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Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

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61–70 of 211 posts

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#62
post #39

My take on it is the absence of role-models. In the 60's LSD and the Stones, the Doors, the Hippies In the 70's Hash and David Bowie, Disco, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink FLoyd In the 80's it was Coke and New Wave, Duran Duran, Punk In the 90's it was Alcohol and Metal, Ecstasy and Raves, Madonna's experimental phase encouraging women to test their limits. In the 00's there was Marilyn Manson, Nu Metal? But it's already g…

the 00s famously saw the flourishing of indie rock, which seems to bear continuity with the early 10s hipster culture, and these days there is a huge mass of hyperspecific subcultures enabled by the internet

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#63
post #39

My take on it is the absence of role-models. In the 60's LSD and the Stones, the Doors, the Hippies In the 70's Hash and David Bowie, Disco, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink FLoyd In the 80's it was Coke and New Wave, Duran Duran, Punk In the 90's it was Alcohol and Metal, Ecstasy and Raves, Madonna's experimental phase encouraging women to test their limits. In the 00's there was Marilyn Manson, Nu Metal? But it's already g…

Perhaps that the pervasive and instantaneous availability of many different genres of music, current and historical, has reduced the political and cultural significance of any single one, and therefore its potential to spawn lasting social and musical movements - ie. "analysis paralysis" or "divide and conquer"? Mobile internet is the new heroin, internet peers the new subcultures.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#65
post #39

My take on it is the absence of role-models. In the 60's LSD and the Stones, the Doors, the Hippies In the 70's Hash and David Bowie, Disco, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink FLoyd In the 80's it was Coke and New Wave, Duran Duran, Punk In the 90's it was Alcohol and Metal, Ecstasy and Raves, Madonna's experimental phase encouraging women to test their limits. In the 00's there was Marilyn Manson, Nu Metal? But it's already g…

Listen to any pop or hip hop station. Here's Mask Off (Future ft Drake) - peaked at 5 on Billboard Hot 100 this summer. The hook is mostly this:

"percocet, molly percocet"

Then check out dubstep and EDM subculture. There is probably a massive rave event happening every weekend in the states. Molly is a massive component of these events.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#66
> "I haven't heard of anyone who goes out and specifically drinks with their friends," he said. "It's not something you set out to do, like, 'Oh yeah, I'm going to go out and get drunk.'"

I think it's fascinating that the teenager interviewed equated drinking with binge drinking.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#67
post #27
post #4

It's disturbing that, at least in Chicago, there appears to systemic conditioning that's convinced people sex is dangerous and scary. > Among teenagers now, "there is a feeling you're getting of, 'Wow, the world is pretty serious, so why would I rush to immerse myself. . .Why don't I stay with my friends and away from anything that has heavy consequences, like pregnancy or sexually-transmitted diseases?'" Sex is joyf…

I disagree. Sex puts you through a lot of suffering (disappointment, self-doubt, rejection, bad life decisions etc.) and simply is a great waste of resources (time, money, energy etc.) and in modern times even more so cause it isn't usually leading to procreation or long-term bonding. Yes sex is nice but it has a heavy price.

I think you might be, err, doing sex wrong if that's how you describe it.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#68
post #39

My take on it is the absence of role-models. In the 60's LSD and the Stones, the Doors, the Hippies In the 70's Hash and David Bowie, Disco, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Pink FLoyd In the 80's it was Coke and New Wave, Duran Duran, Punk In the 90's it was Alcohol and Metal, Ecstasy and Raves, Madonna's experimental phase encouraging women to test their limits. In the 00's there was Marilyn Manson, Nu Metal? But it's already g…

Manson peaked in the 1990s (I imagine "The Beautiful People" is his best known song). I think he was never more than a fringe artist. Taylor Swift has definitely been more influential than he was.

But there are lots of musicians that were well known for using and abusing drugs. It was practically a badge of honor for people coming out of the Disney meat grinder to make some ridiculous spectacle. Which I think is part of the explanation. Commercial music production got really really polished and artists got less important.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#69
post #15

There are a pile of different answers to these questions (not question), ones that should be asked separately. For example, excluding factors that affect all the questions, putting off drinking is likely a combination of consumer education and the difficulty in getting alcohol pre-21. Fewer adults want to provide their younger peers alcohol because of legal risks. Driving is the combination of increasing expense to d…

My prior is like yours: There are likely different answers to the various points listed above. Regarding this one: > Sex probably includes factors of better sexual education. Higher pregnancy rates are seen in populations with no or bad sexual education. Also, you are 'held to the fire' by the state if you get someone pregnant. It's possible that the easy availability of porn has a lot more to do with this than just…

> It's possible that the easy availability of porn has a lot more to do with this than just fear of pregnancy

I'd guess it's a combination of this and the overweight/obesity rate climbing, the venn diagrams between "people who want to sleep with you" and "people you want to sleep with" are probably diverging for many.

Re: Why are today's teens putting off driving, dating and drinking?

#70
I thought the article was great and am surprised by the comments here.

This theory is obviously true and quite fascinating: According to an evolutionary psychology theory that a person's "life strategy" slows down or speeds up depending on his or her surroundings, exposure to a "harsh and unpredictable" environment leads to faster development, while a more resource-rich and secure environment has the opposite effect, the study said.

For those who say this is no different than other generations you are wrong because of one variable: Work. Many middle class kids use to have to work and now they don't. This is HUGE and effects EVERYTHING.

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