Teens of Yesterday and Today
Teens of Yesterday and Today
This century has brought significant changes to the world. Technological progress has boosted both mobility and industrial production levels, while globalization has enhanced communication around the world and made socio-political ideologies exchanges possible. For example, one can refer to the political revolutions in different parts of the globe; the Arab Spring and the continuing political upheaval in Syria, in particular. Taking these, and many other factors, into consideration, one could say that social processes today and those about a hundred years ago, are almost incomparable. At the same time, particular social groups, such as teenagers, become overexposed to the effects of these socio-political and technological changes. This fact can be easily noticed when evaluating modern youths’ preoccupations, hobbies and behavior, as well as analyzing how they use leisure time, compared to their counterparts a century ago. This paper compares the daily lives of today’s teenagers and the lives of teenagers a century ago.
Today’s teenagers use many types of technological gadgets, such as, computers, TV sets, smart phones and tablets, both at school, and at home. They also seem to be studying with the help of technology. Actually, the latter now sometimes takes the place that had, traditionally, been left to parents and teachers. This refers not only to the teaching material, but also to some social and communication skills. Young people have become one of the main target audiences for social media, and waste a lot of time on social networks instead of using it to conduct more constructive activities. Goodstein writes that “…teenagers have captured the imagination of marketers as the most coveted, yet fickle, demographic”.
Modern teenagers are also more educated than a hundred years ago. One of the effects of an easily accessed education is that youths have become more dynamic and socially active. They now tend to question, and test,
This century has brought significant changes to the world. Technological progress has boosted both mobility and industrial production levels, while globalization has enhanced communication around the world and made socio-political ideologies exchanges possible. For example, one can refer to the political revolutions in different parts of the globe; the Arab Spring and the continuing political upheaval in Syria, in particular. Taking these, and many other factors, into consideration, one could say that social processes today and those about a hundred years ago, are almost incomparable. At the same time, particular social groups, such as teenagers, become overexposed to the effects of these socio-political and technological changes. This fact can be easily noticed when evaluating modern youths’ preoccupations, hobbies and behavior, as well as analyzing how they use leisure time, compared to their counterparts a century ago. This paper compares the daily lives of today’s teenagers and the lives of teenagers a century ago.
Today’s teenagers use many types of technological gadgets, such as, computers, TV sets, smart phones and tablets, both at school, and at home. They also seem to be studying with the help of technology. Actually, the latter now sometimes takes the place that had, traditionally, been left to parents and teachers. This refers not only to the teaching material, but also to some social and communication skills. Young people have become one of the main target audiences for social media, and waste a lot of time on social networks instead of using it to conduct more constructive activities. Goodstein writes that “…teenagers have captured the imagination of marketers as the most coveted, yet fickle, demographic”.
Modern teenagers are also more educated than a hundred years ago. One of the effects of an easily accessed education is that youths have become more dynamic and socially active. They now tend to question, and test,