Looking at kids in the age group the older people have put me under and
after having always been a good 5 to 10 years ahead in age in my head
since I was a kid, all I can honestly say at the moment without
insulting anyone is what my friend says all the time:
Say a prayer for the youth of America.
With all the materialism, depression and self mutilation trends, body image issues which result in eating disorders, obsession
with catchy nonesense and the overwhelming obsession to be underground
/ uncool / dorky / emo / sXe / hXc / indie / hippie / hollywood
glamorous / ghetto fabulous.. A lot of youth I meet nowadays have no
real substance anymore. I use the MTA buses here in Los Angeles at least five days a week and on every trip I take, there are is at least one or two young teens who follow these trends.
They're just puppets of MTV, VH1, KIISFM and
KROQ, bringing in millions of dollars every year to corporations that
caters to kids on both ends of the high school social spectrum, like
Forever 21 and Hot Topic, by having today's youth sell out their
individuality in exchange for fitting in and blending in. "Express
yourself!" they say and they give every child the same expression
package within each category, such as the emo/goth/whatnot package complete with black clothes, black hair horribly miscut and covering half of one's
face, music from "different" bands that sounds the same, body
modifications, tattoos and razor blades.
Kids are being taught
that it's cool to be dramatic, it's cool to cut yourself and talk about
how much pain you're in. It's okay to mope around and wear tight black
pants and be on medication. On the bus that passes by Hollywood High School, I've overheard groups of kids talking about what anti-depressives they're on and how so&so does not know what real pain is because they weren't getting psychiatric help for it. To add to this, most of the kids looked alike! It's
apparently so sexy to look like every other individual of your gender on
MySpace with the same hair cut, the same clothes and the same make up that there are websites such as this one online giving samples.
I suppose that's a bit of a rant but it saddens me to see our youth going down this downward spiral that they may never come back up from. I feel old because I actually value loyalty,
honesty, trust, good manners, and love while today's youth I have observed honor..
well.. media fed nonesense.
I hope we can survive this... I really do. I'm scared for what kind of world I'll bring my children into.
While the media has had a huge effect on the youth of America today and has created a system of cliques and bland, identical crowds, I don't think that it is all to blame. I mean, I totally understand what you're saying and I agree, but I think that way a child turns out is an accumulation of factors including media, the way he or she is raised, the kind of people they fall in with, role models, etc. I personally am just at the end of that age group of which you're speaking and I, too, value honesty, loyalty, trust, good manners, and love and never really fell into a group or place where I didn't express what was really on my mind or in my heart and never got myself into a situation where I wanted to fit in or be like everyone else. I think a lot of that is just because I have a great mom who raised me to be totally comfortable with myself and be a good person to the best of my ability, and I think that it is partly because I've just always been the kind of person who is replused by same-ness, if that makes sense. I am, however, on antidepressants and can say that in my case they have helped me tremendously, because I do struggle with depression. However, I do think that it has become all to common to put a child on anti-depressants because one would assume that they're depressed when in fact they're just different from the norm.
I guess ultimately what I'm wanting to say is that yes, the majority of our youth has gone downhill, but it's not a hopeless situation because you can bring your child up to be a good person even if the majority of the people aren't. And it's important to remember that while sometimes it make look like the youth of america has become a huge, faceless mass of trends, lacking individuality, not everyone is so unfortunate as to become a part of that group. There's always hope.
Peace
Tahni
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"Tell me - if no one ever hears what you say, then why don't you shout it?" -- Floater
Don't feel too bad for us youth. I mean, yeah, there are a lot of stupid children out there who "individualize" themselves to fit in, but there are others that find it twice as much fun to act like ourselves and just not associate with the cliques. I mean, sure, I talk to skaters, stoners, goths, preps, jocks, etc. But I don't make an effort to fit in with them. I wear my hair however it falls that day, I wear blue jeans and a belt everyday. I make an effort to even wear a shirt that has been recently washed. So, yes, we need to pity those poor, unfortunate, stupid teens who've been brainwashed by the corporations, but there are still a few good seeds.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
I agree. It is sad the youth are acting.
I am not a religious person simply because that was the way I was raised. My parents were both in and out of jail for drug dealing. I bounced around from home to home. My entire life my goal was NOT to turn out the way my parents/family was. I have made my share of mistakes and have experienced many setbacks, but at the same time have made something better of myself.
I do not credit that to the media, religion, or my family. I had no role models, unless you count how dreamy Eminem was!
I simply had my OWN set of goals, ideas, and plans for my life. I think that children/teens need to stop blaming everything on the media.. society.. and their parents. Grow up and take responsibility for your life and your choices. It is really as simple as that!