Teenagers are incapable of deep thought.

[Dermoi]

Has anyone ever said this to you? I'm a teenager in England, I like to think about things like reasons for life, the universe, and whatever hot debates I’ve seen around (racial issues, abortion etc.), unfortunately, most of this takes place in my RE lessons.

My RE teacher likes to yell at me for it, and once i replied 'I’m thinking of a reason for being' and she actually said to me 'you teenagers are incapable of deep thought!', now, i will let that she may have been being sarcastic (I can't tell if somebody is being sarcastic or not, and I get confused if metaphors are used, too) but it still offended me that she fitted the entire class under that stereotype.

Why do you think alot of people today think like this about teens?  

[Volucris Ego]

I believe that some adults, in a way, stereotype teenagers. Some think we are just air headed, irrational, illogical individuals, but like most stereotypes, that only applies to a very few. What your teacher said, sarcastic or not, was very rude.

Here's a story:
One class aquaitance was super lazy when it comes to school work. Since his grade in English class was really lacking, the teacher let him to a paper. Little did the teacher know, the kid was a super good writer. He loved writing, but he usally half-assed his work just so his grade won't suffer too badly. On this essay assignment, since it was his last chance and his grade depended on it, he actually spent time on it and wrote a super good paper! When he gave it to the teacher, she read it over and gave the paper a ZERO! She said it was greatly done and he couldn't have done this, he probably got it off of the internet or had a lot of help. He told the teacher, and us, many times that HE wrote it, and him alone. She still didn't believe him. DX  

[Ink_Weaver_Heart]

The entire "Teenager" versus "Intelligence Level" isn't entirely empty of stock. There are a few factors that contribute to this. Specifically to "deep thought": deep thought is only as we define it, and many define it differently. Most people think of deep thought as either analytical thought towards something in real life, or philosophical and comprehension of nonexistant theories and predications. The two main reasons for the steriotype of teenager thought capabilities are as follows:

-- Self Imposed/Subconscious actions

Everyone knows that everything anyone tells them has an affect on them. When people grow up, they are told that adults are smarter, adults are wiser, adults know how to handle situations better, adults know more than you. Whether people like it or not, these thoughts start to impose themselves upon teens. And therefore, they subconsciously act in the ways they are expected to act.


-- Actual Facts

As people age, their knowledge increases. They do, however, become more adjusted to whatever culture they are in and begin to adjust to that way of thinking. So, in truth, Adults have more knowledge than younger people. That does not mean that they think better though. I have met children who ask more inquisitive questions than graduated scholars.  

[-Less than Graceful-]

Teenagers I think are at the stage where their minds are (or should be) very open, making deep thought quite easy with a little effort.

I strongly dissagreee with this as I am 14 nearly 15 and only last week I thought of a different theory towards quantum physics that may have made other scietists believe in it more easily, my chemistry teacher looked shocked then gave me a merit.  

[Grandloves]

Teenagers are easily stereotyped by adults due to their self-proclaimed maturity. Teenagers are supposed t still be trying to find themselves amidst a crowd of peers. If you ask me, it takes quite a bit of thought to truly find out just who you are. I'm a bisexual 17 year old and issues like gay marriage, abortion, and religious intolerance are all things that I mull over in my mind. Just because I'm a teenager doesn't mean that I'm an idiot.  

[lavenders blue]

Well I think that that is a pretty ridiculous sentiment. If anything children and teenagers are in a better position to think about the world as their preconceptions have had less time to become ingrained unlike adults many of whom take the world completely for granted.

Having said that it is still incredibly important that teenagers learn to think about things and argue in the right way. Sorry for sounding like an old cook but it is easy for teenagers to be led astray by peer pressure and by unsound arguments and evidence which may seem appealing, of course the same goes for adults as well.
I think it is important for EVERYONE not only to ask and think about the "deep" questions but also to learn to analyse and evaluate others thoughts and arguements in a rational way so you are not led astray and stay true to whatever seems right to you.  

[A Fluorescent Adolescent]

I can agree that the majority is incapable of deep thought. I, however, have a group of friends in which we all discuss issues such as this. Teenagers are stereotyped against. Simple as that.  

[Bishielurfer]

"I'm older than you. I know more."
That's a typical adult mindframe, and a lot of adults therefore think anything and everything children and teenagers say is pointless dribble (and, honestly, I can see where they get it--sometimes I start wondering if it's true). My dad has this idea that any opinion I have that differs from his, I got from the school. o_O

Many teenagers are morons, flat-out, and they give the intelligent ones a bad name. Damned stereotypes!  

[DemonicLoveBeatsHumanHate]

I really dislike it when people say that another doesn't know anything just because of age. I'm 19, almost 20, and I still don't think I know exactly what I'm doing.
Words hurt, whether the reciever is 13 or 40... we just happen to deal with them in different ways. And no one has the right to say that we "aren't capable of deep thought." Because most likely... the person who says those kind of things are just trying to build themselves up because either they got told that when they were that age or they still feel incapable of truely deep thoughts.
Also, emotions are just as deep as thoughts, whether you know the reason behind them or not.  

[Raw_Chick]

I am a teenager, and I see and experience the daily stereotyping that occurs in this hectic life. Life is unfair, but unfair to the fact that it even has the power to almost brain wash you. It is unfair when people stereotype, because one cannot judge what they do not know.

Speaking on the terms that teenagers are incapable of deep thoughts is a complete load of bogus. I love to think in depth into this never ending abyss. I have been mistaken for an adult for how deep and complication my thinkings may lead to. One someone tells you to stop, you just continue what you are doing, because no one can stop your mind from thinking.

I love to think in depth, and discover things no one has ever thought about before, or has imagined. That is one way how so many incredible poems has come about now a-days. I love writing poems and I write about my findings, and it helps to connect to people and allow them to experience new opportunities and thoughts.

It's easy to stereotype I sadly even do it. I do it for the fact that I am sick of being stereotyped. Us teenagers get mistreated and disrespected and believe that we are all the same. WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!! Not to be rude by all means but I find a lot of teenage society goes around not caring about anything, and ruining tons of stuff for the people who do. They wonder why we get stereotyped because they continue to show a bad representation of themselves. Its unfair to the people who try, and are different and care about this world, and school, and not doing drugs and destroying their lives.

We don't get much of a chance in this world, but that doesn't meant to just give up and stop trying. I am one of the different people in this world, and I am not ashamed to be it. When I get stereotyped, don't be afraid to voice your opinion, because everyone deserves equal respect. "One must not expect others to understand them, until they understand themselves."  

[Consoro]

Incapable of deep thought, hmm?
Show her this, from my rants:

Quote:

Post the Second: On Celebrities and Obsessions
I had a dream not too long ago.
In it, I was standing beside an indoor pool while it was being filled up. Bill Clinton walks in, I pick up a hose, and thoroughly soak him. After I put it back down, he asks me why I did it, to which I reply that it was probably the media’s fault that so many people hate him… that they painted a bad image of him, when in reality he wasn’t that bad of a person, and it was that bad image that made odd people like me want to pick up water hoses and spray down ex-presidents. Sure, he did something stupid. Don’t we all?
Here’s a fun fact for you: I hate the media. In particular, the part of it that fills our minds with useless gossip about celebrities. How much of this is going to be remembered 5, even 10 years from now? Oh, dear! Brad and Angelina split up!
…Huh, that’s funny, relationships break up all the time, and most of them don’t even get a whisper of media coverage. So what makes Brad and Angelina so different? Why do we care if X star is pregnant, or Y star is a hopeless crack addict? The answer is simple. We only care because they’re on TV. Let’s face it- If these people weren’t on the boob tube, we wouldn’t give a bottled rat fart about them. And why should we? They’re just like us, really. They have ups, they have downs. They have addictions like we do- Chocolate, cigarettes, alcohol, horribly-acted B-grade horror flicks. They need to eat, sleep, drink, get sexed up every once in a while, just like we do. And yet, we follow them around with cameras, tap their phones, and steal used Kleenex from their trash cans. What in Hell is wrong with us?!
Here’s a thought: Take a moment to imagine your mother, pregnant with you. Now take a moment to imagine her pregnant with you, and with people hiding in the bushes with cameras ready. The very next day on the news, she sees her picture on the news, with her belly circled in red ink.
Do you see the same things wrong with this picture that I do?
So I ask again. Why do we care? Let me rephrase that, actually: Why should we care? Why are we hiring people to stalk them, do creepy, obsessive things, and post their secret lives all over the news, the web, and the newspapers? Don’t they deserve secrecy, at least? For having to put themselves forth as much as they do on a daily basis, don’t they deserve some sort of solace?
Aren’t they, after everything is said and done, only human?

 

[Yukinojo14]

I think that one of the reasons adults consider teenagers to be Incapable of deep thought is the same as the reason for most negative stereotypes. It's simply that negative things get better publisity. I mean, you always hear when something goes very wrong, but almost never when things go very right. This is the same thing. It's easyer to think little of a whole group then to consider each person.

Another reason might simply be that teen's are capable of deep thought, but not as good as explaning it as adults are. I know I have trouble sometimes explaning such things.  

[Mad Haru]

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.  

[Harlot Queen]

I'll actually capitalize for once xd
But anyway, a lot of adults feel that way, because of the way teenagers act and make decisions. A teenager's brain functions differently from that of a young adult, or really any adult. Studies show that adults use there frontal lobes to make rational decision, whereas teenage brains are controlled by the amygdala, which is the emotional center of the brain. It affects social behavior and decision making in such a way that teenagers can become irrational; this doesn't necessarly mean that never are never introspective, or never use their frontal lobes. It is just less likely. Of course, this changes as one ages.  

[Skizlersan]

To me, I think that a lot of adults think that way about teenagers, but not all of them.
I have friends 21(legal age to be an adult) and up who have deep conversations with me all of the time
It is rare to be friends with an authority like figure when your a teen though, well at least it is for me.
and I know their are a lot of adults out their who think kids are retarded. and I don' t think thats right at all, because a lot of us can use our brains.
but its scientifically proven that our brains aren't fully devolved until teenagers are older, we can still think deeply, in comparison to a lot of adults who sit and do nothing.
Plus its great that your thinking about things about life at such an early age! I think that its up to this generation to fix the mistakes that our parents made. And thinking deep like that is just a start.
to me, kids who think deep as a teenager, are kind of hard to come by, because a lot of us are idiots, but the older we get the more scientific advances we will make!
Not to mention its up to us as a generation to fix the way everyone lives.

Don't listen to those jerk off's who cant leave the past. its getting to the point where a kid can be just as capable as thinking like an adult, and we just have to prove it.

I hope this has helped things biggrin