Are teenagers worse than the past?

[Deleted]

I am a teenager in sixth form college. Alot of the time, i hear the media going on about 'broken britain' and ignorant people saying things like 'it wasnt like this in the good old days'.

So i would like to ask the question- Are teenagers really worse than the past??

I have no experience of what teenagers were like, in say the 1960s, 70s, 80s etc, so what does everyone here think?

Personally, I think everything is completley blown out of proportion by the media (The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers come to mind! ;D). SOME people (especially the older generation) seem to have the assumption these days that ALL teenagers will rape, stab, murder, steal etc

Twice now waiting for a bus, i have been standing near an old lady with handbag and shopping etc, then she sees me in my casual clothes, picks up her bags and gives me a dirty look.

I must say, maybe in some aspects teenagers are worse than before (i.e. stabbings, teen pregnancies etc), but these sort of things may not have been exaggerated by media in the past.

Being a teenager myself, i must say the majority of us are good people, but there are a few that spoil it.

[Deleted]

Nov 3, 2009 16:27:20 GMT @truffles1234 said:

I am a teenager in sixth form college. Alot of the time, i hear the media going on about 'broken britain' and ignorant people saying things like 'it wasnt like this in the good old days'.

So i would like to ask the question- Are teenagers really worse than the past??

I have no experience of what teenagers were like, in say the 1960s, 70s, 80s etc, so what does everyone here think?

Personally, I think everything is completley blown out of proportion by the media (The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers come to mind! ;D). SOME people (especially the older generation) seem to have the assumption these days that ALL teenagers will rape, stab, murder, steal etc

Twice now waiting for a bus, i have been standing near an old lady with handbag and shopping etc, then she sees me in my casual clothes, picks up her bags and gives me a dirty look.

I must say, maybe in some aspects teenagers are worse than before (i.e. stabbings, teen pregnancies etc), but these sort of things may not have been exaggerated by media in the past.

Being a teenager myself, i must say the majority of us are good people, but there are a few that spoil it.

No, its ALWAYS been like that.

Teenagers have always been regarded by their elders as 'potential troublemakers'.

What HAS changed however, is the way news is collected and reported.

We now have 24/7 news channels, which have to be continually 'fed' with any old rubbish going, especially on a quite news day.

Look at all the hoo-ha on 'paedophiles'. They used to be called 'pervs' or dirty old men (regardless of their age).

Kids used to play out in the street, all day, every day. Not any more!

Because of media reportage, parents feel that the streets are not safe any longer.

Baloney! 'Stranger danger' is, by and large, an urban myth, as is the incidence of robbing, mugging and burglaries by teenagers.

Sex crime is no better, no worse in numerate terms, than it was 40 years ago. Most sex crimes are committed on and by family and 'friends'.

It is true with the increase in affluence, when young kids are walking around with up to a thousand quids worth of designer clothes, trainers, mobile phones, ipods and the like, then the have nots WILL take them off them.

Its like a bigger boy stealing my dinner money for the week, on a monday morning. Five Shillings (25 pence now).

No big deal by today's values, but it still p!ssed me off!

Nothing's changed. Greed is greed, misbehaviour is the same anywhere.

Yes, lax parental controls may had added to the problem, but not massively.

Most of the perception, and that's ALL it is, perception, is brought about by a news hungry media, who will jump on anything to fill their pages, columns and broadcast hours.


The trend to highlight 'knife and gun crime' is of course worrying. But lets keep it in perspective. How many people do YOU know who have been affected directly by it? Sure there WILL be some, as at one time you might get involved with one of the criminal gangs like the Krays or Richardsons.

Respect is a big word in some communities now.

WHY?

Respect needs to be earned, not demanded by threats of violence. Anyone needing to demand it is NOT worthy of it in the first place!

If you really want to see what kids got up to, or SOME of them anyway, find the film Quadrophenia on Sky.

It rolls around every few weeks, its agood film and gives you a good aspect of the 'leisure activities' of the great unwashed and hard up of the 1960's! ;D

[Deleted]

Thanks for a great and infomative reply there Bighat! I certainly agree with your points.
That film sounds good, I shall rent it out at some point

[RM5chris]

...and The Who are awesome. Try the album Quadrophenia exploring similar issues to the film complete with 'story' and accompanying photographs inside...

[iranair747]

I always try to be like the 'older teens' when out and respect everyone and ignore the unruly ones (once even a girl I dont even know or looked at while getting off the bus gave me a sort of slap on the head and got off. she was with friends and they laughed) but what makes me peeed off is that all you have to do to get something bad done to you is just be.
I allow people older than me on the bus before me (although a bit embarrased about giving my seat to a healthy elderly cause of my social anxiety but thats a different story) and always tell my friends off when they drop litter.

[lc1]

Nov 3, 2009 17:20:50 GMT @bighat said:

If you really want to see what kids got up to, or SOME of them anyway, find the film Quadrophenia on Sky.

It rolls around every few weeks, its agood film and gives you a good aspect of the 'leisure activities' of the great unwashed and hard up of the 1960's! ;D

Now that really IS a classic and one I'm ashamed to say I only watched for the first time about a year ago

Also I agree with what Bighat says, for example people say the downward spiral of anti social behaviour came about with the 'hoodie' however we had our own way of covering our faces about 20 years ago....it was called a scarf ;D also when I was younger if we got caught being anti social (knockdown ginger anyone?) we got a good shoeing, now whilst I don't necersarily agree with it, it certainly kept us in check

[greeny253]

With regards to anti-social behaviour.. This bus was out in service on the 165 for ONE DAY (Halloween night) and look at how it came back to the depot

[Steve09]

Nov 8, 2009 17:12:33 GMT greeny253 said:

With regards to anti-social behaviour.. This bus was out in service on the 165 for ONE DAY (Halloween night) and look at how it came back to the depot

Ouch, would seem someone doesn't like this bus, isn't it the same one which was attacked with paint

[greeny253]

Nov 8, 2009 17:25:13 GMT Steve09 said:

Nov 8, 2009 17:12:33 GMT greeny253 said:

With regards to anti-social behaviour.. This bus was out in service on the 165 for ONE DAY (Halloween night) and look at how it came back to the depot

Ouch, would seem someone doesn't like this bus, isn't it the same one which was attacked with paint

Yeah It's a shame really - I remember when this one entered service on the 296 (also as part of the private hire fleet at the time) so was shocked to find it on the D6 when I started at Dagenham. Thankfully it's one of ours again now

[Deleted]

I'll start by saying I'm an old git of 67, so for what it's worth, here's my opinion.
I think todays teens are worse than when I was a teen, many years ago! Now, why? It's not just the kids or teens. It's society. On my way to school when I was about 11, I pinched some apples from an orchard and got 6 of the cane because the owner saw me. I also got a belting when I got home! I didn't forget that, because I had no pocket money for 2weeks as well!

That was then. There was capital punishment, corporal punishment, National Service and respect for authority where a policeman could clip someone round the ear and drag you home. There was also The Black & White Minstrels on TV where people blacked up their faces and sang 'black' songs. Look at it now. There is no real punishment available to the court system, yobs (of ALL ages) vandalise bus shelters, buses (see the photo above) phones etc, and abuse and insult anyone they don't like for whatever reason and can literally get away with murder. (Remember Gary Newlove of Warrington?)
Society nowadays has lost the plot. Loonies and morons telling us "You can't do or say that because it might offend someone!" Before I retired, I got called into the office and was told to censor what I was thinking of saying, in case it offended someone who happened to be passing by!!!!!" You can imagine my reply! I told him to get stuffed! Only it wasn't 'stuffed'!!The loonies really are running the asylum. I 'm sorry that this is so depressing, but it is all so true. There is very little respect left for anyone or anything. No-one seems to give d*mn any more and those that do are treated as if they are aliens.

Mal (an old git and proud of it!)

[Deleted]

Nov 8, 2009 20:43:44 GMT @malc said:

I'll start by saying I'm an old git of 67, so for what it's worth, here's my opinion.
I think todays teens are worse than when I was a teen, many years ago! Now, why? It's not just the kids or teens. It's society. On my way to school when I was about 11, I pinched some apples from an orchard and got 6 of the cane because the owner saw me. I also got a belting when I got home! I didn't forget that, because I had no pocket money for 2weeks as well!

That was then. There was capital punishment, corporal punishment, National Service and respect for authority where a policeman could clip someone round the ear and drag you home. There was also The Black & White Minstrels on TV where people blacked up their faces and sang 'black' songs. Look at it now. There is no real punishment available to the court system, yobs (of ALL ages) vandalise bus shelters, buses (see the photo above) phones etc, and abuse and insult anyone they don't like for whatever reason and can literally get away with murder. (Remember Gary Newlove of Warrington?)
Society nowadays has lost the plot. Loonies and morons telling us "You can't do or say that because it might offend someone!" Before I retired, I got called into the office and was told to censor what I was thinking of saying, in case it offended someone who happened to be passing by!!!!!" You can imagine my reply! I told him to get stuffed! Only it wasn't 'stuffed'!!The loonies really are running the asylum. I 'm sorry that this is so depressing, but it is all so true. There is very little respect left for anyone or anything. No-one seems to give d*mn any more and those that do are treated as if they are aliens.

Mal (an old git and proud of it!)

I agree with many things you are saying mal! Society has turned ridiculous, with people concentrating on ridiculous rules, like being told not to say things unless it offends, like you said, and people saying things like 'dont do that, thats dangerous', instead of concentrating on things that matter.
I have heard many stories of my family doing things like winding up the conductor on buses, playing with fireworks, etc and it wasnt really seen a problem. But now, children are wrapped up in cotton wool and cant learn from their mistakes, as they are not allowed to make those mistakes!
But, at the same time, I do think teenagers havent changed that much. As far as I know, people my age in the 1960s, 70s etc arnt really that different from kids today from what Ive heard from other people from that generation....although i do think teenagers now are a little less respectful.
I think harsher punishments desperatly need to be made...to be honest I feel that I can get away with anything (not that I attempt to try!)
When I tell my friends to stop swearing in public or dropping littler, they have a right go at me, so maybe teenagers have lost alot of values and respect since a few decades ago...but I dont think teenagers are as bad as we really think.

[Deleted]

Thanks for that Alex! Sixth form College? I'd guess you are 17 or 18? I honestly didn't think that someone of your generation would agree with me! It just goes to prove that not all youngsters are arrogant obnoxious little gits!! Thanks for your support and keep your own standards and beliefs!

Mal

[Deleted]

Nov 10, 2009 9:15:01 GMT @malc said:

Thanks for that Alex! Sixth form College? I'd guess you are 17 or 18? I honestly didn't think that someone of your generation would agree with me! It just goes to prove that not all youngsters are arrogant obnoxious little gits!! Thanks for your support and keep your own standards and beliefs!

Mal

No problem