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Explanation:
Teenage Behavior
adapted from a transcript of an American radio broadcast by Robin Baseline
and Joshua Leo
‘You know a child is growing older when he stops asking where he came from. And he
starts refusing to tell you where he is going.’
‘Younger children are a pain in the head; older children are a pain in the heart.’
‘Teenagers say that there is nothing to do. Then they stay out all night doing it.’
These sayings about teenagers are supposed to be funny. But they are often true! Being a
teenager can be exciting. But the teenage years can also be difficult. David Dobbs wrote
about teenage behaviour in National Geographic Magazine: ‘One morning in May, my
17-year-old son called me. He told me that he had just spent a few hours with the state
police. He said he had been driving ‘a little fast’. What, I asked, was ‘a little fast’? He had
been driving down the road at over 180 kilometres an hour. I said: “That’s more than a
little fast!”’
Many other parents have similar stories to tell about their own teenagers. Teenagers often
take risks, try new things and spend time with friends. But this behaviour is more than
just fun. Some experts believe that this is how teenagers learn to become
successful adults.
During these teenage years, there are some behaviours that are very common. For example,
teenagers often stay out late at night. Their emotions and ideas change quickly. And they
often disagree with their parents.
In the past, scientists have asked why teenagers have these ‘problems’. But David Dobbs
explains that scientists have found a new way to look at teenage behaviour. They have
found that teenagers are doing exactly the right thing. They are getting ready to move
from the safety of home into the outside world. A teenager must learn to be independent.
Scientists have found three main behaviours that help teenagers achieve independence.
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First, teenagers often take risks. Risks can lead to danger. But learning to take some risks
can be good for teenagers. Through human history, many people who took risks gained
something good. Experts say that teenagers feel very strongly that they have something
to gain. And they are more likely to take risks in front of other teenagers. In this way,
they gain acceptance from other teenagers. Abigail Baird, a psychologist who studies
teenagers, says that a teenager who takes more risks and seeks new experiences does
better as an adult.
The second way teenagers learn independence is by seeking out new experiences.
These new experiences may be activities like playing sports or they could be unhealthy
activities such as smoking cigarettes. Some experiences involve risk-taking which may
be dangerous. David Dobbs writes: ‘Seeking new experience can lead to dangerous
behaviour. But it can also produce positive behaviour – like the urge to meet more
people, for example. This can create a wider circle of friends. This often makes us
healthier, happier, safer and more successful.’ Like taking risks, experience usually leads
a teenager to become a more successful adult. Adults must face many new experiences.
Teenagers who have had new experiences - both good and bad – are more prepared for
adult life. It is this desire for new experience that pushes the teenager.
There is a third and last behaviour that helps teenagers gain independence and become
adults. Teenagers like to be around people of their own age. Their friends are very
important. They are learning the skills of surviving in a community. David Dobbs explains
this also: ‘Teens want to be around people in their age group for a powerful reason.
They want to invest in the future instead of the past. We enter a world made by our
parents. But we will live most of our lives in a world run by people our own age.
Knowing, understanding, and building relationships with them is very important for
success.’ They are preparing to be social adults in their communities.
So there are good reasons for teenagers to take risks, try new things and spend time
with friends. Knowing this does not make the teenage years easier. Teenagers will
still make mistakes. But hopefully their teenage behaviour will help them to become
successful adults.
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