entertain

“You think of them [teens] as these surly, rude, selfish people,” Jensen says. “Well, actually, that’s the developmental stage they’re at. They aren’t yet at that place where they’re thinking about — or capable, necessarily, of thinking about the effects of their behavior on other people. That requires insight.”

I just read an article published by NPR. It told the story of a mother who wanted to understand her two teenage sons’ behavior- by turns described as “maddeningly self-centered,”  and having “an exasperating assumption that somebody else will pick up their dirty clothes.” Her desire to understand the origin of such behavior led her to do some neurological research. She said that teens act the way they do because their brains are “not grown up yet.” Specifically, she was talking about myelin, the material that makes the connection between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain go faster. Myelin sheaths build up gradually, peak around forty or fifty years of age, and then decline.

“Jensen says scientists used to think human brain development was pretty complete by age 10. Or as she puts it, that ‘a teenage brain is just an adult brain with fewer miles on it.’ But it’s not.” I think this was mainly the information the article wanted to get across- teens’ brains are biologically different from children’s and adults’. They are prone to addiction and risk-taking. I had no problem with that statement. What I did have a problem with was the blatantly offensive way scientific fact was framed. The article portrayed teens as incompetent and selfish, then made it seem like it was a biological impossibility for them to be any other way. The “understanding teens’ behavior” angle was not even accurate, as it didn’t take into account cultural influences, something that hugely impacts our actions. While neurobiology is relevant, it isn’t the only story here. For example, research has shown that female brains differ from male brains- things like understanding subtle social cues more easily or processing stress differently. While this influences their behavior, I’m fairly sure it’s not the only reason for their actions; there’s complicated social baggage that comes with womanhood. Society’s expectations of women kept most of them from having careers other than housekeeping for a long time, and it was assumed that they were incapable of doing anything else. When a group or individual is expected to act a certain way, it’s hard for them to break out of that. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, a destructive cycle that proves itself right until people acknowledge the possibility of change.

This article exemplifies some of the attitudes that have made teens behave in the ways described; teens are expected to be apathetic and selfish. This is clearly expressed in the article. People rise or sink to others’ expectations of them, especially if these expectations are on a large cultural scale. Television shows constantly portray teens as petty, bored, and criminal, and most books directed at teens are cliches given colorful cardboard covers. It’s socially acceptable and common for adults to throw around negative generalizations about teens.

If teenagers are a group of people who are biologically likely to take risks, why are they then thrown together in the high school setting- a place that discourages real social contact with the rest of society? They are expected to fail, and are told just as much. Given this state of affairs, teen culture is obviously unbalanced towards reckless behavior. Age segregation accounts for a lot more of the behavior associated with youth than biology.

I disagree with the concept of a “finished” brain- teens are at a point in the lifecycle where they are perfectly developed for a certain kind of behavior. Acting on idealism and a sense of adventure- we need this kind of thinking as much as the wisdom of those with more experience. The impulsiveness and curiosity of adolescence is valuable in an environment where it interacts with the insight of adults. They each complement and challenge the other’s weaknesses.  This article brought up some of the more destructive attitudes our culture holds towards youth, that make it so difficult for such an environment to exist.