Coming of Age

In this day and age, teens are exposed to more and more.   Some of this exposure is great for growth and some may make a negative impact. Things like media and school can be classified as both. Teens of other generations were much more groomed by the simpler traditions and low exposure, which kept them mostly pure until adulthood.   Our generation is the complete opposite.
Teenagers today are becoming mature too fast. Media is a huge factor in this. Media can be either beneficial or corrupting. Things like educational TV, newspapers, and other programs that add more knowledge to teens’ brains. These things can make a smart and confident teen, which’d walk away from the negative influence that the media brings. Negatives can be that the media shows violent shows, negative music, mind-numbing programs, etc.   Seeing a celebrity dance or dress a certain way, would influence teens to dress that way to be “part of the crowd” or “fit in”. Media is a bittersweet thing for our generation.

School can be bittersweet also. School is mainly supposed to be a place to get an education in order to succeed in life. Some teens use it as such, others use it as just a place to see friends and have fun, or both. Teens sometimes get influenced negatively, and have a need to pass on the negativity. Peer pressure into drugs, gangs, etc. can turn a great student into a low gang member or living in a horrible condition. Teens that have been negatively influenced, also share their negative information with others, and corrupt them. School is a great place to learn, and also a place to fail fast.

Ergo, our era of teens is the most advanced. That is good and bad, but there’s no going back. In life, when an advance is made, going back to primitive stages is not happening. The only thing to do is what the human race has done for years: adapt. Humans are known to adapt, so as teens, we must learn to adapt the negatives that this generation brings, and endure it.