Adolescents: American Darlings or Problem Children?

While teenagers in America face a multitude of problems, they seem to gain much attention from everyone else about these troubles. Two analytical writings examine this component of society in America. The first, which is titled The Disease is Adolescence, is aptly named because of the subject matter it covers. An article that originally appeared in a 1993 issue of Rolling Stone, it discusses the problems teenagers are encountering today as seen through the eyes of one Californian pediatrician who has experience treating teenagers. A lengthy diatribe, it covers some of the dilemmas that occur, such as teenage pregnancy, gang wars, and suicide. It gives many fine examples, and uses the doctor's background as a special point in this article. After reading the grim representation of teenagers this writing presents, it is apparent that there is a need for preventive medicine, and other necessary steps must be taken to help curb these tribulations that teenagers are stumbling upon during their last years of childhood.

The second analytical writing is a bit more brief and cheerier in subject matter. Written more recently in 1999 for an online publication, this essay (titled The American Teenager) paints a rosier picture of the teenage portion of society. What is covered in depth is the obsession America has over the teenage population and how businesses and the media are appealing to this demographic. In fact "tyromania," as the writer refers to America's extravagant attention towards teens, plays a major role in economics today as teenagers represent a larger chunk of the consumers in society. Problems teenagers face are not mentioned as much in this piece as they were in the other article, but a comparison and contrast is made between Generation X (the possible focus of the other article) and Generation Y (the teenagers of the present and future, who seem to be faring much better than their predecessors). These articles are both similar yet different due to the time frame they were written and slight deviations in subject matter. As a result I believe teenagers still have many problems, but these difficulties are not as severe as they once were.

These two articles cover the same topic, but each takes a different view on the seriousness of teenagers' problems. There is agreement that teenagers have had problems in both writings. In The Disease is Adolescence, there one example of problems are: "...Teenagers who are suicidal and homicidal; victims of sexual abuse; sufferers of serious diseases, from asthma to AIDS; and kids who are addicts to everything from alcohol to crack and junk." (Foster, p. 538) Compare that to this excerpt from The American Teen-ager: "In the '80s, writing about teen-agers meant writing about rising pregnancy rates, drug use, and crime. Today, teen pregnancy, drug use, crime, dropout rates, and sexual activity are down." (Plotz, p. 624) This subset of the main idea happens to be covered in various ways in both writings. Take this gloomy theory from the first article: "She believes a festering generational grievance cuts across differences of income, ethnic background or particular trauma" (Foster, p. 544) Compare to this short tidbit from the second article: "According to polls, teens are optimistic." (Plotz, p. 624)There are far more examples of problematic teens and dangerous situations in The Disease is Adolescence than in The American Teen-age. As a result the first article is bound to be grim while the second is more optimistic. This actually is a good contrast and provides an alternative outlook on teenagers. I believe many readers would prefer to read the second writing over the first.

There is also a difference in facts and figures. There are more statistics and information in the first article, much of which contributes to the article's seriousness. Here is a short case in point from The Disease is Adolescence: "Consider this toll: 5,749 teens were killed - and tens of thousands injured - in automobile crashes in 1991. Among youths 10 to 19, 3,398 were murdered, and 2,237 killed themselves in 1990." (Foster, p. 539) This shocking figure delivers to the reader a feeling of despair and concern over these troubled youths. This statistic suggests that deaths among teens are an unfortunate common occurrence because of how they live. There are fewer numerical points in The American Teen-ager, but nevertheless they also make a point: "They are young, they have monstrous amounts of cash to spend - the average teen has $94 a week of disposable income! - and they'll be even richer when they grow up." (Plotz, p. 624) This is a cheerier sign that there is hope for teens, and maybe all of them will grow up to spend all their money.

There is also concern over how parents interact with their teens in both essays. The first essay discusses how parents can either be a positive or negative influence. An interesting illustration of this issue in The Disease is Adolescence is the case with the 14 year old being cared for by a pimp rather than her own parents. In her case, the pimp did a better job raising her than her parents, who were practically non-existent (Foster, p. 543). Contrast this to The American Teen-ager, where the writer mentions that often surveys show that parents are the leading role models in teenagers' lives. In fact, "articles about Gen Y...are fulsome about how well boomers are raising their tots, how intimately parent sand kids communicate, and how much kids admire mom and dad." (Plotz, p.625) It is generally accepted that parents' involvement in their teen's life is beneficial.

Despite their differing tones, both articles express some sort of concern over teenagers. However this concern is expressed differently in these two writings. Foster focuses on the health implications the problems teens have can cause, whereas Plotz focuses instead on the economic impact teens possess, and how teens today (Gen Y) stack up against teens of yesterday (Gen X). Foster makes more of an impact on the reader because of his writing and subject matter is more intriguing than that of Plotz's, which is a bit more informal and easygoing in flow. Foster has analysis and reality intertwined in his essay, and Plotz has pop culture as a principle in his. I am more inclined to believe readers will be drawn to Foster if they wish to read a serious account, while some will chose Plotz due to length and less bleak outlook on teenagers.

As stated earlier, teenagers today do not have as many problems as they once did. The proof of this is the sunny disposition given to teens today in The American Teen-ager, and there was even a hint of hope in the form of preventive medicine in The Disease is Adolescence. Will this trend continue? Perhaps, as evidence suggests in the second article. Teenagers have become popular because of "boomer self-obsession." (Plotz, p.625) Parents are paying more attention to their children in order to raise them as mirror images of their parents. However, Plotz is no correspondent with an extensive background like Foster. The second article may merely be giving a gilded edge to the problems still present today. How did the serious problems teens have arise in the first place? some ask. It was partly due to ignorance on society's part, and rapidly changing demographics, as seen as the baby boomer generation mentioned in the second article. Both articles do an excellent job in presenting this important crisis in society, as each article concentrates on different aspects. The first, The Disease is Adolescence, covers an earlier part of teenage dilemmas and centers on the severity of problems teenagers have and the implications they raise. The second, The American Teen-ager, presents how teens have improved and why America is now giving them the attention they should have received some time ago. It is relevant to keep in this mind today as to prevent a regression in the progress that evidently has been made in easing the predicaments teenagers once had. Teens may be happier today, and that is because they have less to worry about than they did a decade earlier.