
collar bone and three fingers and a tooth knocked out) because I
talked trash to the "jocks" and I was a theater nerd. They just
didn't have cell phone cameras or YouTube. My dad tells stories of
growing up in rural central California among the orange groves in
the 1940's where the tough guys would beat the so called "sissies".
They just didn't have cameras and YouTube.
Teens have always suffered from depression, teens have always
gotten pregnant and teens have always used drugs. The information
age hasn't made that aspect any different. The information age has
simply made it easier for us to hear about it or see it.
of it due to technology?
Kids used to beat each other up when I was in high school. I got
jumped and beat so badly I was sent to the hospital (broken rib,
collar bone and three fingers and a tooth knocked out) because I
talked trash to the "jocks" and I was a theater nerd. They just
didn't have cell phone cameras or YouTube. My dad tells stories of
growing up in rural central California among the orange groves in
the 1940's where the tough guys would beat the so called "sissies".
They just didn't have cameras and YouTube.
Teens have always suffered from depression, teens have always
gotten pregnant and teens have always used drugs. The information
age hasn't made that aspect any different. The information age has
simply made it easier for us to hear about it or see it.
The only thing that's different, (other than as Rik said a higher awareness due to cellphones, internet, etc.) is that a larger percentage of teens (and kids of all ages) have less parental involvement in their lives than years past. This leads to a larger percentage of people behaving like morons.
The problems themselves aren't new, but there may well be a higher percentage of people affected because more children grow up in a household that doesn't teach them how to be contributing members of society. If anyone or anything is to blame, technology certainly isn't it -- it's parents, specifically parents who don't take a big enough interest in their childrens lives. This includes parents who would rather be friends than parents to their children.
Now that I feel like Dr. Phil I think I'll mosey out of this thread.
The problems themselves aren't new, but there may well be a higher percentage of people affected because more children grow up in a household that doesn't teach them how to be contributing members of society. If anyone or anything is to blame, technology certainly isn't it -- it's parents, specifically parents who don't take a big enough interest in their childrens lives. This includes parents who would rather be friends than parents to their children.
Now that I feel like Dr. Phil I think I'll mosey out of this thread.
Yeah...but I still think that gives kids an edge of sorts...especially if they're born into it (like a couple of my brothers) that the generation before them might not be able to understand fully.
The basic problems generally remain the same...but I do think they take on added elements with things like technology.
The basic problems generally remain the same...but I do think they take on added elements with things like technology.
...well you can't emulate your favorite hip-hop artist if you don't look hard.
I have to agree that there are alot of changes in kids now. Some of the things we also need to look at are the fact that -- forgive me for saying so -- since tv is the babysitter, they don't really have to use their own imaginations. My folks used to read to me, that doesn't happen half as much as it used to. Often the parents are not the disciplinarians that they should be, partly because of kids having babies. When you have kids running the household, you have problems....
I don't know at what point apathy begins, though I have wondered myself about that. I am doing some subsitute teaching right now and my observation is that something happens between middle and high school where all of a sudden, everything is boring....
-- spinner
I completely agree with you spinner. It's sad that the the use of technology and constant access to information and entertainment has dulled the minds of so many children today. It really has become such an influence on young impressionable people.
Has anyone who's seen American Teen yet, know if this is addressed at all?
Has anyone who's seen American Teen yet, know if this is addressed at all?
I've done quite a lot of local history projects over the years to put food on the table... and one of the things I heard over and over again, by talking to 70 year olds, is that prior to there being a TV in every home, people had much more involvement in their immediate communities.
So, in 1928 the village of Sacriston had three cinemas, seven churches and twelve pubs. By 1970 this was reduced to three churches, no cinemas and two pubs.
When people's primary entertainment became centred around the TV, the community atomized and knowing your neighbors wasn't relevant anymore.
The real effect of the information age is the next step in that atomization... when I was a kid (in the 1960's) families watched TV together. Now even the family is divided into separate rooms, watching their own TV's or using their own computers.
Although I'm no believer in the "Golden Age" of the teenager... I also can't believe that this techno-isolation isn't having some effect.
Hey, history is interesting... but only if you go to the source and look objectively at the patterns.
So, in 1928 the village of Sacriston had three cinemas, seven churches and twelve pubs. By 1970 this was reduced to three churches, no cinemas and two pubs.
When people's primary entertainment became centred around the TV, the community atomized and knowing your neighbors wasn't relevant anymore.
The real effect of the information age is the next step in that atomization... when I was a kid (in the 1960's) families watched TV together. Now even the family is divided into separate rooms, watching their own TV's or using their own computers.
Although I'm no believer in the "Golden Age" of the teenager... I also can't believe that this techno-isolation isn't having some effect.
Hey, history is interesting... but only if you go to the source and look objectively at the patterns.
Yeah, I like doing that.
Me...I like the concept of a community.
But it is weird to see small towns now unified by the fact that they're more likely to talk to some weird cross-dressing Frasier fanatic in Des Moines posing as a sixteen-year-old girl than their nextdoor neighbor.
You might even saw the closest thing we have to a community in this day and age is high school...where for most of the kids its a universe unto itself.
Me...I like the concept of a community.
But it is weird to see small towns now unified by the fact that they're more likely to talk to some weird cross-dressing Frasier fanatic in Des Moines posing as a sixteen-year-old girl than their nextdoor neighbor.
You might even saw the closest thing we have to a community in this day and age is high school...where for most of the kids its a universe unto itself.
so true! Kids get real wrapped up and forget about their surroundings. Also, small towns tend to have more of a community feel where everyone is more connected. Obviously this is going to occur in less populated areas, but there are also just less distractions and things to do which allows the community to come together at local events etc. I noticed this especially moving from my hometown in Virginia out to Los Angeles.
I think you're right I may be behind the times, but I guess one doesn't know when an age has ended until it's fully utilized it's moment. It's not a matter of sophistication as it is evolution. Now; at the age of five you should be able to type. At thirteen have your own web site, and be involved in at least 7 online communities. And aware and conscious of who you want to be president for the next three years. If we aren't born with empathy then how is it taught and at what age is it truly practiced. It takes courage to help the blind man cross the street in traffic. Be it in 1880 or 2008. If you haven't checked out the movie I think you should. It's just a good insight, yes there are similarities generationally. But I must say the access to information is at the end of finger tips and the one thing that will make it an age will be what generations xyz A2, B2. Do with it. Participate more in this discussion on facebook and you get some interesting reflections from teens. Some who where in the movie. I don't know. I'm just trying to get out the miopic and into ominus.
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