Why teenagers are rebellious and why its good.

I strongly believe (even observed) that the whole "teenage rebellion" is more or less a modern American phenomenon. At least in my experience of teenage Vietnamese (a few years ago, at least), as well as reading of various literature regarding this age group, the teenagers are not THAT bad. True, they are immature, but at least they obey the authority imposed upon them (aka families, schools, etc.). Rebellions do exist, and even at slightly higher rate than other age group, but they are still exceptions, not norms as how American parents and adults describe their children/younger siblings.<p>I think the whole ordeal is, more or less, the result of various views on how humans (children especially) should be educated:<p>* The whole hyper-freedom-worshiping culture (even one's freedom will result in destruction of the society and one's future) removes any restriction on behaviors of teenagers, and prevent any effective discipline/self-control training for a young child<p>* The uniquely-me-esteem-inflation movement destroys any incentive to obey (or even pay attention to) advices/authority of adults, who are clearly wiser and more mature. After all, if everyone is completely unique, why listen?<p>* The no-child-left-behind-but-no-pressure (in conjunction with the inflation above) ideology results in an education system that is so easy and low-pressure that teenagers have way too much time and energy left in their hands. Oh, and if you fail, that's fine, you are unique either way, it's just you ain't fit to the current system (and we will lower the expectation so you will pass).<p>All in all, American teenagers receive insufficient training (in discipline/self-control), have absolutely no incentive to listen to anyone, are under no pressure and challenging expectation, but possess obscene amount of free time.<p>And you blame THEM for screwing up.

This article fails to mention that one big reason why teenagers rebel is to make their parents feel better about them leaving the nest by increasing emotional rejection.<p>&#62; These studies show that reproductive maturation and pubertal timing are both contextually and socially mediated and accelerated by intrafamilial stress. Therefore, the literature demonstrates that pubertal maturation both provokes and follows from increased parent-child conflict. In sum, this new research has demonstrated that pubertal timing can no longer be viewed as only a physiological and hormonal process but must be examined in association with social and psychobiological processes.<p><a href="http://education.ucsb.edu/jimerson/adolescenceissues/ADmomrel.html" rel="nofollow">http://education.ucsb.edu/jimerson/adolescenceissues/ADmomre...</a>

Is it proper to study canine pyschology via dogs kept chained all day long? It helps you understand the chained dog, if that is your goal --- but it doesn't teach you the nature of the dog. I'd like to see studies of teenagers raised neurosis free --- not studies of kids who have been dominated and forced to submit all their lives (which is the essence of American moral conditioning), filling them with repressions that finally reveal themselves during adolescence as antisocial behavior.

I read an article some time ago (sadly, I forget where/when) which put forward the hypothesis that our teenage years are actually the only ones in which our minds are "correct"- every emotional experience is more intense, hearing music for the first time is life-changing, etc...<p>It's an interesting thought. And perhaps slightly depressing.