ROAR BLOG #5: The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager

Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog
April 29, 2010
Roar #5

In the book The Rise and Fall of The American Teenager, by Thomas Hine, in the last chapters Hine talks about today’s generation and how there is a greater diversity of teens then there ever was. The teenagers come from different backgrounds and they all express themselves differently. Some express themselves through music, tattoos, piercings, the way they dress, extracurricular activities, drug habits, and in other ways. Hine described this as “youth tribes” and he says that they been around for 20 years. Teens were using these methods to have control of themselves and show people that they are maturating into their own person. Adults don’t see these teens as their own person, they see they all as one big group that loves to cause problems also known as teenagers.
The Libertarian teens are doing many things on their own because they parents might had to work many hours to provide from their families. This leads to teens having a distance relationship with their parents. Teens are able to be out longer, hide things from their parents more often, and the government thinks that this could lead to crime. If parents are more active in their child’s life, then the teen is less likely to take a part of any crimes.
Parents didn’t seem to be very active with their children’s life during 1985 through 1994, so the crime rate among the teen raised 70 percent. When the crime rate rose, sadly the homicides rate did too. Many teens take apart of the crimes and end up wasting their lives, but Hine believes that the United States is more relaxed than other countries when it comes to this topic. There are laws that are made just to target teens and slow down the crime rate, but many teens look pass the laws and choose to do with they pleased.
Hine talks about today’s teenager and how they are different from the teenagers in the past, because how they live now. Teens today are not looking to TV or newspapers for information or entertainment; they are looking to the Internet or to their cell phones. Their lifestyle is different from past generations and the “classic teenager” has changed into teens that are more independent, driven by technology, and are making an impact on the world. Teens are impacting the world because there are more teen-oriented clothing stores and teen-oriented publications than before. Teens today are getting their voices heard, just like they did in past generations. They are a mix of the older generations with a little twist.
*Pages summarized 274-304

Quote:
“Young people are here and, as always, ready to make history. Let’s help them. We were young once too” (Hine 304).

Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is all that young people want to do is change the world, make a positive impact on it, and also make history. As much as young people claim that they can do things on their own, they really do want the help and the support of adults who once were teens themselves. Thomas Hine’s writing style is good at expressing how adults feel about teens, but at the same time he is able to express how teens feel too. He understands that teens today are different than teens in the past, but they both share one thing: they are growing up with many and they are trying to understand where they fit in.