Why do American teenagers have the stigma of being lazy?

There are many reasons why teenagers or really anyone at any age might be considered lazy. Some different phases and behaviors occur during various stages of our lives. Teenagers go through a time when they will show a lack of interest in schoolwork, chores, and community life.

Adults have already been through this and know the “drill” regarding juggling work and life’s pressures. Children have to learn about time management, organizational skills, and just dealing with school pressures, home life, peer acceptance, and everything that goes with their present world.

If you want to get into the scientific aspect of it, you have to consider hormonal changes that cause a shift in their internal clock, which tells them to sleep later in the day and wake later in the morning. The brain is not fully developed until your mid-twenties, and some school systems begin at the crack of dawn, so you have a teenager that could fall asleep in class, projecting the picture of laziness.

I am not sure why there is a stance that American teenagers are lazy, because I do not believe this is a case. I believe that more than ever, American teenagers are having to work harder and having to start to work at a much younger age.

One of the reasons for this because the cost of college is steadily rising, while the minimum age is staying the same. Therefore, these teenagers have been having to work in high school to save for college, as well as work multiple jobs once they are enrolled in college. Once you take a look at how hard teenagers are truly working, you will see they are not lazy.

I believe that there is a stigma about American teenagers being lazy because, over the years, there have been many subjective articles written on the subject. Examples include the Hawk Journal article "Teenagers: They’re Not Just Lazy…Probably" and Sonima's "Why Today’s Teens Are So “Lazy”.

However, I do not agree with this notion. I think it is easy to say they are because they have so many more advantages with technology, but truly, American teenagers are working hard to get what they want. Most are entering the workforce early and having to work multiple jobs to pay for college or the things they want.

American teenagers are often referred to as lazy because technology and social media have taken over and rule their lives. They like to play video games for hours on end, and they do not typically think about going outside and participating in sports or exercise because they tend to favor a more sedentary life.

Teenagers often want instant gratification in every situation. Social media has done this to them. They want things taken care of right now, as opposed to being patient and waiting for the best job, the right boyfriend or girlfriend, and many do not take enough time to study or prepare for tests.

They get into relationships too fast and break up with people too soon. Many of them do not work because their parents are well off or don’t want to work. They also overeat junk food and therefore do not get the proper nutrients from all the five major food groups.

There are some people who think that American teenagers are generally lazy. This is not necessarily true. There are some American teenagers who have proved over the past years that this stigma should be debunked. Some teenagers work very hard in order to make a living while going to school. There are also some who would do their best in order to get a scholarship to have the chance to go to college.

The stigma may have come from the way that American teenagers were shown on television and movies. In real life, American teenagers are not like that. They can work as hard as the other teenagers from different races. The same way that some teenagers from other races may not be exactly as determined as people paint them out to be.

I don’t necessarily agree that American teenagers have the stigma of being lazy. A very interesting article, dated June 9, 2017, by Derek Thompson, a senior editor at The Atlantic states, “Many of the jobs that teenagers used to do no longer exist; they’ve gone to older Americans and new immigrants.”

He also provides statistics to back up his claim that “teenagers aren’t spending more time on the couch, but rather spending more time in the classroom...Teens are remaining in high school longer, going to college more often, and taking more summer classes. The percent of recent high-school graduates enrolled in college—both two-year and four-year—has grown by 25 percentage points. That is almost exactly the decline in the teenage labor-force participation rate.”