What can we say about today’s teenagers? They are similar to teenagers from 10, 20, 30 years ago, but they are exposed to many situations and problems that have forced them to adapt their behavior, making them appear very different to older generations.
Hormonal imbalance existed 20-30 years ago at this age, but today’s teenagers are exposed to hypersexualization almost everywhere they go, from TV commercials or billboards at major intersections to the way adults around them dress, the models they adopt as representing success (from football players to actors/actresses, TV stars)
These teenagers grow up in a time when a lot of emphasis is placed on how you look and how you dress, and less on what kind of person you are and how you feel, in short, the focus is on what is superficial and of little importance in defining a person's human quality.
As they age and go through various experiences, some of the teenagers who become young adults create their own path, realizing what is most important in life.
Many of those who do not find their own path follow the path of their role models, which often focuses on superficial aspects rather than something real and important.
The tendency of many adults is to judge teenagers' behavior and sometimes say, OH, TODAY'S YOUTH!, looking superficially only at what is visible on the surface.
Due to the many unfiltered pieces of information and situations they are exposed to, teenagers are often confused and do not know what decision to make in difficult situations, what is best for them and their future. They are forced by society to make quick decisions based on a lot of information that is often contradictory.
It is not easy to be a teenager in a period when everything is uncertain: what to do after finishing high school, finding a job, making friends, family. There are many rapid changes happening, making it complicated for them to have appropriate behavior all the time, and they often make mistakes, but it is perfectly normal, and we, as adults, need to see beyond the silly things they do and find their potential, the part that will be refined at some point.
One of the most common attitudes of teenagers is confrontation with any form of authority, from parents to teachers, and the most common mistake made by adults is taking this attitude personally and forgetting that it is just a transitional period from being a child to being an adult.
Adapting to the adult world and all that it entails is not easy, leading to various emotions and states such as frustration, fear, jealousy, fear of failure, anxiety, joy, freedom, responsibility, anger, love.
One of the most common states is the fear of failure: what if I don't get into college? What if I don't get a high grade on my final exam? What if the girl/boy I like doesn't like me back? Why can't I make friends? Why am I viewed differently by those around me? And many other questions that sum up the fear of failure from all perspectives.
During this transformative period, we also observe many fluctuating behavioral states, such as the teenager being angry now, and a few moments later, we see them calm, these states are also caused by the hormonal imbalance specific to this period.
This period is mainly a time of learning, and like all learning periods we go through, it is necessary to make mistakes many times to learn something from the situations we go through; we learn best from our mistakes, despite sayings like the wise learn from the mistakes of others, and the fool learns from his own mistakes.
If we look beyond the apparent behavior of many teenagers, we see beautiful individuals with fantastic potential, which we must harness to have a society as harmonious as possible, with individuals satisfied with themselves who can and will contribute to the common good.
Be patient with young teenagers, they need to be supported, loved, and valued, not judged!