The Implications of Adolescence

In a previous post, I discussed the concept of childhood as a recent innovation. Then, I started thinking: if the tradition of “childhood” hasn’t been around for very long, then how newfangled is the idea of “adolescence”? And what are the implications of specifically defining this period on those individuals that currently reside in it?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, adolescence refers to, “the state or process of growing up” or “the period of life from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority”. It is generally accepted to be the ages between 13 and 19. According to that dictionary, the word was first used in the 15th cenury, but psychologist Granville Stanley Hall is usually credited with the “discovery” of the phase of adolescence in 1904. He asserted that the phase was significant because “adolescents' adaptability might provide the jumping-off point for the fulfillment of human potential and evolutionary advancement”.

Hall was eerily accurate. Researchers have made vast strides in understanding this phase of human development and many studies show how occurrences during adolescence affect all of an individual’s life. It’s clear that having a well-rounded adolescence promotes a healthy transition into a well-adjusted adulthood, but problems during that time can also heavily impact the rest of one’s life. One example of this can be seen in this recent study that suggests that teenage obesity increases the risk of being morbidly obese in maturity, implying severe health complications that only worsen with age.

In another study, researchers found that alcohol and marijuana usage in adolescence causes frontal lobe brain developmental delay and damage, associated with a decrease in attention and executive function and memory performance. Since the young adult mind is flexible and still developing, abstaining from substance abuse could reverse the situation, but if not stopped, damage could be permanent. I don’t want to sound preachy, as I am definitely guilty of assuming the “teenagers are invincible” mentality on occasion, but overall, we need to realize that the effects of our actions have long term consequences.

Adolescence, like childhood, is a time of growth but we have much less restrictions. I know personally how vastly different this stage in my life is compared to my childhood, and it seems like everyone around me knows it, too. Teachers don’t hold our hands anymore and walk us through our curriculum, but we still have parental curfews. We have car keys and jobs, but we still have to be home every night for dinner. As adolescents, we have a unique identity that still gives us structure, but in order to mature into successful adults, we must be make good decisions about the new freedoms we possess.