Informal Essay

Treatment of Teenagers

 

                No matter where one is, one is being judged. Whether it is outright defiance or subtle body language teenagers are being collectively judged. These opinions reach far and wide, touching or influencing every teenager in some way. It has mutated to the point that society feels that teens are stealing from their backs. It is not a matter of wealth, religion or race; it is just a general discrimination that continues to flourish. It sounds terrible, but in reality, it is a truth that is widely accepted.

 

                The first point in the Canadian Charter of Rights under the sub-section “Equality Rights”, directly states, “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” However, scattered amongst retail stores lies the bold faced truth; “No more than TWO teenagers allowed at any time!” How can this be when our own Charter of Rights proclaims no discrimination of age? Can you imagine if you were to apply the exact same logic and create a sign that declared; “No more than TWO Jews allowed at any time!” There would be political figures scurrying to the scene trying to come up with an explanation for the outraged crowd. So then, what is the difference? A recent report by the Centre for Retail Research found that the biggest shoplifters are men who are “older, more organised and are often stealing higher value goods.” So why not make up a sign saying no more than two of them? According to the report, doing this would deter more shoplifting then is being incurred from teenagers.

 

We pride ourselves on being such an accepting country and yet, we blatantly turn our backs upon an age group.  As one examines the Charter of Rights you will come across the fourth fundamental freedom; the freedom of association. However, how would a teenager ever know? Not only are these negative stereotypes affecting adults perspectives on teens but they are discouraging teens, and creating false feelings about their sense of worth; which to a teen, is everything. But, who gets to decide the validity of such stereotypes? Society? Society is only able to see a one sided perspective and therefore is receiving a tainted view of teenagers. Their overexposure to stereotypes is altering their opinion from what used to be a chosen representation to reality. A Youth Risk Behaviours Survey, a section of Centers for Disease Control revealed that, “Violence, pregnancy, and sex rates among youth have dropped significantly over the years. In addition, a higher percentage of High School students are graduating than 10 years ago.” So, why then do these accusing stereotypes remain?

 

Can you imagine if teenagers as a whole had a political figure or media strand that could open the world’s eyes about the astonishing things teens are doing? Then maybe people would know about how teens in the UK are, “Pro-active about ecological and political issues on both a local and a global scale." (Article from March, 31^st, 2004, BBC News) or that, teens in India are, “Creating an oasis in the heart of one of India's most polluted and lawless cities.” (Article from December, 6^th, 2006, BBC News) But the reality is, these things are going either unnoticed or barely noticed. There is no spokesperson for teenagers, so what most people hear about is the latest school shooting where a teenager went crazy.