Task #1
This chart is an accurate representation of the typical path of an adolescent. It explains the physical, mental, and emotional changes that we go through from ages 12-21. Looking back at the last six years of my life, I can see a direct correlation with the chart and my personal experiences. For example, the chart explains how "Young teens would much rather be with their friends than their family, especially their parents" and how they "realize parents are not perfect and often points out their faults" (KidsGrowth). Throughout middle school, I recall my mom asking me if I want to play a game with her and the rest of the family on a nearly nightly basis. My response a large majority of the time was to rudely tell her "no" and lock the door to my room so that she wouldn't bug me anymore. Looking back, she just wanted to spend time with her son, and I wish I would have accepted her invitations to hang out with her more often as I get ready to move out of the house and go off to college.
As I finish middle adolescence and enter into late adolescence, I can also see the stereotypical teenager in my experiences throughout high school that are described on the chart. Specifically, I remember how important friendships were to me, and how the "loss of friendships can caused serious depression" (KidsGrowth). When someone would move on to a different group friends, I would constantly ask myself questions like "What is wrong with me?" and "Am I really that bad of a friend?". Additionally, I recall "complaining about parent interference with [my] independence" (KidsGrowth). I always felt that my parents were holding me back in my social life by making me go to church on Sundays when I wanted to stay the night at my friends' houses, as well as dreading the annual "family reunion" because it was always on the same weekend as the Gus Macker basketball tournament.
I am just starting to make connections to late adolescence. I can defiantly see how people at this stage in their lives start to treat their parents as their closest friends. (KidsGrowth) Now that I know that I won't be seeing my parents as much, I am starting to realize that my parents have always been there for me and I want to spend more time with them, even though I won't be able to. I can also see that my emotional stability is much higher than it was even just a year or two ago, which aligns with the chart's description of late adolescence.
References
http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/articledetail.cfm?id=1140
This chart is an accurate representation of the typical path of an adolescent. It explains the physical, mental, and emotional changes that we go through from ages 12-21. Looking back at the last six years of my life, I can see a direct correlation with the chart and my personal experiences. For example, the chart explains how "Young teens would much rather be with their friends than their family, especially their parents" and how they "realize parents are not perfect and often points out their faults" (KidsGrowth). Throughout middle school, I recall my mom asking me if I want to play a game with her and the rest of the family on a nearly nightly basis. My response a large majority of the time was to rudely tell her "no" and lock the door to my room so that she wouldn't bug me anymore. Looking back, she just wanted to spend time with her son, and I wish I would have accepted her invitations to hang out with her more often as I get ready to move out of the house and go off to college.
As I finish middle adolescence and enter into late adolescence, I can also see the stereotypical teenager in my experiences throughout high school that are described on the chart. Specifically, I remember how important friendships were to me, and how the "loss of friendships can caused serious depression" (KidsGrowth). When someone would move on to a different group friends, I would constantly ask myself questions like "What is wrong with me?" and "Am I really that bad of a friend?". Additionally, I recall "complaining about parent interference with [my] independence" (KidsGrowth). I always felt that my parents were holding me back in my social life by making me go to church on Sundays when I wanted to stay the night at my friends' houses, as well as dreading the annual "family reunion" because it was always on the same weekend as the Gus Macker basketball tournament.
I am just starting to make connections to late adolescence. I can defiantly see how people at this stage in their lives start to treat their parents as their closest friends. (KidsGrowth) Now that I know that I won't be seeing my parents as much, I am starting to realize that my parents have always been there for me and I want to spend more time with them, even though I won't be able to. I can also see that my emotional stability is much higher than it was even just a year or two ago, which aligns with the chart's description of late adolescence.
References
http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/articledetail.cfm?id=1140
A Roadmap to Adolescent Growth
This article explains how while the growth throughout adolescence contains many unexpected changes and conflicts, that these changes and conflicts do "tend to happen in an orderly fashion" (Pickhardt, 2009). The article is then divided into four sections: Early Adolescence, Middle Adolescence, Late Adolescence, and Trial Independence. Early adolescence is characteristics include personal disorganization, a negative attitude, and active and passive resistance. Middle adolescence is described as a time of intense conflict over social freedom, lying, and peer pressure. The next stage, Late Adolescence, contains independence, first romantic relationships, grief over separation of old friends, and some anxiety. The article also contains a fourth section that runs through the same period of life as Late Adolescence, called Trial Independence. People in Trial Independence, or early adulthood, go through low self-esteem, increased anxiety, and confusion on their life's direction.
In this article, I learned that the fact that adolescence is a confusing part of human development, it has a system and a general order of events that match up with the average person's journey through adolescence. Pickhardt, the author of this article, added the stage of Trial Independence while I have read elsewhere that there are only three stages of development in adolescence. As a person matures and gets farther on his or her path through adolescence, the more confident and less "paranoid" they become.
References
Pickhardt, C. (2009, February 2). A Roadmap to Adolescent Growth. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/200902/roadmap-adolescent-growth
Teen Depression: Boys
While many teenage boys may seem confident, anxiety and depression among them is at an all time high. As women begin to take on roles in society that were once predominately male positions, teenage boys continue to strive for great success in areas that are no longer as open as they once were. The pressure put on males not only comes from others, but often from themselves. Substance abuse and sex have become easy outlets to attempt to channel these negative feelings. However they often only make the situation worse by either getting caught by superiors and parents, or even addiction.
This article informed me on the logical reasoning behind the increase in adolescent male depression. I can see how the increasing role in society of women is causing men to feel less like the superior sex they once thought they were. While I do not personally have any experience with substance abuse, I have seen many of peers turn to drugs or alcohol to channel their sadness, anger, or depression. The competitive nature and compulsive need to be superior of teenage boys contributes to denial that drugs and alcohol can become a serious issue.
References
McGrath, E. (2007, May 21). Teen Depression - Boys. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200207/teen-depression-boys
Teens Who Click, Send, and Sext
The article begins with a reference to the sexting scandal of Anthony Weiner, a past candidate for Mayor of NYC. The author then asks the reader: "If an adult can't escape the humiliation and embarrassment of sexting, how does it affect the life of a teen?" (Lohmann, 2013). Forty-eight percent of American teens today are on the receiving end of sexually explicit text messages (Lohmann, 2013). The article ends by informing parents of teenagers who have been caught sexting to not simply take away their electronic devices as punishment, but to set up an intervention session with their son or daughter instead.
As a teenager, I am well aware of the popularity of sexting, but I was blown away by the fact that nearly half of the teenagers in america receive these messages. The reference to Anthony Weiner serves as an example to teenagers that not everything you send is necessarily as private as you think it may be, so we should be careful when using technology and social media.
References
Cassanda, R. (2013, August 7). Teens Who Click, Send and Sext. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201308/teens-who-click-send-and-sext
Is the Intense Pressure to Succeed Sabotaging our Children?
A connection was made at the beginning of the article from Caymin Naib, a 13-year old boy who committed suicide after reading an email from his teacher that he was behind on his homework., to children and students as a whole, and what the solution to the issue of sever stress among kids and teens today. The author explains how success should be defined by the happiness of the individual. Those who are self inclined to succeed at a high level can make themselves happy by doing so, while the less competitive who are happy being who they are should also consider themselves successful. He also relates to his own experiences of depression, and he urges those with these feelings and urges to commit suicide to not be afraid to get help.
I feel that there are some very good parts of this article, but also some parts that I disagree with. I am an advocate of trying to convince those having suicidal thoughts to not be too ashamed to ask for help. I also think that success should be defined by the individual and not by what others think of a person, just as the author articulates. However, lazy people who don't contribute to society should not be considered successful just because they aren't inclined to do so.
References
Bergland, C. (2015, March 10). Is the Intense Pressure to Succeed Sabotaging Our Children? Retrieved March 13, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201503/is-the-intense-pressure-succeed-sabotaging-our-children
Teenage Brains: Why Do They Do What They Do?
This article dives into why teenagers, even the smarter ones, do such stupid things. It explains that the risk-taking part of the brain (prefrontal cortex) does not fully develop until the mid to late twenties. The following question is then asked: "If the anatomy of the adolescent brain hasn't changed over the last thirty years, why has there been such a sharp increase in drugs, sex, and alcohol among adolescents today?" (Jensen, 2015). The author then explains how it is the raised expectations and stressful environment along with social media that has caused this spike in risk taking among teenagers.
I do not feel that this article does a very good job of explaining the biology behind why teenagers act the way that they do. The author explains more environmental reasons for teenage risk taking than actually talking about the brain of adolescents as the title implies. Also, there are no statistics in the article that show that drugs, alcohal, or other risky trends among teenagers have spiked at all in the last thirty years. I was unaware that these things were not popular with the previous generation.
References
Jensen, F. (2015, March 8). Teenage Brains: Why Do They Do What They Do? Retrieved March 13, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-brain/201503/teenage-brains-why-do-they-do-what-they-do