January 11, 2024

The Discovery of Teenagers (ep. 11.13)

24 minutes

For most of human history, teenagers have been lumped in with children or with adults, depending on which way was most convenient at the time. People between the ages of 13 and 19 didn't become "teenagers" until the 20th century. In this episode, I talk about:

how the Classical writers defined the difference between childhood and youth/adolescence

how important it was for girls of that age to maintain virginity or marry, nothing in between

how in 1904 an American psychologist informed us that adolescence was a time of "storm and stress"

how the invention of the high school and the car allowed young people to develop a shared culture around dating, dancing, movies, slang, and personal appearance

how Margaret Mead informed the West that "storm and stress" was the result of Western culture and chastity requirements, not an inherent part of the adolescence

and how the post World War II culture in the West became increasingly dominated by teenagers (a word that only became common in this period).

This marks the end of Series 11, so there is also an announcement on the results of the poll for Series 12 topic.

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