Teenage angst is the fault of the adults in the room

With the internet, the lid has been well and truly ripped off Pandora's box and we find ourselves not knowing what this strange species gets up to in their downtime. We attempt to keep them home, and safe, on the one hand, but allow them the freedom of roaming anywhere in a virtual world, where literally anything goes, on the other. Online it is pure anarchy: there are no rules, just likes, dislikes and the constant, incessant, clamour for attention, as the more our good intentions cause harm and angst, the more immersed the kids become in their parallel universe.

Now, before I continue, a disclaimer: my first rule of constructing this weekly diatribe is ‘don’t mix my job as a teacher with these writings’. It’s as if I live a Jekyll and Hyde existence and this guy, the columnist, if that’s what I am, is a standalone entity from the shirt-wearing chap who stands daily and extols the virtues of collating a workable break-even chart.

The borough is among the 'most improved' in England when it comes to school behaviour (Photo: Pixabay)

Us teachers, however, have a unique perspective into the teenager’s psyche. Kids share snapshots of their lives to teachers that they wouldn’t to their parents, and often it is revealing as to where they are coming from, no matter how alien.

The public's perception is that teenagers are potty-mouthed, lazy, and oppressive beings who have little worth to offer society. Yes, there are some foibles that take some getting used to, such as the lingo. Whilst teaching, I like to throw in a ‘Dad joke’ which, peculiarly receives more mirth in the classroom than it does at home. "I went to the canteen earlier sir, there were bare people". I am fully aware that ‘bare’ in teen-lingo means ‘lots of’, but I feel the need to, ironically, ask what naked people were doing in the canteen? Before watching the confusion on a teen's face as they look at me as if I am archaic which, compared to them, I guess I am. And don’t even get me started on the overuse of the words ‘bro’ and ‘fam’, although I often throw them into conversation for the sheer hell of it.

In another vain attempt to get down with the kids, I attempt to make Business sound interesting by replacing the term ‘thousands of pounds’ with ‘G’s, ‘bags’ or ‘large ones’. Admittedly, it doesn’t travel when coming from my lips and collectively they look at me as if I am a complete and utter numpty with the same level of cool as Bojo doing some rad skateboarding in a Fubu tracksuit, fam.

The truth is most teens are nice, well-rounded individuals and a heck of a lot less troublesome than I was at that age. Take Halloween: when we used to trick or treat, we would relish refusal of some sweets from a poor unsuspecting OAP by putting smoke pellets or eggs through their letterbox. Nowadays that rarely happens as the first port of call would be their downloading the footage off the ring doorbell and posting it online to publicly tar and feather the kids and their parents.

Where there are issues, and there are issues, we really have no one to blame but ourselves as we allow minds, many of them nowhere near fully formed, to become poisoned by cyber ‘culture’ that has little scope for them to be able to handle such a responsibility.

Teenagers block adults acces to their online world

Kids retreat into their online worlds as a safety mechanism and because it’s all they know. Fights at school and in the street, always, at some stage, involve technology and social media. Teenage boys often gain a warped perception of females and relationships through unrestricted access to hardcore content that many adults can’t themselves handle, as strangers attempt to gaslight them into making the one mistake online that will haunt them for an eternity.

Yet before we sit and judge, we need to ask what the root of the problem is. Is it the teenager succumbing to temptation? Maybe it's peer pressure or lack of parental control? Or is it our fault through allowing unrestricted access to content that results in mental illness and letting life as we once knew it become redundant?

I believe the truth is that the main fault lies with us: the adults in the room. It’s worth remembering that the next time we criticise the kids and attempt to denounce them publicly for a situation that is ultimately our fault, we should continue our curiosity about a generation that is as secretive as it is misunderstood.

• Brett Ellis is a teacher