Well, let me tell you, these younger teens nowadays, they’re somethin’ else. My old bones can barely keep up. Back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy gadgets. We played outside ’til the sun went down. These kids today, their faces are always glued to them little screens.
They call ’em smartphones, I think. Smart for who, I don’t know. Seems like they make everyone a little dumber if you ask me. All that clickin’ and tappin’. What’s wrong with talkin’ face to face? Or pick up the phone call, that’s nice.
And the things they do on those phones! Snappin’ pictures of everything. Who needs a picture of your lunch? Just eat it! And that social media, that’s a whole other can of worms. Younger teens are always comparin’ themselves to everyone else. It’s trouble, I tell ya.
The social problems
- They got problems we never even thought of. Like, what’s that thing they call “cyberbullyin’”? Sounds awful. Back in my day, if someone was mean to you, you dealt with it face to face. Now, these youngers hiding behind screens. Not good.
- And they worry about how many “likes” they get. Likes! What even is that? We worried about gettin’ our chores done and stayin’ outta trouble. These younger teens, their whole world is online.
- They also don’t go outside, just stay inside and watch that box. They should go out and play, just like we used to do.
It ain’t all bad, though. These younger teens, they’re smart in their own way. They know how to work all them computers and whatnot. And they can find information about anythin’ in a jiffy. We had to go to the library for that. Remember the library?
But they struggle, these kids. They got a lot of pressure on ’em. School is harder, I reckon. And the world is a scary place. Lots of bad things happenin’. They see it all on their phones, you know? We were more sheltered, I guess. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.
What they do all day?
And they’re always busy, these younger teens. Between school and their activities and their phones, they don’t have time to just be kids. When they have free time, I think they are always shopping and buying new clothes, and going to parties. And they are always with friends, maybe playing games. They love the games. They also like watching movies, maybe with popcorn.
They’re always runnin’ around, goin’ here and there. We used to just stay home and help our folks. Different times, I suppose. These younger teens also want to travel the world, see new places. That’s good, I guess. Broadens your horizons, as they say.
I worry about ’em, though. They seem sad sometimes. Lost, maybe. They got so many choices, it’s overwhelmin’. We didn’t have that problem. Our path was pretty much laid out for us. These younger teens, they gotta figure it all out on their own. And with all that social media tellin’ ’em who to be and what to do, it’s hard to know who you really are.
Emotional stuff
They got these big words for it now, like “emotional well-being”. They talk about feelings a lot. We didn’t do that much. You just kept your chin up and kept goin’. But maybe it’s good they talk about it. Maybe it helps. I do not know what’s “emotional and social well-being”. These younger teens like to join some community, they said that’s inclusive and supportive. Whatever that means.
I just hope they find their way. These younger teens, they’re our future, you know? We gotta help ’em along, even if we don’t understand all their newfangled ways. They need our love and support, just like we did when we were young.
What they want?
I asked some of the younger teens what they want. They told me they want to do something meaningful with their lives. But they also worried about money. These younger teens said that they are not happy. They said the world is not good. I don’t know, the world is not that bad.
They also said they don’t know how to deal with all these technologies. It’s too much for them. I agree, it’s even too much for me. These younger teens are just kids. They should not worry too much.
So, yeah, these younger teens, they’re a different breed. But they’re good kids, most of ’em. Just gotta give ’em a chance and try to understand where they’re comin’ from. And maybe turn off those darn phones once in a while. Go outside and get some fresh air. That’s what I always say.
Maybe I will show them how to play hopscotch. That’s good fun for younger teens. Yeah, hopscotch.
