Kids these days

i know i'm getting older when the media doesn't talk to me anymore. instead of exciting and inciting me, i'm often appalled and disgusted by images and [mis]representations streaming through the cathode tube. bright colors, pounding soundtracks and strobe light graphics annoy me rather than woo me. i view those tactics as cheap and lazy. is this a sign of maturity?

"child at heart" and "immaturity" are two very different concepts. one has the ability to turn off foolishness when needed whereas the other has trouble grasping the concept of responsibility.

reminiscing on my own childhood behaviors, it's amazing to see how far i've come. granted, it's not all that amazing at first glance, but when compared to peers (both familiar and societal) the maturity gap can be quite large. learning right from wrong, making your own choices and sticking with them. actually listening to that/those little voice/s inside your head and working with them.

with each passing day, i become more and more disconnected with prime youth culture...the sort that fuels MTV and major advertising campaigns. the formula is as it's always been: sex, drugs and rock & roll, but in this world of exxxtreme, the elements are increased. i wouldn't be able to go back to my high school without being completely baffled by what i see. i want to throw my hands up in frustration and scream "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

and i fear that all this attention toward teenagers, since they are the most profitable group out there, acts as a pump to inflate egos. media culture and ultimately, society, sells to teens, talks to teens, which in turns sends the message that they are important and an integral part of in maintaining order. good and bad. recognition is good. acknowledgment is good. but one has to wonder if we are inadvertently sending the message that America's youth is in control.

a friend of mine brought up this point with sitcoms. sitcoms i grew up with, as cheesy as they were, almost always portrayed the parents as right and the children as wrong. but the tables have turned within a decade of economic fluctuations as well as changing social standards as we see less and less parenting available due to two income households and single parent families. (not to say that the preexisting parenting isn't good, mind you. there is nothing wrong with these arrangements, because i'm sure there are alternative methods of parenting. but hanging on to 1950s ideals isn't going to work anymore.) the image we see on television are bumbling parents who act less like parents and more like children. and poised children who are more often than not running the show.

we forget that these are kids, and how much do they really know? sure, they are smart, but the best intelligence is shaped over time from life experiences. maturation.

stories in the news, a slice of america. remember the 2003 hazing incident in a chicago suburb. the wild teen three day house party which resulted in thousands of orgasms in damages. when did violence and an utter disgard for other people become okay?

everyone was arguing about how these teens should be punished, whether or not the school should be responsible etc, etc, etc. it's all just red tape. caught up in the logistics, we've lost sight of the fact that these human beings have a very fucked up perception of social behavior when they believe there is nothing wrong with their actions. in situations like these, everyone leaps to inspect the details and overlooks the basics.

teenagers misbehaving. using violence. without recognizing it's wrong.

when and how did the abuse (in all forms) of another human being get the green light?

amidst the bullshit, i remember only hearing one good point. if these incidences were committed by inner city kids, their asses would be in through the legal system and in jail so fast their heads would spin. this mere fact, as much as we don't want to believe it's true, frustrates me even more. fuck silver spoons and privileges. but that's a whole other topic to gripe about.

granted, those incidences are extreme examples, but it's not to say that "immaturity" doesn't take on more familiar forms. better luck tomorrow syndrome. boredom in suburbia. disposable incomes (mommy and daddy's boners at that). it's a dangerous combination. sex, drugs, and rock & roll behind white picket fences. and i'll be the first to admit i've felt it (and participated) too. isn't it true that the majority of shoplifters are middle class suburban teenagers? hell, i used to do it. a good amount. but thank god, i had enough sense to stop after almost getting caught.

what makes one person's (as cliche as it is) "wake-up call" more effective than the next? is it the drugs, is it the parenting, or is it society that turns off consciences and wills repeat offenses? or even more horrifying, has the "conscience" disappeared through constant youth affirmations? or perhaps, not disappeared but merely evolved into a form foreign to cultural common sense ideals.

i don't really know where i'm going with this. i guess working with children in the past has caused me to think about these topics. observing their behavior and realizing one error now could affect their whole life down the road can be quite daunting at times. it's the ultimate form of creation.

and the funny thing is, at 31, i'm old enough to be the parent of the people i'm ranting about, although i can be damn immature too. but i know that i still have a hell of a lot of growing to do as a person and i'm welcoming it with open arms.

peter pan's fucked up.