# Everyone Hates Teenagers! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240 "2005-06-21T19:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/61 "2005-06-22T12:42:29Z")
Individual teens don’t bother me. Teens in packs? Often stupid and potentially dangerous. But I only came in here to complain about your spelling. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/62 "2005-06-22T12:51:31Z")
Yes, you can email a mod and ask them to change it. And while I’m here, **eustachian[sign I can’t make]fallopian**, cool username! But why do you feel the need to point out that the two are different? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/63 "2005-06-22T12:54:04Z")
> [@Turkey Curse](#): > > The funny thing is that you have no fucking clue that you are 15 years old. I don’t care how self-aware you are. When you’re 20 and 25, you will realize what a stupid cock you were at 15. Then you will understand why people looked at you funny. I’m sorry, but not all teens are “stupid cocks”. maybe you were, it doesn’t make it an universal truth… ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/64 "2005-06-22T14:25:44Z")
I think it’s funny that baggy pants bother so many people. What’s it to you if some kid has baggy pants? How is that possibly affecting your life in any way at all? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/65 "2005-06-22T14:50:02Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > I think it’s funny that baggy pants bother so many people. What’s it to you if some kid has baggy pants? How is that possibly affecting your life in any way at all? Just curious. I suppose when they’re so baggy that \*\*I \*\* trip over them… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/66 "2005-06-22T14:55:31Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m sorry, but not all teens are “stupid cocks”. Nah, just the boys. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/67 "2005-06-22T14:59:16Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Or maybe it’s honestly _neither_. (Not to pick on you, but I hate False Dilemmas.) Maybe it’s not…after reading the OP’s description of himself I am myself doubting that it’s either. I do still feel compelled to relate something else about my son…when he was in junior high he was all into the black Marilyn Manson teeshirts and too-big jeans. He was always astounded that he was always assumed guilty when something happened (on the bus, in the cafeteria) just because he was in the vicinity. I always told him “you dress like a thug, people are going to assume you are a thug.” By the time he got to high school his wardrobe had morphed into polo shirts and bermuda shorts - still a little looser than I would have liked, but fairly decent. He never got blamed for anything else. So, it’s no surprise to me that when a teenager today has his pants waistband around his ass, people are going to assume he’s of a type. Not saying this is true of the OP, of course, but I wonder how many of today’s teens were in the same boat my son was in seven years ago. I think back to his high school days, and not once did I catch a glimpse of any of his friends’ boxers, so it’s definitely a “look” that is adopted, as opposed to a widespread fad that “everyone” is wearing. Kids adopt that look to make a statement, and that statement is “I’m a badass!” So they can hardly be surprised and dismayed when that’s how they are treated, even if they are good kids with high GPAs. Personally, I never felt persecuted or that I was misunderstood when I was a teen, but then, I’m female, and I’m sure that makes a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Rythm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Suburban\_Rythm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Rythm)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/68 "2005-06-22T15:42:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe it’s because you have a spelling error in your username? Dammit dammit dammit! I knew it looked wrong! My bad. I realize now what a stupid cock I was at 14, I realize what a stupid cock I was at 15, and a year from now I’ll probably realize what a stupid cock I was at 16. But you gotta go through it, and there’s not really a whole lot I can do about it. And wearing baggy pants is NOT about following your friends. Well, I guess it is in the aspect that it’s the style, but if one of my friends wears baggier pants than me it doesn’t make me an outcast. As long as they don’t fall down or something, wearing pants without a belt is much less of a hassle. And besides, you might as well yell at old people for wearing their pants around their belly buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/69 "2005-06-22T17:30:05Z")
I can also say that my pants size has gone down in a progression since I was a teen. I wore 'em as big as I could and I still like pants with some room for comfort. Now I’m actually buying ‘orignal fit’ type pants with button flies. It’s a matter of taste and trend. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/70 "2005-06-22T17:35:43Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > And wearing baggy pants is NOT about following your friends. Well, I guess it is in the aspect that it’s the style, but if one of my friends wears baggier pants than me it doesn’t make me an outcast. As long as they don’t fall down or something, wearing pants without a belt is much less of a hassle. And besides, you might as well yell at old people for wearing their pants around their belly buttons. Do you honestly believe that if the trend had not appeared in popular culture, and portrayed in hip hop videos, that teenagers would be still be wearing such clothing? It was no different when I grew up in the 80s and 90s. Kids wore what they saw on tv. I’m sure it was no different in the 60s and before. Teenagers are finding themselves, and part of that is trying out different personas. The easiest way to do that is to imitate a preformed persona. But, it comes with a consequence. Don’t walk around dressed as a thug, and then blame adults for “hating” teenagers. You have every right to dress that way, and I have every right to treat you accordingly (and laugh at you, cause, frankly, I don’t think adults are so much frightened by the trend as they are terribly amused at how silly it looks.) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/71 "2005-06-22T18:11:25Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > And wearing baggy pants is NOT about following your friends. Well, I guess it is in the aspect that it’s the style, but if one of my friends wears baggier pants than me it doesn’t make me an outcast. As long as they don’t fall down or something, wearing pants without a belt is much less of a hassle. Skirts are more comfortable than sagged jeans. They don’t require a belt, and come in all sorts of fashionable colors. If the young men of today are such comfort conscious freethinkers, why don’t you start wearing [this](http://www.ravinstyle.com/products/thumbnails_150/longpinkskirt.jpg) to A. P. English? > [@](#): > > And besides, you might as well yell at old people for wearing their pants around their belly buttons. Are you trying to tell me that teenaged boys won’t make fun of an old man for wearing pants around his belly button? Then they’ve changed a whole lot since the last time I went to the mall. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/72 "2005-06-22T18:49:51Z")
When my dad was a teenager (even before the word was coined) he was a Teddyboy and he got the same deal. When my brother was a teenager in the 80s, guess what; he got the same deal. It’s part of being a teenager who follows the pack. If you’re a teenager who doesn’t follow the pack, then it’s the pack teenagers who give you a hard time. You only ever realise this when you cease being a teenager. It’s part of growing up As is complaining about it. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/73 "2005-06-22T19:17:57Z")
Just watch a show on Discovery Channel or Animal Planet on Gorillas, Baboons or Chimpanzees, and see how adolescent males try to fit in the heirarchy of the group. It will all become crystal clear to you. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Rythm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Suburban\_Rythm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Rythm)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/74 "2005-06-22T19:40:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you honestly believe that if the trend had not appeared in popular culture, and portrayed in hip hop videos, that teenagers would be still be wearing such clothing? It was no different when I grew up in the 80s and 90s. Kids wore what they saw on tv. I’m sure it was no different in the 60s and before. _sigh_ Like I said, it is only following your friends in the sense that that’s the style right now. It’s not an important thing. It shouldn’t be, at least, but for some reason that seems to be the focus of why adults mistrust teens. I wasn’t arguing that it’s different than before or that my generation is somehow more individualistic ( :dubious: ) than the next, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t cite this as why you distrust us because it’s **exactly what you did when you were kids.** ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/75 "2005-06-22T19:58:36Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > _sigh_ > Like I said, it is only following your friends in the sense that that’s the style right now. It’s not an important thing. It shouldn’t be, at least, but for some reason that seems to be the focus of why adults mistrust teens. Dang, this is supposed to be _the whole point_ of clothing, hairstyles and music - to piss off adults. Judging by this thread, your baggy pants are working great! Don’t change a thing! At least tie your shoes, though. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/76 "2005-06-22T20:03:25Z")
I’m a teenager and nobody hates _me_. Just joking. But, honestly, I don’t think I’m a “normal” teenager. I have two opposite sides to me. One side is the typical Korean math-and-sciences-nerd who’s too mature for her own good sometimes. And this is usually shown when I’m at school and around other adults. Teachers don’t pick on me and they like to talk to my parents, which kind of worries me. But, the other side of me is this strangely odd and goofy girl who likes to wear t-shirts with swear words on them and run up the down escalator in the mall and get in trouble by the security guards. That’s when adults don’t like me. They stare at me and go, “Crazy teenage girl! She’s probably some bimbo in her class and is going to end up pregnant next year and never go to university.” Actually, I’m one of the top students in my class. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/77 "2005-06-22T21:24:31Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > _sigh_ > Like I said, it is only following your friends in the sense that that’s the style right now. It’s not an important thing. It shouldn’t be, at least, but for some reason that seems to be the focus of why adults mistrust teens. I wasn’t arguing that it’s different than before or that my generation is somehow more individualistic ( :dubious: ) than the next, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t cite this as why you distrust us because it’s **exactly what you did when you were kids.** It’s the focus because it’s the first (and generally only) thing that people see about you. Aalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, experimental psychologists at Harvard University, showed that people largely make up their minds about you in less than two seconds. In less than two seconds, you either have the job or don’t. Your teachers either consider you intelligent or not, and the store owner thinks that you steal or don’t. This first impression, formed in less than two seconds, is almost impossible to change. Teenagers love to be shocking. That’s timeless. But, when you dress like a thug, you make an impression. You can’t complain because that’s the impression that you wanted to make in the first place! I think it was a little different when I was fifteen (around 1990). We dressed stupidly, for sure. But the stupid dress was based on lame hair bands. So, adults probably just thought we were jackasses. Now the stupid dress is based on hip hop culture, which attempts to portray a certain thuggish image (bad boy for life, and what not). By the way, I STILL can’t look at my prom picture because of the dumb haircut I got, and you will feel the same way in ten years about your silly giant pants. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/78 "2005-06-22T23:24:10Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > Yeah, I love it when teenagers “express their individuality”… just like all their friends. 😉 > > (In fact, teens don’t have a monopoly on that sort of thing…) I’m a man in his 30s in the business world. You know what? EVERY BUSINESSMAN LOOKS THE SAME. We all dress alike; there’s a look for business, and a look for business casual. No variety whatsoever. How are teenagers any worse in this regard? Some teenagers are jerks. Just like adults. Really, the kids are all right. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/79 "2005-06-23T00:01:13Z")
I like teens like I like my coffee. **COVERED IN BEES!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/80 "2005-06-23T00:09:16Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m a man in his 30s in the business world. You know what? EVERY BUSINESSMAN LOOKS THE SAME. We all dress alike; there’s a look for business, and a look for business casual. No variety whatsoever. > > How are teenagers any worse in this regard? Because none of those guys are claiming to express their individuality through their clothing, but through their skill set. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240.md?page=5)