The concept “adolescence” appears in the industrial society of the 19th century, and refers to a process of transition, of changes, not so much a defined stage.
Following current representations, adolescents would be full of shortcomings compared to an adult, since they are easily influenced by the media, they give a lot of importance to groups, they love to be the center of attention, they think they are constantly being watched, they They are characterized by impulsivity and not thinking about the consequences of their actions, they are “plagued” by internal conflicts, obsessed with sex and are foolish for believing that situations are easily modifiable. But is this definition of adolescents real or just a stereotype? Furthermore, when you make that sketch of teenagers, who are you comparing them to: with any adult, or with an idealized adult?
In postmodern society they were not labeled as individuals full of negative aspects but on the contrary, they were valued as mature and refined people, with reformist ideas. In fact, we could go so far as to say that at that time they were a social model, since many adults wanted to look like them. Perhaps, in part, we can say that currently there are people who once again consider adolescents as models because they are young and because certain qualities are also attributed to them, such as being carefree, happy and creative.
Who are they being compared to: any adult, or an idealized adult?
Adolescence is a very important time because the person is exploring, forming their identity, defining their tastes and differentiating themselves from others. To form his identity, and achieve more independence and autonomy, he distances himself from his parents (who until then were his main reference figure) and begins to feel more linked to those who are the same age as him.
Regarding what was said above that there are many negative ideas and stereotypes about adolescence, it is in the sense that certain issues are exaggerated. For example, regarding impulsivity, it is true that it can be greater in adolescents, and its factor (not cause) is the lack of maturity of the prefrontal cortex. Don’t teenagers know how to manage emotions? In part it will be due to having greater activity in the amygdala than in the frontal lobe (in adults the reverse happens), but, in any case, are these differences so great? The relationships between brain changes (which are very present during adolescence, until the age of 20, which is when the brain reaches maturity) and behavior are not causal. All behavior depends on many factors, there is never a single cause that explains it.
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Adolescence is influenced, as at any other time in life, by: the education received, the sum of experiences lived, possible events that may disturb the well-being of the person – such as deaths in the family environment, divorce, changes of residence, etc.
There are physical and biological changes (changes occur throughout life, although they are quite accentuated during puberty). Therefore, we must be critical of stereotypes about adolescence so as not to act in a biased way. It may be that what we think adolescents usually fulfill, such as rebellion, is not fulfilled by the person we are with but instead comes to fulfill it as a self-fulfilling prophecy. And what we think about other people greatly influences the way they behave, since, almost without realizing it, we will act differently towards them and their responses will vary.
If we treat a person as if he doesn’t know anything and we already say that he is “at a stupid age”, without stopping to see if he really has the behavior that we attribute to him for having reached a certain age, won’t he rebel against we? Will he not show anger and distance himself? The question remains open, although the answer seems clear.