Teens Are Asking to Be Seen: The Politics of Growing Up

"Adolescence has always been a season of becoming. One of its most striking features is the dawning awareness that childhood is ending and adulthood is coming into view. This realization touches nearly every part of a young person's life: how they think, what they value, and, increasingly, how they understand the world beyond their own front door. Yet many teens encounter a familiar frustration as they begin to speak with more complexity-the sense of being dismissed, underestimated, or gently waved aside."

"There is a moment in adolescence when a young person begins to feel their own edges more clearly-where they end and where the world begins. Psychologists describe this as identity formation, but to teens it often carries a simpler, more urgent message: I'm growing up. Please see that. They are learning to separate without severing, to distinguish their own voice from the chorus of voices that raised them."

"I remember when my daughter bought her first car. Melissa is 36 now and on her third, but at the time, I felt a familiar mix of pride and fear. It was surprisingly hard to hold the image of her as a competent young woman at the wheel without my mind flipping instantly to an earlier version-my adorable toddler, bows in her hair, pretending to drive. It's a moment most parents know well."

Adolescence involves a dawning awareness that childhood is ending and adulthood is approaching. That awareness shapes thinking, values, and understanding of the wider world. Many teens feel dismissed or underestimated as they begin to speak with more complexity and claim independent perspectives. Identity formation leads teens to test boundaries, separate without severing, and distinguish their own voices from the chorus that raised them. Adults often struggle to update images of young people and may respond with nostalgia or protective instincts. Recognizing teens as emerging adults supports healthy development and affirms their growing competence and civic engagement.

Read at Psychology Today