Today’s teenagers are growing up more slowly

A new study says today’s teenagers are growing up more slowly than previous generations. Research from San Diego State University looked at data on teenage behavior from the past 40 years, between 1976 and 2016. It looked at surveys on 8 million teens from seven different countries. Researchers said that compared to teenagers from the 70s, 80s and 90s, today’s teens, “are taking longer to engage in both the pleasures and the responsibilities of adulthood”. Professor Jean Twenge said: “The whole developmental pathway has slowed down.” She said today’s 18-year-olds are living more like 15-year-olds used to live. She said teenagers are taking far fewer risks than they did before.

The researchers said today’s teenagers are taking longer to do things their parents and grandparents did. They are older when they go on their first date, less likely to have a part-time job, and are less likely to drive. Professor Twenge said this is a, “slow life strategy”. Researchers also found that more teenagers are spending longer living with their parents instead of renting their own room or apartment. One of the reasons for these behavior is how much time teenagers spend online. The Internet is keeping teens on social media, looking at videos or playing games instead of living in the “real world”. Another reason was parents who try and do too much for their children and protect them too much.

1. TRUE / FALSE: 

Researchers looked at data on people up to the age of 40.               T / F

Researchers looked at data on 8 million teens.                                  T / F

Researchers compared today’s teens with teens from the 1970s.        T / F

Today’s 18-year-olds are similar to 15-year-olds in the past.              T / F

The researchers said teenagers are no longer dating.                             T / F

A professor said today’s teenagers have a ‘slow-life strategy’.            T / F

Spending time online makes teenagers more responsible.                    T / F

Protective parents make teenagers more responsible.                          T / F

2. GROWING UP: Rank these items. Put the most difficult things about growing up at the top.

_______  dating

_______  money

________bullying

________confidence

_______ friendships

_______ parent relationships

_______ rules

_______ homework

_______ choose a career

_______ driving

_______ partying

_______ keeping in shape

3. RESPONSIBILITIES: What responsibilities do teenagers have? How well do-did  you do with these responsibilities?

4. Say whether you agree (A), disagree (D) or partially agree (PA):

(   ) Teens today are a lot smarter in making social and health conscious choices.

(   ) Curfews used to really keep teens out of trouble.

(   ) Teens like to party like there is no tomorrow which most of them lead to hardcore drug and alcohol abuse in their near and distant future.

(   ) Teens are more violent today due to the internet and violent video games.

(   ) Parents overprotect teenagers, preventing them from growing up.

(   ) Teenagers today don’t want to become independent because they don’t want to leave the comfort zone.

(   ) In today’s modern and fast paced society, teenagers have had to rush through life and begin adulthood earlier than the generations before.

(   ) Teenagers are taking longer to engage in both the pleasures and the responsibilities of adulthood.

(   ) Time on line creates a generation of robots who live a virtual life.

(   ) People are getting married and settling down later in life, having children at a later age, buying their first home later.

(   ) This generation has faced a toxic combination of high house prices, high rent, insecure jobs and stagnant wages.

(   ) Perhaps the older generation don’t mind this never-ending extension of their parenthood.