The Terrible Teens
I just had an epiphany recently. You know how when a toddler learns to say "no" that it is all they do? They just reject everything because they just learned how and don't know how to rationally command it. Funny thing is, I just learned that teenagers do the exact same thing.
A year if not two ago, I remembered seeing this intriguing special on adolescence and the psychological changes that came with it. When presented with a moral dilemma, stealing an overpriced drug to save a sick loved one, all of the pre-teens thought the theft was not justified with a firm fixation on their choice while those actually in adolescence thought, if the situation came to such, certain measures would have to be taken. The point of the comparison was to show how the rules of society and accepted norms began to become questionable by the mind at this age. This was just an example. There was much more supporting evidence, by the way.
With this, I realized how it is amazing similar to the terrible twos and saying "no", except this is a rejection of the set standards of society. The ability to reject an accepted norm is a new rush of power, and a lot will take it whether or not it makes any sense to start with. They cause confrontation not for social change but really just for the sake of confrontation. They don't know any better. They just like to experience it because they are naive.
I know that rebellious teenagers are not anything new; however, this correlation just struck me, as, just how a whiny babe stops throwing around "no", a whiny teen eventually slips back into the normal course of public existence. They cut their hair, they clean up their act, and they straighten up (often literally).
So, basically, I guess I'm saying that outlandish teens are no different than annoying babies. All of their emo, goth, punk, or "metrosexual" (blah, I can't believe I just typed that) behavior is just the crap suspended around their waist waiting to be changed, but, just as with the toddlers, some are just stubborn and refuse to change, or they just have shitty parents. Whatever.
