Teenagers are incapable of deep thought.

[xvxhanyouxvx]

Well, in some ways, adults are more capable of deep thought. But this is usually because they have more experience and knowledge.

Comparing myself to my Mother, she is much more capable of thinking outside to box. But comparing myself to my Father.... it is almost the total opposite.

Seeing this comparison, it is a practical assumption that teenagers are capable of deep thought to a limited degree.  

[Kuromeru Ro-zu]

I'm just gonna tell u right now that i wrote a lot and most of it isn't even on par with the topic....yeah...feel free to skip this post

hmm... you all (and i say this although i haven't completely read everyone's post..too long and bland) have a lot of deep sounding stuff to say... but really who cares? If someone puts forth a stereotype of you...prove em wrong and if the stereotype is 4 real, then deal with it...it's who you are....personally i think stereotypes are great for comedies...

ps. Serious thought is scary sometimes especially... (about death and what happens after and i try to picture myself dead...wait...this topic really scares the s**t outta me...yes i am a christian...and no i don't give to shits about what ur beliefs are because frankly i don't care...but this topic has had me crying actual tears since i was very young)

see how badly i get off topic...if anyone has beef with what i just said (although i would hope u have better things to do) don't even bother saying anything to on this forum...i'll prolly forget i was ever here and all ur opposition will be lost on me...although if u do wanna seriously contest my ideas...PM me...i think it would be fun....

sigh...i have no life crying  

[The realist Afro]

in defence of the teacher most teenagers are or at lest appear to be incapable of tought. i can say this because i am a teenager and at least 98% being phone possed myspace controlled zombies to the latest trends and the one wh actoul are capable are struck down by others for it.

the way i see it a mindset to think about the world. life and death.religion,poltics ect. are removed by using less complicated and more amusing problems like "who should i put on my friend list" or "OMG do i have enough money to but the outfit?" makes me a little sad.  

[kai wen 67]

I don't think it's true of all teenagers but culture is increasingly generating people who don't think about much more than the American idol winner or how celebrity are acting. Back in the day tv dealt with moral issues and there for people would consider deeper ideas. Heck I changed religion because of Ozzy back in the late 70's because he made since about challenging the church. I was young but I lissioned to the words, lisioning and it lead to wanting to learn more. Lately I see kids that love songs but have NO idea what it's about. I think that why typical teens are thought to not have deep thoughts. So go out and prove them wrong!  

[Dermoi]

Yorozuya_Harujiro

just because we do thing that may seem erratic, or deviant, doesn't mean we don't have reasons for doing so.
some adults have said, the teen years were the most stressful times of their lives.
I have nothing against those adults.
unless, they sometimes act like the adults that consider those in our age group to be hopeless, mindless, idiots.
who's in control of the world here?
does the world seem to be a place where they can brag to us about their accomplishments, saying that 'if you do what we did, you can be just like us.' or something like that.
when some teens, such as myself, believe, and with good cause, that they're the reason we're so screwed up.
as Consoro said, people pay too much attention to celebrities.
where do you think 'we who are incapable of deep thought' get these ideas?

changing topic,
I have to take medication.
for some actual disease?
no.
not heart problems, or diabetes(did I spell this properly?), or some other problem.
I have to take medication for DEPRESSION.
just because my parents noticed some signs of this so-called-disease, I have to take two pills with no real purpose every morning.
do these pills help?
no.
my dad says they helped HIM, meaning they should help me too.
(wow, it's hard to rant without swearing)
I don't care if they help.
I'd rather be depressed than be addicted to any type of drug.

Volucris Ego, would you believe me if I said that the same thing happened to Brian Jacques(pronounced 'Jakes'), beloved author of the Redwall series, when he was a child?

and they say we are incapable of deep thought.
thank you, CubeZ, for giving me a chance to blow off some steam.

and Flourescent Adolescent, the Arctic Monkeys RULE.

ha, they tried to get me to take anti-depressants because i don't smile so much. Is that a symptom of depression? i don't think so, if i'm happy i don't HAVE to show it, do i?  

[Kyakume]

I think teenagers are perfectly capable of deep thought. I will use my own free time to study one specific topic until I'm satisfied with the knowledge I acquire, even if it takes years. Though most teens probably won't voice their thoughts, they can think logically and on a very intelligent level. Hey, maybe some teen just discovered the cure for cancer by deep thinking but just hasn't said anything.  

[Persistence_of_Memory]

I think most people just see teenagers as impulsive and dumb...
Teenagers are capable of deep thought, but some of us just don't exercise that ability. The stupid ones are, unfortunately, the ones who stand out.  

[Shenyu]

I have a simple question. Who of the posters are NOT teenagers anymore?^^

I think it is a pretty bad thing to say that teenagers are not CAPABLE of deep thoughts. But I think it is also a stereotype that adults just don't believe their could be anything clever come out of the mouth of teenager.

Actually I am not a teenager anymore (but it was not THAT long ago) and I think that I DID some deep thoughts when I was a teenager, but I did come to other conclusions then. I think it is only natural. You are in a completely different state of life. You have other worries than when you are out of school. So you view changes. And I think what most adults think is "you will arrive at my point in some years as well".

For the teacher and the Zero. I am studying to become a teacher as well and I think I would have asked that boy to stay after the lesson and asked him anything about the text. If he wrote it he should have been able to answer that. Of course you can also have a good memory, but I you can NEVER be sure.  

[FF Turk_Panto]

First off, what your teacher said I hope was sarcastic, but if not then your teacher is quite the arrogant being. I think in a more polite way is that teenagers are not incapable of deep thought it's that teenagers (not all, but some from experience) think they know the answer, but in all cases they really don't. It's good that you have begun to question such issues and ideas in this world. The path your taking to discover knowledge is a good one and your going to grow those ideas even further as you get older. Teenagers in general enter the beginning stages in philosophical questioning in which they think they see all, but once their eyes really open they will notice the possibilities of furthering their once thought to be correct answer. It is not that one is incapable at that time which is quite rude to say, but it is one who is blind at first to the idea, but then grows their senses to see the reality of the idea to expand upon it.  

[Verderbnis]

I'd say MOST teenagers aren't capable of deep thought. It's ok, because some learn better from doing experiences, some will learn by seeking for answers.

Sometimes I managed it to corner the teachers with questions, making them admit that they do not know every answer. Getting stereotyped by older generations is common, my teachers always told us that we will be a bunch of nothings later, but my experiences since I finished my school career years ago has proven them false. Youth always crosses the ignorance of older generations, your teachers have been teenagers, too. I guess they had the same issues.

Most people also age with their head, making them forget about their youth.  

[spyro17689]

I wouldn't say teenagers are incapable of deep thought. They are capable and so are children.

I'm 13 and I often discuss to my mother about the government, the evironment and the universe. I sometimes discuss about how electric cars arn't completely environmentaly healthy (they require to be plugged into the mains to charge up, but that electricity probably came from an oil or coal factory - which doesn't help at all). I also discuss about racism, abortions, religion and many other things.

I two have been "tarred with the same brush".

I've had to constantly speek up about different things. In many cases, I ask questions which no-one knows the answer to (my two favourites being the meaning of existence and the centre of a black hole).

I once asked my mother why other adults think every teenager is the same. She gave me a few answers :
They were stereotyped themselves.
It was how they were taught.
They want to make themselves seem more important.

Also, has anyone been told that their opinion doesn't matter because they are a child/teenager?  

[LadyKaylaBeaner]

Being a teenager, being stereotyped by parents and other teenagers alike, it gets rather annoying sometimes. I try to have hypothetical problems that i solves by writing questions that are to remain unanswered, but what i hate the most is my "friends" reading over my shoulder and scribbling messily an answer to a question. I like to keep my writing neat and consistant, when they are constantly scrawling on my page it makes me want to take the writing implement and shove it somewhere painfull.
I try having a civilised conversation with someone, but a consistant patturn of me having to simplify all the words i use is rather vexatious.

Why must humanity suffer for the things it had bestowed upon itself?


btw...i am 15 years old.  

[Verderbnis]

But most teenagers also step into traps, which is also common. Instead of discriminating the information or the importance of certain informations, they start to think about stuff, which leads into either nothing or loopholes. Most of you will be disappointed by not achieving the expected success and stop questioning things.

I have made my good and bad experiences with philosophy and I stopped to discuss on certein topics, since they only tend to interprete and not try to understand.  

[icewolfspirit]

Take my hand, Come with me...

I think there are three reasons way adults automatically think that teenagers are incapable of deep thought. One: they think they they know more ( which is often true). Two: That they don't like the idea of younger people thinking deeper than themselves. Three: That adults hate being proved wrong.
With the first idea, knowledge comes with age for most. Some younger people, however, are much more intelligent in other fields of thought. But I still turn to my mom for spelling sometimes and my dad for history.
On the second idea,adults are caught up in the speed of their lives and most don't waste time on deep questions. So when someone younger than them comes up and asks something about the creation of the universe, physics, etc. it irritates them that they don't know the answer and haven't thought about it, a quick way of getting out of this situation is to state that teenager are inferior. But again, most adults will be honest and say that they have no idea.
Thirdly, adults don't go to school and learn as much on a regular basis as we do. What they have learned as a child will stay there, even if the concept has changed. A great example is Pluto. Is it a planet? Also they forget things that aren't refreshed after a while. I challenged my mother that a "zephyr" was a light wind, while she said it was a comet. She eventually gave in. She was confused because a song used the word "zephyr" in an odd way.

...Into this Crystal Village

 

[SinginginSilence]

My question is when do we actually become adults? Not legally, but in maturity. I've been called an adult since I was 16. So does that mean that I've been having "deep thoughts" for awhile or does maturity of the mind show? Teens will always be stereotyped no matter what and it is that challenge that makes them who they are. They must overcome that and in so doing they find out things about themselves. Yes teachers are rude and of course they are going to be conceited but that is the challenge. To not play their game. That's just my view, then again I like nothing better than to upset someone's plans.