1.) Hine, The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager
2.)
Argument
Thomas Hine argues that the definition and
experience of a teenager has changed over time and is a socially constructed
idea. Hines draws examples from
different fields, such as history, psychology, marketing, etc, to show how
teenagers have been represented. Hine explains how teenagers are grouped
together simply by their age, and are expected to act in immature ways and are
not given enough credit to fulfill their potential. Instead of considering each
teenager as an individual, people (adults, in particular) see teenagers as an
irresponsible group whom are not ready to understand the world as somebody
older would.
Hine talks about the teenage period
nowadays being longer than previously before. Before, teenagers were working
and had more independent lives, whereas now, schooling has become longer and
teenagers and young adults are more dependent.
Just by the way we live our lives, our place in society is viewed
differently. Hine also talks about how
our maturity level and place in the world is judged by our size. Young people
who are physically bigger or look older can be thought of as acting older and more mature.
These two examples show how being a teenager is socially constructed and varies
based on how one acts or looks.
Hine also gives examples of how teenagers
are viewed negatively by different people. Hine tells the story of a girl who
gave birth at her high school prom and whose baby was found dead. Some people
weren’t shaken by this story because they expected a teenager to not be
emotionally mature for a baby. Hine also talks about how teenagers are expected
to be doing things like shoplifting, smoking, drugs, or other behaviors that
need to be watched carefully.
Toward the end of the chapter, Hine gives
examples of how teenagers now are actually more motivated to go to school and
optimistic about their future. This
shows how teenage stereotypes can be incorrect and how judging teenagers is not
a smart move.
3.) For
Class
This chapter had a lot of information and was a little tough
to read, for me. I summed up Hine’s argument as I understood it. I am interested in seeing how other people interpreted
Hine’s argument and what their reaction to the text was.
"Being a teenager is socially constructed and varies based on how one acts or looks"
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it varies points directly to the fact that it is a social construction. Hine points to various changes throughout history about the representation of "youths" which also points to the fact that this is a social construction. After all, if it was a "fact of life" or "growing up" wouldn't it be stagnant (in representation) throughout time?
I personally wondered what was Hine's point in bringing up the story of the girl giving birth during prom and discarding her baby. It almost seems like Hine is supporting the idea that teenagers are not "ready" to be adults--when I thought he was trying to argue against generalizations and the "cannon" of teenage behavior.
Thanks for sharing. :)
"Hine explains how teenagers are grouped together simply by their age, and are expected to act in immature ways and are not given enough credit to fulfill their potential"
ReplyDeleteI found this specific quotation very important to the understanding of how social constructionism can psychologically affect the behaviors of young people. When you are constantly thrown a specific identity of who you are and who you should be you will eventually be influenced to act in these ways. Unbenounced to us we do not realize that during these occurrences we have inner conflicts of we don't feel like we have our own identity because we perform in ways that our such a collective way of doing things in the world as a "teenager" should.