# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/81 "2005-06-23T03:06:05Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > So why does everybody, constantly, always, give me shit for being what I am - a teenage boy? We just give shit to [ugly](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6285680&postcount=1) teenage boys. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/82 "2005-06-23T03:38:54Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > 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? I should just start a thread on this one. I’ve already answered the question in some other, unrelated thread… a summary: I, um, missed the subtle difference between the eustachian and fallopian tube while answering a question in Scholar’s Bowl practice… in a room filled with eleven of the smartest students at my high school. :smack: :smack: :smack: Have you ever seen thirteen people (two of them teachers) laugh for five minutes without stop? The baby boomer culture has an interesting effect on how teenagers are treated now. For the first time, those rebelious teens can’t really outdo their parents. Let’s face it, neither any of my friends nor I can ever outdo the antics of your average boomer. Few of us have the right imagination. 😃 The effect is that parents will tend to assume that they know what their kids are doing, but are often wrong. Hence, teens are often viewed with suspicion. Grandparents will tend to remember what their kids were up to, and toss that onto the current generation. There, that’s my overgeneralization. Teenagers of the world, unite! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/83 "2005-06-23T04:06:00Z")
I’ve never noticed such looks. (I’m a 16 year old male) > [@WhyNot](#): > > 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? Three reasons. I’ll list them in order from least to greatest. [ol] [li]Although fairly oblivious (no one makes fun of me!) and uncaring I wouldn’t want people making fun of me in an obvious manner.[/li][li]I can’t go a half hour sitting in the same position and even that’s a stretch. Through the course of a class period, my legs will go through various contortions, most of which would show things in a skirt.[/li][li]I would fail AP English.[/li][/ol] And I don’t find baggy pants comfortable. Not at all. I hate them. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/84 "2005-06-23T04:25:51Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Because none of those guys are claiming to express their individuality through their clothing, but through their skill set. From what I can tell, their skills are all pretty much identical, too. And how many teenagers, really, actually go around saying “My clothing expresses my individuality”? Damned few, I’d say; most will freely admit they wear whatever’s in style. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/85 "2005-06-23T04:40:10Z")
> [@Yeticus Rex](#): > > Just watch a show on Discovery Channel or Animal Planet on Gorillas, Baboons or Chimpanzees, and see how adolescent males try to fit in… ::Sneaks up behind **Suburban\_Rythm** , and Kicks him in the ASS, hard. Quickly exits thread, chortling to self.:: ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/86 "2005-06-23T05:06:16Z")
> [@dare\_devil007\_](#): > > But, the other side of me is this strangely odd and goofy girl who likes to wear t-shirts with swear words on them So, which swear words are you crazy kids wearing on your T-shirts these days? (In my day we were partial to “Party Naked,” but that’s hardly swearing…more like idealism…) ---
**Author:** ![hathaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@hathaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hathaway)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/87 "2005-06-23T06:55:03Z")
I think groups of teenaged boys can be unpredictable, as I’ve seen many instances of boys throwing debris into traffic and laughing, or dashing into traffic themselves, or fighting, or randomly kicking mailboxes, etc, verbally harrassing passers-by, or talking vulgar to girls as a means to impress. Generally speaking, I don’t treat teenaged boys (alone or in a group) any differently than I do any other group, but I haven’t been a target for harrassment by teenagers since I was one myself. I can certainly see where the hesitation comes from, though. They _can be_ unpredictable and they have the size and strength of adult males. Especially now that it’s cool to look like you belong in a gang (the whole ‘thug’ look.) 99% of the time you know it’s just guys wanting to look the part, but every once in a while, you’re going to get one who thinks he is the part, and wants to prove it… or depending on what area of town you’re in… if you’re not familiar with it… who knows who is faking and who is the real deal? I remember going through all that as a teen myself–getting blatantly followed in stores by security… getting dirty looks from older people and not understanding why… getting another kind of dirty looks from middle aged men and not knowing how to react… being talked down to… given no chance to prove myself… all that fun stuff. Eventually it passes. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/88 "2005-06-23T09:02:04Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > When my dad was a teenager (even before the word was coined) he was a Teddyboy and he got the same deal. I don’t think so. The Teddy boy fad (first) hit the UK in the 1950s, and ‘teenager’ was coined in the 1920s, as far as I can recall. [http://www.answers.com/teddy+boy&r=67](http://www.answers.com/teddy+boy&r=67) (I’m pretty sure about the origin of the word teenager. It’s surprisingly difficult to find online or in the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary I own. I do know that modern teen culture was born in the 1920s.) ---
**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 23, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/89 "2005-06-23T16:41:27Z")
> [@eustachian≠fallopian](#): > > I should just start a thread on this one. I’ve already answered the question in some other, unrelated thread… a summary: I, um, missed the subtle difference between the eustachian and fallopian tube while answering a question in Scholar’s Bowl practice… in a room filled with eleven of the smartest students at my high school. :smack: :smack: :smack: Have you ever seen thirteen people (two of them teachers) laugh for five minutes without stop? By that explanation alone, I like you…and, you’re a…a…a… TEENAGER! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/90 "2005-06-23T16:46:26Z")
> [@eustachian≠fallopian](#): > > The baby boomer culture has an interesting effect on how teenagers are treated now. For the first time, those rebelious teens can’t really outdo their parents. Let’s face it, neither any of my friends nor I can ever outdo the antics of your average boomer. Few of us have the right imagination. 😃 :sniff, sniff:…WE never had Rainbow Parties when _I_ was a teenager! You kids nowdays have ALL the fun! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/91 "2005-06-24T11:16:24Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > _sigh_ > Like I said, it is only following your friends in the sense that that’s the style right now. There’s a big difference between doing things _in style_ and doing things **with style**. And not everyone hates teenagers; Nike likes you. Ok…they actually hate you too, but they like your parent’s money. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Nya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@Fish\_Nya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Nya)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/92 "2005-06-24T11:53:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And how many teenagers, really, actually go around saying “My clothing expresses my individuality”? Damned few, I’d say; most will freely admit they wear whatever’s in style. Well, there was a whole lot of kids wearing a black T-shirt that said “You laugh at me because I am different- I laugh because you are all the same”. I would see at least five kids a day wearing that same shirt. That seemed to proclaim their individuality through their clothing. It failed; although, in a very comical way. ---
**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 24, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/93 "2005-06-24T16:57:59Z")
> [@E. Thorp](#): > > So, which swear words are you crazy kids wearing on your T-shirts these days? > > (In my day we were partial to “Party Naked,” but that’s hardly swearing…more like idealism…) Well, it’s not that bad. My friend gave me one that she had made that said, “Do I look like I give a shit?” with a cartoon-y pile of poop that she had drawn on the back, but my mom threw that out. I have another one that says, “You’re an ass” with a donkey underneath it. But, no, I don’t have any that have the f-word in them or the s-word (it was just that one shirt). It’s not as bad as you think, but some people still don’t like them anyways. **I** think they’re funny, though, so there. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/94 "2005-06-24T17:03:25Z")
> [@Fish Nya](#): > > Well, there was a whole lot of kids wearing a black T-shirt that said “You laugh at me because I am different- I laugh because you are all the same”. I would see at least five kids a day wearing that same shirt. That seemed to proclaim their individuality through their clothing. It failed; although, in a very comical way. Now that’s funny! (And yes, this is exactly the kind of thing I was speaking of, which has always amused me…) I remember back when the whole “getting all sorts of extra body piercings” fad kicked in, and I remember hearing people – like at my college – specifically say (about their nose ring or tongue stud), “I’m expressing my individuality”. Of course, they always hung in a pack of friends who all had the same piercings… ---
**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 24, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/95 "2005-06-24T22:56:19Z")
This one guy with a tongue stud told me, “I’m exthprething my inthivithualty.” And then he passed from the strain of the irony. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/96 "2005-06-25T02:36:16Z")
The fact is teenagers suck. Ain’t no two ways about it. Hell, I hated teenagers _when I was a teenager_. And I was no prize either. Being a hated teenager has been a rite of passage since the '50’s. Fortunately for everyone involved, most of you will grow out of this phase. …and don’t give me that look. ---
**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 25, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/97 "2005-06-25T08:11:57Z")
I was never happier than when I turned 21. 16 and driving is nothing compared to finally being able to have a beer with dinner and friends. Wait…isn’t it 18 to drive now? ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/98 "2005-06-25T17:07:39Z")
> [@dare\_devil007\_](#): > > Well, it’s not that bad. My friend gave me one that she had made that said, “Do I look like I give a shit?” with a cartoon-y pile of poop that she had drawn on the back, but my mom threw that out. I have another one that says, “You’re an ass” with a donkey underneath it. But, no, I don’t have any that have the f-word in them or the s-word (it was just that one shirt). It’s not as bad as you think, but some people still don’t like them anyways. I think they’re funny, though, so there. I just remembered another T-shirt a couple of my fellow teenage boys had. It was black with white block letters: EIIGY POCR OFF which, when you folded the fabric to conceal the bottom half of the first word and the top half of the second, resolved to FUCK OFF. I thought it was pretty obnoxious, actually. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/99 "2005-06-26T06:42:10Z")
Yeah…pretty much everyone hates teenagers. It’s because a lot of them act like idiots and those of us in the adult world don’t like having to deal with that kind of bullshit. > [@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 we are SUPPOSED to all look the same at work in our suit and tie. We all don’t show up wearing the same suit and tie and call it an expression of our “individuality”. I’m sure it’s different now, but when I was in college, every teenager expressed his “individuality” the same way - 1 Nirvana Nevermind T-shirt, 1 orange Hogs Breath Saloon T-Shirt, 1 Dave Mathews Band shirt, 2 Grateful Dead T-Shirts, 2 Fraternity sweatshirts, 1 USC “Cocks” hat, 1 pair Birkenstocks or Teva sandles, 1 “Black Watch” green plaid L.L. Bean shirt. 2 Pair A&F Cargo shorts etc etc. "Janie’s a pretty typical teenager. Angry, insecure, confused. I wish I could tell her that’s all going to pass, but I don’t want to lie to her. " -Lester Burnham, American Beauty ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240/100 "2005-06-26T06:47:20Z")
> [@Suburban\_Rythm](#): > > why does everybody, constantly, always, give me shit for being what I am - a teenage boy? You’ll understand once you’re in your early 20s. And I’m not entirely kidding. I’m sorry people give you an undeserved hard time, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-hates-teenagers/309240.md?page=6)