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Opinion

Society becoming more disconnected

Christian Ochoa
Opinion Columnist 

In the eyes of my parents, I am one of those "sad kids" — the bookworms wearing low tops, black-rimmed glasses and the occasional shirt that reads, "Meat is murder. Tasty, tasty murder." They see walking aimlessly at night in Montrose. I'm aware of my awkwardness, but I'm not an aimless walker. Awkwardness and adolescent alienation aren't new things; both are common phases that a majority undergoes in those wonderful years of puberty. 

But even in this MySpace-crazed world that pushes for community via the Internet, adolescents are having a harder time leaving these alienation phases behind and interacting with the world.

The Washington Post spotlighted a new book on Tuesday, The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine, in which Levine states that overbearing parents who pressure children to excel in everything they do -- academics, sports and quite possibly carnal conquests for the boys -- have created a generation of "extremely unhappy, disconnected and passive" teenagers. Just what the world needs: more emo kids. Despite having these reclusive qualities, the new generation of teenagers is also "unabashedly materialistic and disinterested in the wider world; they are both bored and often boring." A large number of this generation are also more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Exactly what the world needs: Boring emo kids who have problems with blow. 

Instead of focusing on making connections with people, parents are pushing children to become competitive and to become conspicuous consumers. This is not to say that parents share full responsibility for children's emotional problems. Teenagers tend to be melodramatic, and some continue this act well into adulthood.

Affluent teenagers are at the highest-risk in treading down this jaded road. In Levine's research, it seems that affluent parents are not likely to give their children any treatment for these emotional perils and instead focus on trying to protect the overall image of the "perfect family." Of course, a Norman Rockwell-type of family is the romantic ideal for many Americans, but in reality, these types of families are few and far between. 

Affluent families are not the only ones who suffer from this burden. Families of lower socioeconomic status deal with the same issue: pushing their children to excel in everything. Competition and wealth aren't necessarily bad things, but both shouldn't supersede human contact and friendship.

I am not trying to romanticize the 1950s (segregation and white-picket fences aren't my thing), but fluid interaction between neighbors was more common in that era than in our present day of deadbolt locks and gated neighborhoods. The parents of this new generation need to realize their children can't excel in everything, and sometimes their children are the awkward ones in the black-rimmed glasses, not the preps in the sweater vests.

Such change can't be expected overnight because it seems the faster that modems, cars and people become, our society loses out on simple human interaction and places a higher emphasis on the latest models of the latest gadgets from our latest retail binge. 

Ochoa, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at thecochoa@gmail.com.