Coming Of Age And Adolescence In The 21st Century

Erikson theorizes that in such a period, adolescents have certain tasks, one of which is identifying who they are. An individual successfully completes the task by staying true to his or her self, whereas when a person fails that stage, it leads to role confusion; consequently creating a weak sense of self. (Block 2011). The stage also entails a variety of personal challenges and limitations faced as well as a series of needs to be met, including: attention, guidance, independence, stability, and acceptance, among other needs. Meeting an adolescent’s needs is fundamental to their healthy development and personal growth. Nevertheless, adolescence remains as puzzling of a period in time for both the teens experiencing it, as well as for the individuals surrounding them, watching them as they navigate through the trials that adolescence brings them.

The phases of life and social context is predicated through the sum of personal feats and experiences as crises and adversity are the greatest motivator which propel individuals to become better than they were before. J.C. Burke’s ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ is an example of the transitional process through entering a new, unknown area which acts as a catalyst for beneficial change. Hindered by emotional and physical turmoil, the protagonist Tom Brennan alleviates his devastated life in the new town of Coghill forming relationships along the way and achieving new goals. Lisa Forrest’s article ‘Testing new waters after leaving the swimming pool’ (TNWALTS) is another type towards transitional change that explores the personal crisis and career

In Conrad Philip Kottak’s “Rite of Passage” he mentions the three stages of a rite of passage. Anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep defines these stages as Separation, Margin, and Aggregation. Victor Turner, another anthropologist, focused on Margin, which he referred to as liminality. Not only can a rite of passage be an individual experience, but it can also be a communal experience which Turner called “communitas.” Many of us experience this “communitas” in different ways such as my Hispanic culture that experiences quinceneras. Quinceneras are a rite of passage for young girls’ transition from adolescence to womanhood. I for one never experienced this rite of passage.

Most common cultures have rituals, celebrations, or traditional ceremonies to acknowledge the coming of age of boys and/or girls. The Hispanic culture have a traditional “Quinceañera” for young teenage girls turning age 15 to recognize her coming of age as a woman. Jews have “Bar Mitzvah” for men or “Bat Mitzvah” for women to celebrate coming of age. Although in some cultures, celebrating coming age is nothing less than actually celebrating; but in other cultures, such as Aborigine culture, rather than having a huge celebration, young teenage boys, age thirteen, are enduring an essential evaluation. In this stage of their life, their elders test them to see if they are “man” enough to survive by themselves.

Adolescence describes the transitional stage in a teenager’s life, from childhood to adulthood, where an individual evolves physically, psychologically, emotionally, cognitively and socially. It is a defined social category that is expressed through immaturity and unpredictability and allows an individual to learn and discover their sense of self and identity. The idea of adolescence came into perspective after children were expected to take on adult roles as soon as they were mature enough to, going straight from puberty to adulthood. As society changed and moulded, so did the ideas about life stages, which is evident in Erikson’s theory.

During their lives children and young people all experience some sort of transitions. These could be either common transitions or less common transitions. Common transitions include; being left with an unfamiliar carer, changing schools, starting puberty. Less common transitions include; them, a family member or friend becomes seriously ill, or dies, them or a close friend moves away, their parents split up and get divorce meaning they have to live with only one parent or between the two.

Puberty in essence is a life changing event for males and females, typically following a time of significant physical growth. Puberty is the stage in life when secondary sex characteristics are developing, sexual organs mature due to production of sex hormones. This naturally occurs during adolescence, the stage in life between childhood and adulthood. Nonetheless, Feldman (2014) points out the fact that physical changes begin earlier for girls typically at the age of 10, with sexual organ development generally around the ages of 11-12. On the other hand, physical changes for boys, frequently occurs later, around the age of 12, with development of sexual organs around the age of 13-14. Nevertheless there has been a trend towards early maturation of both male and females, this can bring about advantages and disadvantages for both sexes (Feldman, 2014). This author will discuss the pros and cons of early versus late maturation in boys versus girls in 21st century U.S. society as well as how media reinforces maturation for pre-teens and teens.

Transitions can allow individuals to uncover knowledge through the provoking of principle values, which causes one to reevaluate their position and relations in life. This can create change that allows for circumstantial acceptance, which causes monumental growth and significant personal reward for individuals and those around them. A confronting transition can force an individual to reevaluate their relations with others, due to an emotionally provocative realisation. Whilst transitions encapsulate negatively challenging ones principle values, they have the potential to allow for a ‘new start’. Additionally, one’s comprehension of values may be reformed during transitions, as an individual is forced to overcome hardships. These notions are

Originally developed by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep in the early 20th century in his book Rites de Passage, the term liminality refers to the concept in which participants are in the threshold stage of disorientation and suspension from the previous social norm that they were used to. When an individual goes through a rite of passage—also coined by van Gennep—he is cut off from his “old life” and is born again into a new person. However, before he can fully become a new person and finish his rite of passage, he is suspended in a liminal stage that bridges the old self with the newly acknowledged self. In other words, he is in a stage of disorientation and amorphous identity. Found throughout all

Graduation has many meanings for it; however one way to look at graduation would be the transition from youth to maturity. Graduation in another point of view could be the transition from one chapter of someone’s life to another. Most people would consider their childhood the best time of their lives. Some could also recall a part of their life that was a new chapter for them, or that it changed their life in one way or another. The journey from youth to maturity however, is ruthless, inconsistent, and can be a good time for some; others, not so much. Poems such as “To an Athlete Dying Young,” or “An Ex-Basketball Player” and award winning movies like “Holes” and “High School Musical: Senior Year” all relate to the celebration called graduation

During the teenage years, several points of passage marked a young man or woman’s integration into the

Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent

p. 484). It is a method of making this transition from girl to woman easier.

The intricate nature of youth means that while some argue it is a universal stage of life, it is seen by many as a formation of sociocultural elements. Social construction can be defined as something that has been shaped by the values, interests or practices of a culture or society and this is evident in the youth demographic through its revolution in recent years. The markings of youth are social in formulation; highlighting the way in which young people have been influenced by differing trends and movements. Youth is a transitional phase, its age bracket extending and blurring; transcending global divides and traditions. Thus, it is the social context that surrounds youth which suggests that it is not a universal stage of life. Ultimately, the idea of youth when viewed in a historical and cultural context as well as in relation to other socially influenced concepts such as adulthood, can be observed as a social construction.

Adolescence is the physiological developmental period between childhood and adulthood, known to be a turbulent time of self-exploration and discovery. Hall (1904) described adolescence as a period of ‘storm and stress’ associated with mood disruptions, parental conflict and risky behaviours. Similarly, youth is a socially constructed phase, not defined by age or physical development, but rather specific progressive phases and transitions. Youth fall between the full dependence of childhood and independence of adulthood, described as partially dependent individuals that are in a phase of self-exploration and development of identity (Furlong, 2013). Youth transitions are best viewed as a process of identity development where young people draw on a range of influences, experiences and relationships in the formation of their identity (Stokes & Wyn, 2007). Modern youth transitions have seen an increased emergence of subjectivities in identity construction outside of inherited characteristics. Perceived more as an ongoing process of integrating influences and experiences through conscious action and self-reflection (Stokes & Wyn, 2007). Due to the distinct lifestyles associated with youth there is an important cultural dimension associated with youth transitions. Formation of different youth subcultures are a reflection of distinct styles, behaviours and interests adopted by young people (Furlong, 2013). The film Hey Hey, its Esther Blue-burger (2008) characterizes youth