Teenagers Need to Have More Leeway

Hi! Thanks for posting this debate. Teen depression is a very important issue, however I disagree with your opening statement and quite a few of your arguments. For the record, I am 21 so have just come out of 'teenhood' and can relate to a lot of teen issues while also seeinng it from an outside perspective.In my argument I'll be making some general statements and also commenting on some of the arguments you made:Pro: I don't think that teenagers have ever felt this bad.First of all this is something that I would have to disagree with straight away. Teenagers 500 years ago would be expected to plough fields all day, and were practically slaves to their parent. They would not have any access to education at all. 200 years ago teenagers would have been expected to provide income for their family, sweeping chimneys or cleaning homes. Teens 50 years ago would have been a part of the horror of two world wars. We are living in the best times there ever have been for teens and adults alike.My main refutation to your points is that none of the issues you have pointed out apply only to teens, and in fact the issues are usually far worse in adults. The average age for a first depressive episode in Major Depressive Disorder is in the patient's 30's or 40's. Mid life crisies are incredibly common and are often accompanied by a feeling of worthlessness in adults.A persons teenage years are a time where you are overflowing with hormones and emotions, but it is also an incredibly important time to learn to deal with the issues that will undoubtedly affect you in adulthood. Regarding those 10 signs teenagers are depressed, quite a few of them can be put down to hormones, but even if they weren't, you could apply the same list to people in their 40's or 50's! People in their 40's and 50's often have the additional responsibility of putting food on the table, paying rent, not only for themselves but often for their own children!Regarding some of the signs you posted.Pro: 1. Teen doesn't have time to have a social lifeYou supported this saying that you yourself have felt your social life slip away. However school is the time in your life where you will probably have the most friends. I'm not sure about your parents, but most adults see their social group, (and social lives) shrink and shrink and shrink as they get older (mine certainly has, and I'm only just out of my teens!). I'd take a guess and say that your parents social group is significantly smaller than yours. (This is generally the case). Pro: 5. Teen has a schedule that is busier than yoursThis is a classic case of cognitive bias, I don't know about your case personally, but I know that while I was at sports practice, (where I had been taken to by my parents), my parents would then be taking my sister to band practice or whatever. It wasn't until I drove my sister to her piano lesson that I realised how much time parents commit to their kids. I would have to drive 15 minutes to get my sister there, drive back home, and then do it again just 1 hour later. Realistically that is 1.5 hours of my day gone just driving my sister (it is difficult to do something productive in the 30 mins between picking her up and dropping her off). Multiply that by any siblings you have, and you end up an incredibly busy time for parents dedicated just to their children. This is on top of work hours, and any other things parents may need to do (cook dinner, file taxes etc).As you are an overachieving student it seems only fair to compare you with overachieving adults. A lot of my friends have recently graduated college, and are working for free as interns, putting in 12 hours a day at the office for ZERO pay. The biggest complaint I hear from them is that they are not working for themselves (as you do in school or college, the work you purely for your own benefit) but they are doing grunt work for their bosses. Every piece of homework that you complete or assignment you hand in only benefits you, whereas work you do in the office can often be unfulfilling. This article http://www.nbcnews.com... how the 70 hour work week is becoming more and more common. 10 hours a day (9am-9pm with no lunch break - six days of the week). Unfortunately the amount of time you are expected to put into work only increases as you get older. And the stakes only raise too. An adult missing an 'assignment' can result in them losing their job, and being unable to support their family.Pro: the media puts a ridiculous amount of pressure on teenagers [...] be the "correct" weight & be the "ideal" body typeWhile I do agree with this, it is not an issue just for teens, I am in my twenties and lots of men and women feel under immense pressure to look and dress the correct way. Adults also have the increased pressure of looking presentable for employment, your teenage years are a time that you can express yourself and dress goth or prep, neither of which wouls be acceptable in most workplaces. Adult eating disorders are on a major rise, while it has classically been a teen issue, this is because it is more likely to be diagnosed in teens (who have parents watching over them) than in adults. This change is reflected in the institutions that deal with eating disorders, the University of North Carolina's Eating Disorders Program was designed for adolescents—now half of its patients are over 30 years old.Stress is an unfortunate but inevitable part of every humans life, not just teens. Once people hit the working world this amount of stress only ramps up, and if it were not for the stressful times we had as teens, where we had out parents and friends to help us out then we would not be able to handle the even more difficult times in adulthood such as unemployment and bankruptcy. A lot of adults wish they could return to their teen years (I already do!) and the main reason is due to stress.