Teenism, A ‘disease’ That Affects Teenagers Everywhere

A few months ago, a story went viral about a teenager who asked her mother to write her a note apologizing for being late for class. The mother was probably stunned at her daughter’s guts at first. However, she decided to approach her request somewhat creatively. She justified her daughter’s lateness with an illness she called “teenage”.

The mother, Nicole Poppic, also posted her note on social media, which read: “This is what happens when you are late because of your own bad decisions and you ask me to write you a note. ”

The note she wrote for her daughter, Cara, went like this:

“Cara is late this morning due to a condition known as ‘teenage.’ Adolescents across our country have been affected and there is no cure for it yet. The symptoms are varied, but this morning she suffered from an inability to get herself out of bed and also felt the need to retaliate to the one who gave birth to her. She seems to have regained her senses after seeing her cell phone fly out of the car window. Please call me if there is another attack. Thank you”.

Teenism is the beginning of a metamorphosis

Psychologist Stanley Hall is considered a pioneer of the study of adolescence as a stage of development. He described adolescence as a second birth. One experiences a summary of childhood experiences, with additional crises and lessons.

Adolescence lasts approximately from one’s twelfth to twentieth year of life. It is a stage that heralds a myriad of changes – not only physical, but also cognitive, emotional and existential. These changes make a teen wonder how the world works and what role he plays in it.

This is a complete transformation in many ways. These boys and girls are on an emotional and cognitive roller coaster, as it were, and this is also the reason behind their rebellious behavior.

Many parents wonder the same. If teens seem to have developed the ability to think like adults, why don’t they behave like adults? However, the answer to this is simple: cognitive maturity and emotional maturity do not always go hand in hand.

Emotional maturity

This is why teens are generally still considered emotionally immature. They use inconsistent, explosive and temperamental behavior as a self-defense mechanism. This kind of behavior is symptomatic of teenageism.

However, it is important to know that their new cognitive and intellectual maturity allows teens to develop their own identity and personality.

Usually, teenagers also develop an emotional capacity similar to that of adults. Although they suddenly have this ability, they do not yet have the experience of an adult. This means they have to analyze and process the full effect of an entirely new emotional world.

This emotional activation is so overwhelming that teens are unable to understand most of the emotions they feel. However, all of these experiences will eventually help them to better understand the complex tandem of psychological emotions, thoughts, actions and situations they are confronted with.

Three factors explaining complex family dynamics during adolescence

Millions of parents around the world can identify with the phenomenon of teenageism. The quirky and challenging behavior that teens exhibit can make it seem like they are completely rebelling against the norms set by parents or even society.

However , as parents , we should not forget that this period is also confusing for teenagers themselves. Although they are constantly searching, reinventing and changing themselves, they can’t quite find themselves yet. They feel their instability and they see no light at the end of the tunnel.

We can divide the complexity of family relationships during adolescence into three groups (excluding individual variations):

1. Conflicts with their parents and their place in society

There is a certain stage in this period where the teen is still treated like a child but asked to act like an adult. This ruins their image of maturity and self-confidence and perpetuates the inner conflict they have with society.

This phenomenon is also known as de-synchronization. It basically refers to the fact that a teenager becomes more and more sensible, while his integration into the adult working world takes longer and longer. This makes teenism take longer to pass and can also exacerbate conflict within the family.

2. Mood swings

Adolescence is by definition an emotionally tumultuous period. The characteristic mood swings can be very frequent, abrupt, negative and extreme. Teenagers indicate that they experience more negative emotions in a day than children or adults.

In addition, these years can be even more drastic, intense and negative if the teen is unpopular in school. Additional problems may also arise if the teen has poor grades or is struggling with problems at home, such as a recent divorce. Adolescence is a very complicated stage emotionally.

3. Risky Behavior

Teens tend to go against the norm. They may therefore become involved in illegal, antisocial or dangerous activities. However, unlike family conflicts and mood swings, risky behaviors are more common in late adolescence.

Teens are impulsive and constantly looking for new sensations and experiences. These two factors, along with everything we’ve talked about above, can help us understand how critical this period is. Teens need supervision and guidance (from a careful distance and appropriate to the circumstances) from the responsible adults in their lives.

Since adolescence is a stage in which teens process and internalize their environment, it is up to us as adults to carefully shape this environment. There are no magic spells that will help us through this period.

This may seem strange, but actually the whole family has to prepare and adjust for adolescence, just like we do when a new baby arrives.