This morning was watching MSNBC. Why? Because that's why my hubby had it on. Anyway, across the bottom some of the statements related to teens. A few of the comments were based on this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15835131/site/newsweek), and I would like your opinion on it. Please answer the questions before you read the article.
One of the statements made is this: As teenagers develop into adults they are ruled by impulsiveness more than logic.
My question is this, do you think this is true about yourself?
I'm just curious.
I'm 16 and I carefully plan my future. I am very far from being impulsive, in fact I have even a hard time deciding sometimes. However, I consider myself as being a highly logical person. So far, I haven't made anything that could be considered as impulsive: never drank alcohol, never smoke, never went into a bar, never had tons of girlfriends, never bought useless wares, etc. I prefer to save up for the future to live a good life.
I'll read the article, though...
As an adult I can't speak to how I am but I can speak to how I was. I was never particularly impulsive, not as a child, teenager or adult.
That article is crap. Its just more people giving excuses for stupidity. Teen agers are no more impulsive than adults, a little more naive (caused by a society that like to shelter children from reality) and prone to pure pressure (caused by a society that increase conformity) but no more impulsive.
People like to give these excuses, they like to make teenagers seem mantel younger than they actually are. In ancient times people where marring and starting family at ages that in the modern world that are considered too way Young. 14 year olds where considered eligible for marriage 2000 years ago yet in the modern would are considered too immature to drink, get a job, have sex. If teen agers are immature and impulsive, perhaps the fault lies which society and the parents and not there age.
Last edited by The Conspirator on Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:23 am; edited 1 time in total
Well. Im 16. Just turned in october.
And i think that teenagers do act on impulse. This is very normal.
But the few that are rational, may have no meaning because they ARE the minority.
So all you can do is look at teenagers not as a statistic, but as individuals, because thats what we are. Everyones different. Thats the way i look on life. And it seems to work.
I am 17 and I am not ruled by impulsiveness. But also, I've also kind of had to mature faster because of certain situations in my life and family so I'm not a typical teen.
First of all, hi ! Second, I'm sorry to say this about myself but in my case it's kind of true 
...most of the time instead of being rational and logic i'm just doing things out of reflex or instinct...there are cases these days mostly when I can think and concentrate. But yes I think it's true, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing...Being impulsive can help you sometimes...I repeat , sometimes ! Anyways like shortypants102890 said it's normal for a teenager to feel impulsive...I'm 18 and I'm starting to control myself better now then when I was 15, 16 or whatever...It's going to be ok. Take care ! 
I must agree with The Conspiritor. That article is crap. But I do not totally agree with why the article has no intellectual value.
First, did anyone else notice the multitudes of Viagra ads plastered all over the page? That seems to me to be an indicator that this article was aimed at an elderly audience, which explains the negative veiws torwards tennagers. That would make any facts used and conclusions reached in this article be biased and subject to a pessimistic veiw of today's teens.
Second, this article never explains why teens do these things, which to me seemed to be the entire point of the article. "Why? As a parent of three boys, I want to interview the Jim Starks of the world. First I want to shake them by the lapels, but then I want to ask them these questions: What were you thinking? What precisely was going on in your reasoning process when you said to yourself, 'Sure, racing my car toward a cliff is an OK thing to do?'" This entire paragraph seems to indicate that this article holds the key to the teenager's thinking process, yet the remainder of the article skirts the answer to this question, which makes it smell of fishy logic. Besides, i can tell you straight up why teens do stupid things. It's all part of a learning process. You have to learn that something is bad before you know it is, and for most people who actually do think for themselves, accepting another person's word usually isn't enough.
And finally, this entire article seems to me to be an illogical splurge of teen bashing, a sport very similar to gay bashing, nerd bashing, and racism. "While teenagers are just as likely as adults to get the answer right (the correct answer is 'No'), teens actually have to mull the question over momentarily before they answer. " Please excuse the author of this article as he blatantly smacks the crap out of the closet teenager. It's not like they know it's bad for them. Bull.
Well, I am 17, and for years now, I have never considered myself "impulsive". I actually have a great deal of admiration and respect for the concept of Logic. I think it is one of the best things to have. The article is just making a hasty generalization, not everybody is impulsive.
I agree with the Conspirator as well...this article is totally crap and also as said above...we need to look at who this was meant to be read by, most likely as stated already, it was to some of our elders. i am 25 so as to speaking directly now to this article and how i am does not apply but how i use to be does. It is just a bunch of excuses, but no one wants to take credit for...they would rather just make excuses for the way teens are today... why is it that, the older generation for the most part does not except the younger generation...just because they are different...well my friend...times do change and the way things are done change as well....thats just my 2 cents.
I don't enjoy when any professional article or study tries to make the claim that everyone of a certain group is any such way.
There are just as many adults as there are teens who live on impulsiveness.
I, myself, being 15, like to find myself being a logical thinker. Yet, of course, I may just be naive.
Indeed, the article is sort of crappy. But as in all good lies there are some truth. I know that if anyone asked me | Quote: |
| Is it a good thing to set your hair on fire? |
Then I would of course say no, by all means. But that will not say I would not consider the action being of some interest. I might sound completly insane saying this, but even though my mind tells me an action like that is madness, some part of me still wants to see what would happen if I really did it...
I am 16, and consider myself to be quite logical in my thinking, but then there is a limit between imaginate an action and actually doing it... ITS TRUE
SOME teenagers do act on impulse but not ALL of them.
Some of us have been in situations that have forced us to grow up and become logical but teens are now trying to prove that they are responsible enought to be trusted with a car and a cell phones and the stuff they want.
In Some cases Teens just natualy respond PURELY on impluse and then they think about what they did and the consequences of their actions latter!!
PARTY NOW DIE LATER is the motto of almost all teens at my school who have everything given to them value nothing and have never HAD to grow up and become mature some what responsible teens like others!!
| livilou wrote: |
This morning was watching MSNBC. Why? Because that's why my hubby had it on. Anyway, across the bottom some of the statements related to teens. A few of the comments were based on this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15835131/site/newsweek), and I would like your opinion on it. Please answer the questions before you read the article.
One of the statements made is this: As teenagers develop into adults they are ruled by impulsiveness more than logic.
My question is this, do you think this is true about yourself?
I'm just curious. |
This is partly true - for me anyway.
My father resisted and greatly tought me to think logicallywhile I was very young and this kinda made me live above implusiveness. Sure peer-pessure will exist somehow but it didn't prevail.Well I'm pretty logical. I'm 20. My friends are somewhat driven by impulse, but has enough logical sense in them to prevent them from doing pretty dumb things, but each of them has a set percentage of each... at least that's how it is at the moment.
One of my friends is very driven by impulse and although his logical sense is very small compared to it, he has luck to keep him alive.
Another one acts like he acts on impulse, but upon inspection he has a lot of logical sense. That's why he keeps the prior friend in check... usually.
Another one is going to The Citadel, so he's really logical, but acts on impulse when he deems the right conditions are there. Meaning it won't kill him, hurt him, or get him in trouble easily.
Like I said before, my friends and I pretty much have different percentages of impulse actions and logical actions within us.
Hah, now I'm gonna say something really irrational. I'm 19 and the very most of the decisions I took in my life were taken because of an impulse. Including the idea of leaving the whole world, my family, friends, etc. behind me and moving all by myself to another city, which turned out to be very good for me. Including the choice of a University and my studies' subject, that now I'm so glad about. Including the idea of going to some kind of camp not knowing anything about it nor a single person, which turned out to be one of the coolest ways I have spent my holiday. I know that if I had been to decide on any of those matters rationally, I wouldn't be so happy at the moment.
One of my life mottos is "Future is dead, past is forgotten.. present time I feel so alive." I really believe that long term plans are really pointless, because too many factors can actually affect your life. I know that someday I'll finish my studies, definitely have a big family [I'd love to have at least 3 children], move somewhere abroad. But the only thing I'm sure about is that I will be truly happy, the way i am now. No matter how much money I have, no matter if I have a partner, no matter for anything. Now name me a single reason that I should change my attitude?
[I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes, but it's after 3. a.m. in my country and the letters on my screen start to blur. 
] | The Conspirator wrote: |
| That article is crap. |
I agree. I mean, honestly. If you're dumb enough to set your hair on fire, you probably deserve to die.
The problem with society today is that people are over-protective, and are trying to make life easier for themselves at the cost of others.
For example, if a person lives their whole life without having the smallest bit of junkfood because of their parents, what do you think they're going to as soon as they are away from their parents? Have McDonalds.
Same thing for alcohol. In Australia, at any age, a person is allowed to drink alcohol at home or under adult supervision. And I, possibly like other teenagers, think that alcohol tastes like what The Conspirator thinks of that article. I've been put off of it because I've had it and not liked it (Possibly because I'm too young to have developed a taste for it, or something).
Another fact is that with a larger population comes larger problems. The reason people hear about problems like ectasy more is because there is a larger population, and in that larger population there are more idiots who take the drugs.
I'm not trying to offend people.. But some people have the logic that "I'm older then that, it's not my problem." Some examples are "Now that I'm an adult, I don't really care about what rights teenagers have."
If people continue like this, who knows? They may as well lock all teenagers up in concentration camps 
I've just left Teenageism behind last year. Looking back on it, I can say that most of my actions were on impulse, and, on reflection, would not have done any of it if I'd have been of sound mind.
Im 17 so a oldish teenager and I would suggest I would settle for more than logic.
I like to think that I plan ahead. I like to explore all aspects concerning what I am planning to do.
For example which bus?
The one that goes to my local village which is a 15min road walk or the bus that drops behind the back of my house (5min country walk). I plan the weather, what is it doing, going to do? And decide. Usually I choose the country coz I like. Theres some logic in it.
If shopping, I saw something I liked, I would think do I need it? What will work with it. etc
| missdixy wrote: |
| I am 17 and I am not ruled by impulsiveness. But also, I've also kind of had to mature faster because of certain situations in my life and family so I'm not a typical teen. |
That makes you all the more a typical modern teen.Arguments over the validity of the article aside, I think that I can honestly say that as I go through my teenage years I have been taking more risks that some might call "impulsive."
But maybe we need to take a closer look at the what impulsive really is, according to he Random House Unabridged Dictionary, an impulse is the influence of a particular feeling, mental state or and instinctual urge. As such wouldn't an impulsive action be a done based on a decision that your brain made based on the same levels of logic that it would use normally? I dont profess to have a more than average understanding of how our brains work, but it would seem to me that in an impulsive decision a certain value in the brains logic engine (emotion) is higher than normal, and i do not beleive that this is anything other than normal behavior for any person old or young.
I think that at the most a teenager's brain might give slightly less value to consequences in their logic but this difference is not a large one (if it is even true) and would only serve to aid in a persons natural period of exploration and growth.
I am fresh into the teenage scene. I'm thirteen and will be fourteen in a week's time. I am more of a realist. But I have noticed on a lot of occasions, I act on impulse. It's when I really have no idea why I want to or did an action, no logic behind it yes? I guess it's because I'm impatient.
I think acting on impulse (specifically in teenagers) is that we live in a time of instant gratification, that's just what we're used to - so we don't always put much thought into everything.
I'm under the impression that, as I grow, I abide more by logic than impulse. There are few actions that I take out of impulse now, rather than cold logic, as opposed to my being younger, where every action I took was seemingly impulsive.
I'm 17 and I believe that I operate more on the basis of logic than on impulse. I don't make any decisions without carefully thinking about what the pros and the cons will be for all of the options.
I also take into consideration what the people around me will feel when I make the decision. It makes no sense for me to make a decision that will only affect me in a positive way. I try to be rather selfless when decisions are made because I feel that I owe it to those around me to make good choices.
On the other side, I tutor three families now, so I am quite good at making quick decisions. What do I teach them? Are they saying that they understand this but really don't? I believe that with logic, we are able to make better decisions on impulse, because we have experienced the results through previous experiences, and know if they are positive or negative.
I believe that they are closely related.
This article is crap. I blame myself for the stupid actions I make, and I think I will grow out of the bad habits I have. They can't say Why Teenagers Do Stupid Things, it would have to be Why Some Teenages Do Stupid Things. Every teen is different. They would have to test every teen to get a correct response. I mean I have friends younger then me who are way more mature then me, so this article is crap.
ILY,
Joe
Maybe teens act on adrenalin, but adults DEFINITLY dont use logic. Why?
Because teens or younger people for that matter are open to new experiences, they want to learn, they crave to learn and thus risk, and are then called impulsive, because they dont want to "use" the whole society cultural experience and instead take a brash risk and maybe find out something knew. Yet adults dont know answers to many questions, so they believe in delusions rather then to find out the truth. And they will believe it because it seems logical to them, with their world view. And they wont change it quickly because it would make them seem stupid.
Me? Well, Im very open. I love technology. I love critical thinking. I love getting to the bottom of something. I love to question things instead of taking them for granted. I like discussions about ideas, about their effect on the world, whereas most adults I know prefer political debates, celebrity small talk and other such uhm, wordly things. They just prefer to live the life TV has shown them, instead of questioning whether something really happened or if someone was really to blame for something.
though not *legally* a teenager, as i'd have to be 14 to be one, in definition i am otherwise. and i'd have to say i am impulsive. very impulsive. however, i try to use logic, however false it may be to support my impulsiveness xD. i also admit that i am a danger to the general public for this.
one thing, though: no matter what decisions you make, at whatever age you are, you have to take responsibility for them. s'all i have to say.
and amen to the_mariska.
I'm fourteen years old, and am surrounded by one of the most impulsive sets of peers I have yet come across. Simply put, impulsive behavior tends to be a mark of immaturity. Thinking things through, making logical decisions and following up those decisions with hard work and discipline will make you a great person. I have a great set of parents, and they've raised me to think through these things for myself.
I've seen a lot of the behavior described in the article, and I've seen it totally ruin people. Only last year, a state runner up and captain of the wrestling team who was a good friend of mine ended up in juvi for possetion of drugs. Another friend got drunk and was raped by her boyfriend at a party. I could throw out example after example of stuff like this, and these influences have helped me shape my opinion on life.
Things aren't as complicated as people make them seem. Hell, anyone who reads through the book of Proverbs should be equipped to live a good life. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you truly figure it out for yourself and make that decision; that you're going to be the best person you can, the sooner you will realize that life can not be lived on "impulsive" decisions. Maturity has been lost upon my generation, and it's a thing that sickens and saddens me, but has made me determined to be better than the rest. I don't care where I go in life. I have my dreams and aspirations, but hitting those isn't my goal. I want to be the best person I can. I want to know that I gave everything I set my hand to a one hundred percent effort, and then I will know that my life was truly a success.
This may not be the mindset of your typical fourteen year old. Life is simple though, and all it takes is effort and discipline to be a good person. Regrettably, this truth has clicked into the minds of very few of our nations youth, and as a result we have seen a serious deterioration in our culture.
