Hine: The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager

I was hoping we would get to the idea of the teenager as a “social invention” (page 4) early on in the semester. Although, similar to the Christensen piece, I don’t understand Hine’s intended audience and the level of academic scholarship he is aiming for – but it was an easy read which is always nice.

On page 2, Hines discusses his theory on why “we don’t remember ourselves as teenagers” because teenagehood isn’t “an identity but a predicament.” Frankly – this theory seems too subjective for my taste. Although I understand what he is getting at it – that being a teenager isn’t a role but a phase of life – I personally strongly identify with the individual I was as a teenager – I don’t have trouble remembering the teenager I was.

The second dilemma I have with the article is on page three, when Hines discusses “what’s failing” and the problem, which he identifies is the very concept of ‘teenager.’ What is the problem?? That "teenage offspring often make parents' lives difficult?" The problem has not been articulated clearly enough for me.

There are three points that I think contribute significantly to the idea of youth culture in ways I hadn't thought about before:

"Money plays a paradoxical role for teenagers. If they are in the mainstream workforce, they're not teenagers. But if they don't have any money, no youth culture emerges." (4) Teens are in limbo between being taken care of and taking care of themselves.

"Immigrants' children taught their parents how to behave in America and thus acquired a measure of authority we still accord our youth." (5) Youth culture became dominant over the older generation's non-native cultures throughout many sectors of society. Children were more automatically emersed in the national culture - before parents acclimated.

And finally - as Hine discusses on page seven, the fact that youth primarily hang out only with other youth - not people of all ages.

I like how the concept of teenagehood is not simply defined by the experience of the teenagers themselves, but significantly by the perspective of the adults who looking through a parental lens or simply thinking back to their own experiences. What adults value are reflected and incorporated by the population as a whole. On page seven - "Youth is seen as a time without compromise, when you don't have to become someone you don't respect in order to make a living, please a boss, and meet your obligations to others." Teenagers themselves don't value these traits per se...they don't appreciate their own beauty, their leisure time, their time to themselves.
It is the adults that have moved past this phase in their life that place value on it once it is gone.

One of my main questions about this article is how the class will understand it - I feel really different about my teenage years and what they embodied now that I am in my thirties. Since many classmates are teens themselves - I wonder if we will have different responses to Hines' insights?