Hi there!
My name is Judith, I am from the UK and I go by judiththereader here on WordPress. I am an English student and I write book reviews, film reviews and post creative tags and challenges. You can find my blog here: readandreview2016.wordpress.com
First of all, there is so much to talk about! Exams, expectations, jobs, social media, stereotypes, technology, and so on. I am going to share the instinctive thoughts and observations I had in response to the prompt: What Is It Like To Be A Teenager In 2016?
As is typical of the younger generation, there is always a huge variety of subcultures and hobbies to suit everybody. This is best represented by just how niche some Student Union Societies can be. For example, when I was researching universities, I was surprised to see how many more “wacky” clubs existed alongside the more conventional sports groups and discussion groups such as:
- Tea Societies
- Juggling Societies
- Nerf Gun Societies
- Tiddlywinks Societies
- Beekeeping Societies
However, despite this seemingly diverse and positive culture it is apparent to me that there is still a negative stigma attached to “The Youth”. We carry the stereotype of being underage mothers, underage drunks and underage drug-users. Whilst there is a lot of truth to this statement, this does not describe every young person in the United Kingdom.
Personally, I think we are a divided generation, and this can be split into two “camps”.
In Camp 1, we have reasonably intellectual, reasonably politically-minded, conscientious teenagers who find enjoyment from a wide variety of activities. In Camp 2, we have those who obsess over self-image, the number of followers they have on social media, and how much alcohol and/or drugs they can consume in any given night.* While these are broad generalisations, I don’t doubt that I am fairly near the truth.
*Words associated with Camp 2 individuals can be ‘hipster’, ‘baller’ and ‘swag’. See Urban Dictionary for more.
Thus, unfortunately, to be a teenager in 2016 means that adults can unwittingly treat you like an unruly teen who is barely out of childhood, whilst simultaneously expecting behaviour which reflects a mature, responsible young adult. It is a case of Schrödinger’s Teenager*, if you will.
In short, I think a lot of Britain’s youth have a lot of growing up to do.
Are you a teen from 13-19, please e-mail me and we will talk. Interesting in participating and telling us how you feel about being a teenager in 2016. E-mail me at Cmugrad817@yahoo.com. Check out this post Calling all Teenage Bloggers
Making Time For Me 
I was so happy to have you as a part of this spotlight! Thank you again!
LikeLiked by 1 person