Kids love to rebel. Watch all the movies like Footloose, Ferris Buller’s day off, Brave, The Breakfast Club and more. These teenagers wriggle out from under the thumb of their parent’s or school’s authoritative rule and go crazy. It is seen by the adults in the movie as ridiculous and outrageous but to the teens it is the most fun and joy they have had in their whole lives.
The parents think they are being reasonable and keeping their children safe while the teens think they are ruining their lives. What causes this miscommunication gap?
“Part of it is that kids like to rebel, they want to do the opposite of their parents for the most part. They see them as stuck in the old ways,” Government teacher Micheal Shumaker said. “You see this especially in technology, ‘oh you know they don’t know how to do this and they’re wrong and I’m right’ especially when they become teenagers that’s when they really start.”
What is cool can be seen as different in every generation. However, what has never gone out of style? That is being rebellious, I mean you really see nerds acting out.
“It’s cool to do the opposite, it’s cool to rebel and I think a lot of it is they go to these places and want to do the opposite of what their parents did. And later they may change their views again,” Shumaker said. “Really then they go off to A to high school B to college and they get influenced by their friends and their surroundings… young people are very susceptible to that.”
Another reason could be plain inexperience and thinking with your heart not your brain. There’s a famous quote attributed to Winston Churchill, “If You Are Not a Liberal When You Are Young, You Have No Heart, and If You Are Not a Conservative When Old, You Have No Brain”.
“When you’re young you have these starry eyed views about how the world should be and then you get older and you realize no this is how the world actually works you change your views.” Shumaker said.
Not knowing how the world works could be why younger generations are more open to changing it. Teens think with empathy and see solutions to many problems. Older generations think rationally and think that their solutions are unrealistic.
“They see their parents’ view and they’re like that doesn’t work.” said Shumaker.
Some teens may partially disagree.
“I do feel like opinions were passed down. What they believed in was what I was told, that’s what I grew up with,” said sophomore Lily Flores. “and you believe it until you disagree with it and learn more about it and form your own opinion.”
“My mom and I have most of the same views but my mom is a bit more conservative than I am personally,” said Sophomore Ashely Hernandez. “Like, she believes no kid should be put up for adoption but I have different views. Overall we agree that some change is good but some change is too much.
This can have a tremendous impact on our system and society. As we know politics affect every aspect of people’s lives and the way to be most involved is voting. We vote for representatives that reflect our ideals and values. People who promise us the change or the stability we look for.
“Yeah they (people) definitely are gonna vote a certain way when they are younger and I think a lot of people change that view as they get older.” Shumaker said.
The next generation is getting older and the world is changing. Change can be for better or for worse but is necessary. Teens and young adults want to move forward but older generations have to work with us.