Advantages And Disadvantages Of Being A Teenager

Teenage years can be a challenging time for many individuals. Beginning at the age of 11 through 20, adolescence is defined as a “transitional period in the human life span, linking childhood and adulthood” (Santrock 2009). At this point, the person is no longer a child, but not yet an adult. This makes it a very critical and sensitive time frame for identity formation.

At the age of 18 you should be considered an adult because, you are old enough to make decisions for yourself. You no longer have a curfew, which means you are responsible of making sure you are home at a decent hour. You will be expected to act like an adult, especially in the work field. People will start to look at you for promotions and higher paying jobs. You are now legal and the laws start to change for you, these laws make you more responsible as an adult and not just a minor. You have to be more cautious of what you are doing and think about how it’s affecting the law and the people

For those of us that are parents, we know that raising a child to adulthood is not an easy task but one which we do lovingly (hopefully) and responsibly. I’ll go out on a limb to say here that everyone agrees that the teenage years are the most challenging. The general consensus is that teenagers are unruly, aggressive, careless, spoiled and dependent on technology. On the other hand, I believe along with a small group of other parents that teenagers are also brilliant and in the process of becoming and reaching their potential and that they deserve much more respect than what they are given.

"There are two main features that seem to distinguish teenagers from adults in their decision making, during early adolescence in particular, teenagers are drawn to the immediate rewards of a potential choice and are less attentive to the possible risks. Second, teenagers in general are still learning to control their impulses, to think ahead, and to resist pressure from others."- Laurence Steinberg

When one compares the structure of the adult brain and the teenage brain, there will be several differences between the two. Adults have stronger connections from one nerve cell to another, and they all have essential communication skills. However, teenagers have more synapses and have weaker nerve connections. Also, their frontal lobes aren 't fully developed. This causes adolescence to have impulsive behavior and they typically do not recognize consequences in a situation. In the early twenties the brain becomes fully developed, so people are very good at making decision and they are able to think abstractly. There are many factors that contribute to the construction of the brain; some things help the brain develop normally, other things interrupt the process. There is a substantial amount of distinctions between the adult brain and the adolescent brain, and these includes behavioral and structural differences.

Being an adult is the number one thing that children want to be: The desire to get older to do things that you want when you want and having no one say otherwise. However, what is an adult? An ambiguous term that really falls into the hands of the individual, where at Sixteen you can drive, eighteen you can vote, and twenty-one you can drink, for those in the USA, all varying ages that individuals could use as indications of adulthood. Robin Heinig wrote and article “What is it about 20- somethings?” where she discusses Arnett’s proposal about a new developmental stage, “Emerging Adulthood”. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American professor in psychology, believes that we aren 't entering adulthood till the later portions of our twenties. For some, this may be true but for the general population including myself I find this hard to believe. Leo Hendry’s article, “How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example”, on emerging adulthood gives a deeper understanding to what this generation 's kids are going through. The late teens are a crucial part to the lives of a young adult. It 's the time that we spend trying to identify ourselves, escape the circumstance that we are put into at a younger age, or just had a better family income. Arnett is not wrong, but all other external factors need to be accounted for before we know, or even consider if emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage.

Being an adult seems easier than being a teenager because the adults make the rules and decisions. They choose our name, they make the decisions for us and what they say goes no matter what the outcome. In Anthem, they people are told where to go, what to do, how and when to do it, what to say, and who to speak with, but they are not told the reasons for what theyare doing because they live in a Dystopian society a lot like ours.

Experiencing life as an adult opens many doors; you are given the right to do many things that you aren’t able to do as a child.

There are many factors that constitute being an adult. An adult is much more than turning the age of 18. The definition in the dictionary states an adult means being completely grown: fully developed and mature. I think there is much more that defines an adult. In the United States an adult is considered to be someone who takes responsibility of themselves and their actions. An adult has stability in their life and is able to take care of themselves physically, mentally, financially and emotionally. In other countries and cultures there definition of an adult differs.

Ages eighteen through twenty-five is when you just graduate high school either take a break from school, got to college right away, start working, or maybe still undecided on what you want to do. There are more disadvantages than advantages when Americans tend to put off becoming full-fledged adults. Some of the advantages to this would be you could live stress free and not have to worry about school, or any big future plans at that moment. They can take these couple years to be reckless and young before they go off to college. They could take the time to work a part-time job get money either save it for college or spend it on things they want. You can go out with your friends and have a great time. You don't have to pay for health insurance

Adolescents try to figure out who they are in order to form a basic identity that they will build on throughout their life; whereas, older adults acquire a lifetime of self-knowledge, which leads to a more secure and complex understanding of themselves than at earlier ages.

What does it mean to be an adult? Does accountability make a person an adult? Does learning and improving on past experiences make someone an adult? Will caring for one’s self make somebody an adult? These are all small pieces to the puzzle but there is more to an adult then being a self-reliant, hardworking individual that pays their bills on time. In my opinion, you can be sixteen years old and be classified as an adult or twenty eight years old and not be an adult. Being an adult means that you are responsible, mature, and independent.

Adults usually make most of the decisions for young children, but adolescents must make many decisions on their own. For example, when I was a child, my mother would choose what I would wear for school and what was in my lunch box. But now, I have to choose what I will wear, what I will eat, what kind of job I want to have and many more different decisions.

When asked the question “When do you become an adult?” many people would give an age but in reality the answer isn’t that easy. To me adulthood is when you are able and willing to accept responsibility. If you cannot or will not be responsible, you have no right calling yourself an adult. What does make you a grown-up? Is it moving out of the house? Hitting a certain age? Having a relationship? Getting a job?” How is it that we can do. those things, that we consider to be “adult”, but we still feel like kids? Or that we feel like grown-ups, we're certainly old enough, but we haven't. seemed to have accomplished any of those things “grown-ups” have done? People never seem to quite understand the meaning of being an adult.” It has always seemed to me that age is irrelevant. You can be 12 and understand things better than a 30-year-old or you can be 40, have two PhD’s and still wonder if pigeons are migratory birds”.” Many people my age think that getting out of

I recently heard a quotation from a pediatrician who was stating: “It is ten times more difficult being a child than an adult, due to the many possibilities and choices you ought to be making”. Now, my own thesis on this is, when you are a teenager, you can multiply the diffuculty by a factor of fifty. A lot of young people find it very strenous taking the last step towards adulthood and their own independence. Especially when you have parents that, unconsciously or not, do not allow you to do so.