Troubled Youth in Modern America: Are Our Youth Really as Troubled as We Think They Are?

Even as far back as the times of Socrates, 469 - 399 BC adults were shaking their heads at the younger generation as captured in one of his quotes. "Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers."

For as long as there has been civilized society, one generation has almost always believed it to be superior to the next. If this were truly the case, then as Richard Rothstein writes in his (New York Times - 10/24/2001) article entitled, "Hindsight gives history its 'best' young soldiers" , "...we could find a nation of demigods living not too far back in time."

Now, fast-forward to the 20th century.
1920's - Youth were angry at the older generation because they felt that they had just murdered millions of young boys in World War I, so they stopped obeying the conventional rules and began their own sub-culture. This youth culture included the young driving around in their own cars, drinking (which had been made illegal in 1919), and 'petting' with people they weren't married to.

1930's - A book published in 1936 called "The Lost Generation" claimed adolescents suffered from widespread mental illness. An article published that same year in the Harper's Monthly Magazine, claimed that young people behaved "without thought of social responsibility." Also during this decade and anti-drug agency reported that "dope peddlers infest our high schools."

1940's - Because American men are fighting in WWII, teenagers are easily able to find work, and they become a recognized force in the American economy. Seventeen Magazine is established in 1944 and the advertisements begin to specifically target teen-aged consumers. Also during this time, the term and concept of 'juvenile delinquent' becomes more prominent due to fathers being in the war and mothers working.

1950's - This decade was probably the least turbulent between generations, of the 20th century. The experts say this was a fluke because of specific circumstances that came together all at once. With the end of WWII, and the beginning of the Korean War, there was a wave of conservatism and anti-communism among all American citizens. Magazines encouraged mothers to stay at home, so that fathers could have full employment after fighting in the war. There was economic affluence since the war had ended. Many working-class citizens became middle class citizens, there was a mass movement of families from the cities into developments in the suburbs. The word "teenager" entered into the American vocabulary. However, with all the peace and harmony that existed in the 1950's, there were still a few aspects of a 'rebel' youth culture. Elvis, rock n' roll and the dance moves that came with it, shocked parents. A few other trademarks of the 1950's teens were black leather jackets, duck tail hairstyles, tight jeans worn low on the hips, tight t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up, and a pack of cigarettes in the rolled up sleeve, supped up cars and motorcycles.

1960's - The 60's decade brought the next big teen rebellion after the 1920's. 70 million post-war babies became teenagers or young adults. These were the proverbial "baby-boomers." They opposed the Vietnam War, but they could be drafted into the military at 18 years old and did not have the right to vote (voting age changed to 18 in 1971). This brought many debates and protests to college campuses. The big sub-culture was called the Hippie Movement. Their motto was, "Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll." They opposed violence and liked the saying, "Make Love, Not War." The Woodstock Festival in which 400,000 young people gathered in the spirit of love and sharing represent the pinnacle of the hippie movement. They also turned away from mainstream Christian religions and turned to mystic Eastern religions. Great social changes were also made during this time, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Liberation movement.

1970's - Major trends of the 70's included a continuation of issues from the 60's. There was growing disillusionment of the government, further advances in civil rights and the women's liberation movement. A president and a vice president resigned from office. Four students were killed by national guardsmen at Kent State University as they attempted to stem the continuing anti-war demonstrations. Mandatory busing often led to violence and disruption in classrooms. Abortion became legalized with the Roe V. Wade decision and a mass suicide occurred in one of the larger destructive cults of its time. 900 Peoples Temple Followers and the cult leader, Jim Jones, took their lives in Jonestown, Guyana.

1980's - The 1980's became nick-named the "me-generation". This term was coined to once again describe the trends in the baby-boomer generation. Divorce rates rose, as did the number of unmarried couples living together. There were many single parent families who were struggling financially. Also, there was the opposite extreme of more double-earner households with fewer children. The "latch-key" kids described kids who went home to empty houses after school because both parents were working to earn more money. Status, power and money were considered the most important. The most popular college major was that of Business Management. New millionaires were 'born' from many mega-mergers. One author dubbed the 1980's baby-boomers as the "splurge-generation."Video games, aerobics, minivans, camcorders, MTV, slam dancing, break-dancing, punk rock music and designer labels became a part of everyday life. There was huge economic inflation. During the 1980's, the presidents were Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Ronald Reagan declared war on drugs, while his wife, Nancy Reagan began a highly influential campaign against drugs called, "Just Say NO."
Towards the end of the decade George Bush wanted to set the tone for a kinder, gentler nation.

1990's- The 1990's was the electronic age in full force. PC's made their ways into individual homes and the internet was born in 1992. By 1994, 3 million people were o line and by 1998, 100 millionwere online. Young people were using internet lingo and cell phones. The media was covering a lot of violence and sex scandal stories. The Tailhook Scandal was about the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fliers who were accused of sexual abusing twenty-six women. President Clinton was also being accused by several women of sexual misconduct. The 90's were also marked by a lot of violence. The U.S. played the role of world policeman, arbitrator, enforcer and peacekeeper. We had troops in Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Yugoslavia. There were also the L. A. Riots over white police officers being acquitted of police brutality during an arrest of a black man which was caught on a citizen's personal video camcorder. The first bombing in the garage of the World Trade Center in New York City occurred as well as the ATF raid on the Branch Davidian Cult in Waco Texas, which killed many inside the cult's compound. O. J. Simpson, a black, former football hero was being accused of murderinghis white wife, Nicole and her white friend Ron Goldman (in California). American citizen and former U.S. soldier, Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, killing many women, children and men. Finally, there were at least fourteen incidents of school shootings between February 1996 and April 1999, the worst being that which took place in Colorado at Columbine High School, where two students killed fourteen students and one teacher. They wounded 23 students. Ritalin became a popular drug of choice among schools and parents for the many students who were being labeled as ADD or ADHD.

If it were true that each generation before the last was just a bit better than the following generation, we would only have to look back about a century to find the perfect Utopian society, but we have yet to discover such a time and place. Just as each teenager has to grow up and break away from his parents, each generation must collectively do the same. This is a natural part of the process of the human race growing and changing. This does not however, mean that our teens are in imminent danger of doing catastrophic harm. It does mean we must continue to allow future generations to grow and change as we perhaps focus on a lot of the good that comes from these changes rather than obsessing with the mistakes that are made.

We must stop trying to save future generations from themselves. This will only stunt growth and create crippling dependence, which will in turn create future generations that truly are inadequate compared to the generation that came before them. It is at this point when the human race really will be in danger of dying off.