The Kids Club

In a recent blog I commented on the "F" word and the song about make-up sex and I used the term fuddy duddy as a joke.  I shouldn't have.  The whole point of my comment was to call attention to how much everyday life has mimicked the world of the adolescent male.  Think of all the ways "old" is used as a put-down: old thing, old style, old place.  You'll never hear young thing, young style or young place as put-downs?  I presume we all agree that this is a youth oriented culture and it has been for quite some time.   But sometimes it hits me that maybe we've gone overboard.  How about calling someone an ignoramus, instead of a "F". 
When, how and why did we get here?  I'll tell you what I think. The advent of adolescence began at the turn of the 20th Century with the implementation of child labor laws and universal education.  The period of dependency was prolonged.  Stanley Hall was among the first to address these changes in his 1904 study "Adolescence".
Steven Mintz, an historical theorist, believes it began in the 1950's with the teen youth subculture.  I can see how the influence of teenagers on the culture mushroomed in the 1950's and 60's.  I can also see the conflict in that culture: Tab Hunter vs. James Dean, Sandra Dee vs. Marilyn, Pat Boone vs Elvis, Patti Page vs. Peggy Lee, Our Miss Brooks vs. The Three Stooges.  The formation of an identity and the confusion around accepted roles for the adolescent are all present at this time.  Eric Ericson's theory of this stage of development says the conflict is between intimacy vs. isolation.  The unsuccessful resolution of this conflict, because of role confusion, leads to an inability to commit which can continue throughout adult life.  Fidelity is the hallmark.  "The ability to sustain loyalties in spite of contradictions and confusion of value systems."  During this period the adolescent is engaged in re-establishing boundaries for the self.  Crisis can bring sustained length of adolescence and unresolved conflicts in intimacy and isolation.
Was there crisis in the 50's and 60's?  Yes, nationally and also in the family.  The 1950's saw the beginning of the nuclear family and the growth of suburbia, creating isolation.  Mass media opened many more role choices.  In a recent Sunday magazine piece about H.S. Grads the career choice for quite a few of them was C. S. I.  I had never heard of C.S.I's in H.S.  Lilly Tomlin once said when she was growing up there were no gays or lesbians.  People were shy.  Now she would have to say there were no gays, lesbians, bisexual, transvestite, or transgender people, just a heck of a lot of shy people.
Commerce also changed and became a profound influence.  Though Henry Ford created the assembly line and mass produced his Model "T" between 1909 and 1927 it wasn't until 1956 that we began to build a national highway system.  After the Second World War, America experienced great prosperity, which brought something new, a disposable income; shopping became a pastime, and Teenagers became a target of advertising.  Today's teenagers and young adults are the prime market for advertisers, and it appears that each generation wants to be bolder in style, dress, media and language that the last generation.