Published on 12, July, 2020
I found this article really interesting.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220124-why-teens-arent-what-they-used-to-be
When my mum was 14 she had to go out to work full time.
When I was 14 I had a Sunday job as a waitress.
When my sister was 16 she was married with a baby.
I only realised recently that she couldn't have done that now - even with parental consent - she would have to have been 18.
'In tougher times in history, teens were forced to take a "fast life strategy", growing up faster, reproducing earlier and focusing on basic needs. Now life in the West is generally more forgiving, and families are wealthier – at least on average – so it's possible for teens to take a "slow life strategy", delaying the transition to more adult behaviours.'....
....'There's little doubt that technology and the internet has played a major role, meaning more interaction with peers happens online and in the home, where sex, experimentation and trouble are perhaps less likely.'
I've been chatting to an online friend who is much younger than me and it's put a lot of these ideas into context.
When I was 16 I considered myself to be an adult - I drank alcohol and smoked by that age.
The school leaving age was 16.
Now you can't leave at 16 and go to work:
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/11/school-leaving-age-can-you-leave-school-at-16-and-what-are-your-options/
So, those of us of 'a certain age' need to bear all this in mind whilst in discussions with teenagers, and even, according to this article, people in their early 20s.
Getting a job at 14??? Wow. I wish my grandparents were still alive and I would have asked them when they left school and started working.
That's definitely not something that's done today or even allowed to be done. I'm sure a lot of teens would have loved to leave school early and started working :D myself included!
I didn't leave school until 17, I'm a 97 baby. After school I struggled to find a job despite everyone at school saying good grades will get you a good job... I got the grades but there was no work anywhere nearby. And then when I did find work and applied I never got through the interviews, my autism and anxiety shining through...
I left school at 17 and didn't get my first job until I was 26. Nearly 10 years of applying, mostly rejection and then doing interviews and being told I'll be considered.
I'm working in a children's nursery, no grades were required and I didn't study for it... I had a DBS check and that was it. The employer and staff there all accept and understand my autism, offering support when needed.
Really I feel like it was better in past times when you left school early and seemingly got a job straight away. In the early 80s my dad said he left school and got a job more less straight away but by the 90s it was getting harder to find work.
I really do feel sorry for the newer generations.
After school they are on their own with few jobs available.
Some things never change...
Internet is cool for interacting with others and perhaps some trouble is lessened but online is a lot of trouble itself because it's abused and not really well policed.
JessaBee said:Really I feel like it was better in past times when you left school early and seemingly got a job straight away. In the early 80s my dad said he left school and got a job more less straight away but by the 90s it was getting harder to find work. I really do feel sorry for the newer generations.
Unemployment was actually far worse than now in the 1980s and in fact in modern times I think that was the worst decade of all.
A lot of the music of that time came out of the abysmal state of the country
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_in_the_United_Kingdom
See UB 40 the band and The Specials Ghost Town.
Interesting, I didn't know that. It's not great now but I'm glad things are better than they were then. Hopefully things will continue to improve.
Unrelated but I love The Specials. I like Too Much Too Young, I'm kind of addicted to that song.
JessaBee said:Unrelated but I love The Specials. I like Too Much Too Young, I'm kind of addicted to that song.
I saw them live twice in the 1970s/80s along with The Selector (Mecca aka Locarno Ballrooms, Portsmouth).
They were brilliant.
I love that song too