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Ask anyone and theyll tell you teenagers are the wildest, most disobedient and
careless age group to exist. The world has formed a consensus on that, and we all
act on the belief as if it were a universal truth, like we do with many other things.
Having left my teenage behind while still being surrounded with teenagers all the
time, I think the world needs to come to an understanding with teenagers. We all go
through it; for some it is the best age to have lived, for some it is the worst, some
just dont know where and how it went, and a few others see it as a learning age. It
is a curious age indeed, preceding adulthood, succeeding childhood, and including
adolescence-very significant and widely misunderstood, even and perhaps
especially by teenagers themselves. In many ways, teenage is similar to infancy
and toddlerhood. A child learns and develops his personality till hes four, and some
believe, till six-and then he applies all that he has learned in infancy and
toddlerhood, in his childhood. He experiments with the acquired knowledge, reaches
new conclusions and acts on them, basically verifies everything previously learned.
And then comes teenage with a new set of problems. It is the only other stage of life
with huge growth spurts where the teenager acquires still newer knowledge, this
time more in relation with the bigger picture rather than being self-centered. He
learns, develops his personality further, builds his own view of the world and people
rather than relying on the knowledge given to him by others, which is why youll
notice teenagers are often wary and distrusting, or at least critical.
A teenager is highly impressionable. Hell take what he gets and try to make sense
of it, try to incorporate it somewhere in the jigsaw of his personality, giving meaning
to things which need to be given no meaning, being oversensitive to issues which
require little attention, taking influence from uncertain sources. Hell be influenced
by everything whether it be family issues, recess shenanigans, or local/global
politics. At a time when he is trying to comprehend or construct his identity in an
organized manner, all of this lends to his personality. Every event forms a piece of
the teenagers self-image which we all naturally struggle with. Small comments and
incidents can make or break his opinion of himself. This is something that parents
and teachers especially need to understand. Teenagers might have an exterior of
we dont care, but they care deeply. They just feel it necessary to act strong, often
because, we tell them they need to be strong all the time. We tend to put them up
on pedestals and expect them to live up to standards weve thrust upon them.
When then would they get to find out what they want and where their passion lies?
Point being that the image one forms at this stage remains with him forever, and
that a teenager needs to be given sufficient autonomy to be able to fly on his own.
with institutions, and his motivation as well. He forms this perspective and abides
by it for life.
A lot more happens, and if I were to list it all, Id have to write a book. Teenage is an
age of extremes; emotions are extreme, relationships too are extreme, opinions are
often extreme, and reactions are extreme. Extremes are almost always destructive.
Bouts of extremism help us differentiate, and are learning tools but they can also
lead to depression in teens. This must be avoided at all cost. Yes, teens look for a
sense of belongingness and for that the might take wrong routes, but if we equip
them with the right tools, we can make teenage less traumatic. A lot of credit for
teenage delinquency goes to adults, for lack of understanding. And if this was taken
care of, perhaps the world consensus on teenagers could take on a new, more
positive colour.