They are bored. They are marking time. Too many are more concerned with their after-school jobs than with their school work. Too many choose Madonna and Seinfeld, Scully and Mulder or Beavis and Butthead as their role models. Too many become parents while they still desperately need parents.
Substance abuse continues to deter teenagers from reaching their potential.
More than 90 percent of adult tobacco users became addicted between the ages of 10 and 20. A university of Maine study released in February found that 26 percent of 9th graders admitted to getting drunk during the previous 2 weeks. 18 Percent admitted to smoking marijuana at least once a month and 23 percent of 7th and 8th graders have tried the latest craze, inhalants. Moreover, teen suicide and crime rates are often overstated. She points out, however, that if measured by economic dependence on parents, and segregation from socially useful work, adolescence has actually been prolonged.