teens today and how their transition to adulthood has changed

teens today and how their transition to adulthood has changed Benjamin Watts, Shelby Antoszyk, Matt Coppolo, Maya Wirtz, Louis Surma

Modern Culture and Technology's Effects on Childhood

Technology in modern day society is taking the joy out of the simplicity of childhood and human interaction and is causing kids to grow up too soon in order to fit it with society.

Habits Formed From Technology's Impact On Children

Children now may look to social media for guidance, find social acceptance through social media, and grow up with the ideals and beliefs that society which is causing them to have a weak moral foundation.

Technology can be a great tool but should not be correlated with all childhood development.

The simplicity of childhood: Instead of playing outside and enjoying life, kids are constantly worried about how many “likes” they get on an overrated Instagram post.

The innocence out of childhood and replaces it with the social pressures of the world: Having such young kids relying so heavily on technology and social media causes one to lose sight of what's important. Children are so consumed by the content of social media that they are comparing themselves with the rest of the world causing them to have low self-esteem.

Self-esteem: Children are so consumed by the content of social media that they are comparing themselves with the rest of the world causing them to have low self-esteem.

Does your generation have too much self-esteem?

There exists today a rift between older generations and the oncoming workforce of millennis, causing tension and labels to be thrown into an ever-changing environment.

Millennials are defined by growing up through a technology boom that has led them to believe that anything could be possible. There was belief that if something didn’t exist, such as through product invention or job creation that the job market would have a place for them in a self-fulfilling field. As we know now this isn’t the case.

The idea that millennials have self-esteem issues is a gross assumption derived from excessive social media posting which is having the opposite effect. Comparison Culture has consumed a generation which has more problems than how many likes a post has. In fact, its proven that millennials are the most depressed compared to those previous. Although social media may be a part, it is not a singular source.

Today, a great majority of millennials are either in a job field they admit is not satisfying, does not have a high enough wage, or may be entirely unemployed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, laborers aged in the millennial generation is significantly lower than that of previous generations.

At What Age Should Children Be Allowed to Go Places Without Adult Supervision?

Parents are increasingly afraid to let their children play unsupervised outdoors due to fear of kidnapping driven by media attention given to them, even though crime rates have declined over the years.

Children are statistically much more likely to be abducted by a family member than a stranger.

Too much time indoors deprived of nature has been shown to lead to depression and anxiety.

Exposure to natural settings immediately improves sense of well-being.

Factors like a child's personality and location should be taken into consideration when allowing a child to roam free, but some general guidelines that are reasonable:

Age 8-10: allowed to walk a dog in a safe neighborhood, play unsupervised and/or with friends in a backyard or adjoining yards within visible range of the house or friendly neighbors.

Age 11-13 (Middle school/Junior High): Allowed to walk from school and back if possible, and with friends in reasonable walking distance (1 mile) of the school or home.

Age 15-17 (High School): Should be allowed to go anywhere within short driving distance of the school. Anywhere within the school district basically, since friends will start having cars during this time.

When teens are old enough to vote, will they?

The answer is "no"

However, there are some teens who are politically active during elections. Teens and young adults have many resources to help them register and encourage them to vote.

Students learn about politics in school, and online voter registration in most states is easy. Voter registration drives at schools or college campuses help get students exposed to politics through social media.

Teens have many opportunities to learn about politics and register to vote, yet they still account for the lowest voter turnout in recent elections.

In 2014, 17.1% of teens and young adults voted. This percentage increased to 46.1% in 2016. However, it was still the lowest voter turnout of all the age groups.

So, why don’t a majority of teens and young adults vote?

It’s extremely difficult for students trying to register and increase political awareness at college.

Difficulty registering to vote at college.

Voting registration requires an in-state driver’s license, and proof of residency. Because students may be attending college out-of-state and living in a dorm, they might not have the requirements to register. They also do not have a permanent address to register.

Students also may not have access to television.

No access to television affects students’ ability to watch political campaign ads. As a result, they may seem uneducated on candidates, and are unsure who to vote for.

Do not live with adults, who are proven to be more politically active.

Living with politically active adults can expose teens and young adults to politics and issues.

Another reason teens and young adults don’t vote is they believe their vote doesn’t matter.

Young voters think the system is corrupt.

The electoral college determines who wins the presidency, so many believe their vote doesn’t matter.

Teens and young adults believe their vote doesn’t matter in a state that is more conservative or liberal.

Republicans won’t vote in a state that leans more Democratic because they know more Democratic officials will be elected. More liberal voters won’t vote Democratic in a more conservative state because they know the results will be more Republican.

Young voters don’t understand that every vote counts. Elections have been decided by a couple handful of votes.

In 2018, a Democratic primary for a county in Maryland was decided by 17 votes.

A Democratic Senate primary in Vermont was decided by 1 vote in 2016.

In 2016, a Republican candidate from Arizona running for U.S. House won by 27 votes.

Young voters face another obstacle during elections when trying to register to vote.

37 states and Washington D.C. offer online voter registration. The states that don’t have online registration requires teens and young adults to fill out a voter registration form and mail it.

Mailing in a registration creates difficulties because teens and young adults don’t know where they can receive a registration form. Also, some young adults don’t even know where to buy a stamp and how to address a letter. The voter registration forms take weeks to process, compared to automatically being registered online.

Some students believe they are not educated enough on government, candidates, and certain issues to vote.

Some schools don’t provide education about government and politics.

Students don’t engage in political discussions in class, so they don’t hear opinions from both sides to reinforce or influence their viewpoints. They are clueless about what party they affiliate with, and don’t know who to vote for in elections.

They don’t understand the importance of voting. They also feel as if they are not educated enough on politics and certain issues to be able to vote.

Yes, some teens and young adults will vote when they are old enough, but a significant amount won’t participate in political elections due to the obstacles they encounter.

So What Really Defines "Adulthood"?

Well the answer isn't as clear cut as you might think.

Voting is an adult activity, but does it really represent adulthood? There are plenty of adults that do not vote. So it is not the capability to vote that defines being an adult mindset, but rather the decision to do so.

Adulthood is more about a mental state change than a legal age.

Smoking and drinking are some of the most popular "adult activities", the age restrictions are mostly put in place in the hop that people will be able to do these things at their designated legal ages.

Overall, adulthood is more of a mindset than just an age. There are plenty of people over 18 and 21 that get told to "grow up" on a regular basis and while they may be an adult technically, they may not be in the right mental state to be considered adult like.

Every generation has its differences that change responsibilities and millenials today may have to learn to "adult" in different ways than past generations. But one thing holds true- once reaching a point in your life where you can make your own decisions truly and care for yourself, you may be considered a full adult.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Mat Hayward - "Group of kids on their mobile device" • TeroVesalainen - "smartphone screen social media" • Matias - "social media emoticon reactions" • Tim Gouw - "Selfie" • Pablo Varela - "Black and Woman" • rawpixel - "brainstorming business businesswomen" • DayronV - "using device phone mobile" • rmt - "boy kid childhood" • Ferdinand Stöhr - "Van with history" • Anthony Tran - "untitled image" • sasint - "boy scout scouting" • rawpixel - "untitled image" • RJA1988 - "car key key ring" • Samuel Branch - "America" • ulleo - "pen red pen ankreuzen" • Wokandapix - "classroom lecture hall college" • Parker Johnson - "untitled image"