14 DAY TRIAL // That today’s youth is not what it used to be, say, twenty or so years ago, is no longer something to wonder about. However, while it’s an entirely natural thing for generations to develop independently and somehow against the previous ones, it’s often said that it’s the faceless and depersonalizing Internet, and the modern celebrity culture that are stealing the best years of our youth by forcing them to grow up faster to keep up. The latest to speak her concerns about teenagers’ corruption is Olivia Lichtenstein, a TV producer, director and novelist.
Mrs. Lichtenstein is also a mother and, thanks to her open relationship with her daughter, she got to learn more than other parents about the inner mechanisms that move an entire generation of amoral teens. In a new piece for the Daily Mail, Lichtenstein calls a spade a spade, uncovering the shocking truth that many other parents suspect, but have never had a glimpse of: the Internet, with social sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, is one of the causes for which today’s youngsters seem to have lost even the faintest trace of modesty.
Under the umbrella of relative anonymity, teens are sucked into a world where talking about their private life, with all the juicy details that are either invented or made possible on purpose, just to have something to brag about, is the norm.
Teens, she says, no longer communicate in the most common sense of the word, choosing to spend hours in front of the computer, sharing with people they have and will never see the most intimate aspects of their life. They are able to relate to others no more, except for boasting about drunken parties and what goes on at them, with pictures and even videos to stand as evidence for their undeniable “cool” factor.
“Perhaps it’s the freedom or lack of boundaries they’ve learned from virtual reality that give them permission to behave with such frightening lack of inhibition in person. That and the demon drink, for today’s teenage girls drink in a way we rarely did. When one considers our society, it’s no surprise that our children have lost all sense of modesty.” Mrs. Lichtenstein bluntly puts it.
“It is precisely this erosion of the boundaries of privacy and the absence of taboo that is so shocking about today’s teenagers. Modern technology allows children access to images and information we, as children, could scarcely have imagined. In today’s world of fast information and access to all areas, too many – particularly the young – are having to up the stakes to chase their particular dragon and get the high they crave. Sometimes, they’re so busy creating drama and tension in the movie of their own lives that they’ve forgotten to be human beings.” she further explains.
And it’s not just the Internet that’s to blame for the absence of boundaries between what’s right and wrong, Lichtenstein says. Reality television, with the countless shows that promote exhibitionism in its crassest form and, in the end, encourage the absence of a private life is also responsible. The same goes for today’s celebrity culture, where “role models” like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Katie Price / Jordan have shown that scandal sells better than any good deed they might have done. Caught in the middle, teen girls take the same route, acting like the products of a perverted society created by the Internet and tabloid media.
“Instant fame is all. In today’s celebrity culture, no one cares how you made your name, as long as you’ve made it; there’s no distinction between fame and notoriety. [Ariel Levy] writes about the American experience, where many a young girl’s dream seems to be the desire to dance around a pole or cheer while others do. She says that feminist terms such as liberation and empowerment, that used to describe women’s fight for equality, have been perverted.” Mrs. Lichtenstein explains.
However, this is not about being a feminist or not, she concludes by saying, as much as it is about being true to oneself and learning that, where society fails, one has to compensate with individuality and not the herd instinct. Parents should learn to see the signs and act accordingly, she concludes by saying.