Do teenagers have it harder now than they did 30 or even 40 years ago?

Question

What do you think?

Well I'm 15 and my life is horrible my family doesn't buy me gifts I have to work for everything. My parents run off every guy I try and date. I have some many tests to take or I can't graduate. My mum has threatened to place me in a foster home because she can't live with me anymore. I have two little sisters. I live in a two bedroom trailer and I get a stack of homework that reaches the ceiling each day.

Answer 1

I believe they do,

Answer 2

Yes, for reasons that overcrowding and lack of more good parenting skills has produced. And the student/teacher ratio should be 10/1 and no more. Our teachers spend more of their time trying to keep the class on track with 2 or 3 or 4 disruptive students tearing it up in the elementary school room, instead of actually teaching and being heard. That is why so many teachers tell the parents to get their kid on "meds." Then we have all these other influences hitting today's teens from every direction.

It is no wonder why so many teens have trouble "fitting" into middle and high school. There is never enough counseling in school where it would be an easier and more advantagous opportunity to help young adults cope with their lives. As a matter of fact, interpersonal skills (coping skills) should be taught at the elementary level, then refreshed every year all the way through graduation. People need to learn how to live - a lot of us grow up without this precious knowledge.

At what cost to our society and to our planet in general?

Answer 3

I think that depends on what aspect you look at. In a way, teenagers now have so many more opportunities than back in the 60s and 70s. They also have a bunch of technology that teens in the past didn't have. Also, the world is a lot more open now, accepting all types of people into society.
I don't necessarily think the teenage lives of today are more difficult than when their parents were their age. In fact, teens throughout the whole 20th century were a lot alike. They were into basically the same stuff: fitting in, looking good, having fun.
Sure, kids today may have more responsibilities, but that varies from household to household, and there were different views of what was acceptable.
So really, it's all stayed pretty much the same, except for trends in technology and clothes.

Answer 4

Yes. Everything is more intense these days. The clothing and everything is extremely expensive. There is pressure to wear those odd pants and shirts, blouses, sweatshirts, etc. The shoes must be the latest athletic shoes (gym shoes, really) and cost $100 or more. Everyone must walk on eggs as to be concerned what another person is thinking about their appearance. I am an adult who doesn't care about that mess!!! When I was younger, I didn't care then. My thing was to save money by opening a bank account. I put in $1.00 to open this account. I added every cent I could get by shoveling snow, cutting grass, grocery shopping, cleaning folk's homes and even helping with babysitting. Guess what? My folk had money but that didn't guarantee my "pockets." I didn't want to ask for money when I could make my own. Believe me, there were lots of things that other people didn't want to do. That's where I stepped in. I always told the truth and was on "time." This is all that my customers wanted. Actually, people were calling me when they needed help because they knew that I wouldn't steal anything from them as well. This turned out well for me. Remember this, What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31. The Lord daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah - Psalm 68:19. When you step into any building, private or public, quietly say "Peace Be To This House." - Luke 10:5. If you have any other concerns, read Psalm 35 (Plead My Cause), on a daily basis. Yes, it is indeed long, but it is worthwhile. The Lord will hear your plea for help and will oversee that you go down the right path. He will make a success out of your ongoings. Peace, Love and God Bless.

Answer 5

Can't be answered with a yes or a no because some teenagers 30 years ago had terrible lives and some teenagers today have horrible lives. You just can't generalize and say everyone had it easier then or now. Personally, I sometimes wonder if anyone truly enjoys or enjoyed their teenage lives. There are so many hormonal changes, ups and downs, parents seem to cause lots of angst as do siblings and friends, teachers, etc. Finding out who you are is a hard job and teenagers have to do it if possible so they can decide what career path to take.

Answer 6

I think that yes, they do. It seems like there is no time left to just be young. The world forces teenagers to grow up and make very serious choices way too early. In my day, I had never heard of a kid getting shot or knifed for a nice pair of tennis shoes. There was no drug usage in my youth. Families stayed together, mom stayed at home or worked only part time. The family ate meals together. I know, I sound like an old fogey, but I don't think I would survive being a teenager in this day and time.

Answer 7

Working class teens have it much harder. Two working parents, nothing to do and if they don't get a good education and get lucky with a job search they are going to have a much harder life. Our society is much more paranoid today even given the fact that the cold war is over.


30 or 40 years ago you could get a pretty good job with just high school.

Get this. In my part of the country 35 years ago carpenters were making about $14 an hour with union benefits. Today there is no union here and carpenters are making around $14 an hour if they are lucky, no benefits.

Answer 8

It is a much harder and scarier time for teens. Years ago you kids could play outside until sundown and that was the norm. Now there are abductions, gangs violence and recruitment in elementry schools. The internet is cool for some but can be bad for teens. You have sex chats, blogs, myspace, out for humiliation or much worse. School is harder there is so much more to know and there are fewer oppertunies for anyone without a college degree. Teens are having babies as young as 9 and it is more frequent than ever. I wish I lived back 30 years at least.

Answer 9

Society has changed & made things more difficult. The schoolwork itself is easier now, lower standards. The teens are torn in too many directions now--TV, cellphone, the net, land phone, game machines, friends, homework, school-connected social issues, family issues because so many people divorce & remarry. A teenager needs to insulate him/herself from some of this, don't get pulled in too many directions!

Answer 10

I was a teen 30 years ago and the answer is yes, for several reasons. The worst STD we could catch could be cured with a shot - no AIDS! Our parents wouldn't allow us to date until we were 16 and a large number of girls have had sex or gotten preg. by age 16. At 13 we played with Barbies and the girls now dress like Barbies and look 25!

Answer 11

Definitely. There is too much to choose from in the way of entertainment, and boredom is much more rampant.
Farm kids had chores to do, and were lucky if there was time to go out on a Saturday night. Also, society was a lot less accepting of almost everything a teen can get away with now. In my grandmother's day, a boy and girl had to be chaperoned. In my mother's day, a "lady" had to be given a cup holder for her Coca Cola, because it wasn't acceptable for her to hold the glass with her bare hands!!
That sounds like the opposite of what I said, but teens were less likely to get into trouble, and teen pregnancies with so many moral police.
In my day, the Hippie era broke out, and we unfortunately paved the way for promiscuity, drugs, long hair on guys, and no bras.