Moody Teenagers – The Chemical ‘Romance’!

After reading this article on ‘Moody Teenagers’ I thought I’d blog a few ‘control points’.

The gist is this: A £5 million research grant has been given to a bunch of Cambridge research scientists to study the chemical balances and patterns of 14-24 year old’s brains. The aim is to discover what make them overly ’emotional,’ ‘impulsive,’ and ‘moody’.

The hypothesis behind the article is that during teenage years the more primitive areas of the brain are switched on and develop faster than rational areas. The brain is therefore carrying a lot of ‘evolutionary baggage’ that isn’t necessarily distinctly human which is responsible for teenage behavior and emotions.

The evidence? Well, they possibly see it in some reptiles and some less complex mammals. They also hope this study will show it too.

By the wonders of science, they’re even hoping they can ‘accelerate’ the maturing process of the brain’s wiring so parents, teachers, and indeed us youth workers can catch a break!

With the study going ahead I thought I’d list off some ‘control’ areas that people might want to consider before dismissing teenage behavior as an evolutionary baggage or dodgy brain wiring. As much as we’d all love to find quantifiable reasons to write teenagers off, perhaps there’s more to their life than simply chemical imbalances.

In no particular order:

• Teenagers today sit exponentially more exams than any other generation before.
• Teenagers face unquenchable pressure to perform from parents, teachers, councilors, the media, the postman, the dog, themselves, their friends, and just about everyone else in the known universe.
• Teenagers are constantly written off by the media as being hoodies and hooligans, while at the same time told their exams are getting easier and all their choices are soft options.
• Teenagers move in about 15 distinct social circles whereas the rest of us move in about 5.
• Teenagers are the target generation for cyber-bullying, sexting culture, online predators, serious fraping, and the isolated wonders of being internet-dependent.
• Teenagers are also the target generation for the vast majority of popular culture marketing including gadgets, clothes, diets, sex, sportswear, music, TV, games, and everything else that will sub-culturally brand them by what they can afford.
• Teenagers – who don’t have the luxury of independence – live in constant fear of judgement of their appearance and lifestyle which they have little or no control over. They need to live a certain way to avoid stigmas, but rely on others to provide it.
• ‘Evolutionary baggage’ apart, teenagers go though the most bodily changes in their lives during all of the nonsense above.
• Teenagers today are growing up in more broken homes than any other generation before.
• Teenagers have very few places to discuss and manage their confusion and pain that they can trust and that are marketed to them clearly.
• Teenagers today are far more likely to become pregnant, engage in self harm, commit suicide, take drugs, start smoking, view pornography, or drink underage than any other generation before.
• Teenagers are taught to treat adults who act sympathetic and compassionate toward them as potential dangers.
• Teenagers have less chance of getting a job after they leave uni today than any other generation before.
• Teenagers today will work at least 15 jobs in their lives and will more likely spend a considerable portion of their working life unemployed.
• Teenagers benefit from being at the short end of the cuts-stick. Libraries, museums, youth centers, youth programs, and sports centers are closing down around them whereas rest-homes and failing small businesses abound.
• Teenagers living in poverty have a fraction of the amount spent on them that adults living in poverty do.
• Teenagers are told to go to uni at a ridiculous price, with little or no hope of getting a job at the end. Uni for many now is simply unaffordable and impractical, but they are seen as second rate if they don’t go.
• Teenagers at uni right now are reporting significant lack of value for money in their studies.
• Teenagers have no vote, no place in the process, no say and no voice in the decisions the government is making that will affect their futures more than anyone else’s.
• Teenagers are a convenient scape goat. The recent riots – which were most significantly participated in by over 18 year-olds – were blamed almost exclusively on teenagers.
• Teenagers are rarely treated seriously for the issues and pressures that they face.
• Teenagers have the freedom of social and artistic expression that many adults long for. Thus much of teenage expressionism is treated badly from – lets face it – sour grapes!

So do we think there could be other reasons for teenagers being emotional, impulsive,  moody and unable to express themselves? I can think of a few better ways to spend £5 million on teenagers.