What happened to manners?

This is about teenagers, and I'm truly sorry if you're a teenager reading this and it doesn't apply to you. This is a bit of a rant, and I'm not sure if this is the proper place to put this.

Okay, what happened to the concept of manners? I've never been so irritated in my life. I saw a movie tonight, but I barely even knew what was going on because the theatre was FULL of teens. I didn't really think much of it until the movie started and they wouldn't be quiet. They were seriously texting on their phones, walking and RUNNING in and out, giggling (this was not a comedic movie), talking, SCREAMING, and cursing throughout the entire movie. I couldn't believe how utterly disrespectful they were being. To top everything off, on the way home a car full of teenagers quickly swooped ahead of me, almost hitting my car. And the driver was bouncing around and thrashing her head about to the music WHILE she was driving.

Sure, you could chalk it up to their being teenagers, but is that really all it is? Doesn't that just give them a free pass to be as disrespectful and rude as they want to be? I mean if they MUST act like hooligans, couldn't they at least do it somewhere private?

I'm an easy-going, liberal-minded person--really, I am. I just wish parents could teach their kids how to behave in public. Teach your kids respect and common courtesy, or don't have kids at all. I remember being a teen and while I loved having fun and hanging out with friends, we were always sure to be quiet and respectful, especially at the movies. And we didn't drive like maniacs either.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

 

Yeah, I'm a little older than you (not much) and I can remember kids doing this kind of stuff when I was a teenager - I know for certain that some of them were raised to know better. Individually or in small groups, most wouldn't act that way, but get them into a large group and even the well mannered ones will succumb to the herd mentality. But you're right, they do it because they can get by with it. And I guarantee if a group of say 3 or more adults started chastising the whole lot, like in the theatre, they'd shut up - they'd make fun of the adults, they might even tell 'em to fuck off, but they'd shut up. I say 3 or more, because a group wouldn't back down to one person or even a couple - I've seen it. But if you get 3 adult strangers bitching at them - that's enough. Having said that, it is getting worse. Too many babies having babies and parents who simply don't provide any guidance or any kind of discipline, but would come at you like a Mother Grizzly Bear if you corrected them yourself.

These kids will be working under you someday. Some of them will figure it out, and some of them won't. The biggest problem I see aside from bad parenting, is that out in public, people are reluctant to call out kids when they act like shits for fear of legal repercussions and for fear of violent retribution. I remember being terrified of having some 24 year old beat the crap out of me for running my mouth, because that was a real danger. Now, with as letigious as this society has become, a 24 year old could get a prison sentence for beating up a minor, or get the crap sued of him/her. I'm not saying that adults should beat the crap out of obnoxious teenagers, but if there was a real possibility of getting knocked on their asses, more teens would be more inclined to think twice about acting like jackasses.

It takes a village to raise a kid, but when the village is all boarded up and the villagers are all scared shitless of the kids, there won't be much "raising" going on;

 

It all depends on the culture in your area, really.

I work at a grocery store, and the younger customers are definitely nicer to me and my coworkers than the adults on average.

I think jamgrassphan's point is pretty good too. Around here, it seems like areas that had the most kids, have the wildest teens.

 

i was once part of a group that went into a movie theatre and did something like that...I was a young one at the time perhaps 15 and i dont know but yeah...I feel bad now for the people that were watching the movie. Sucks i cant go back and rechange that...So yeah that rant is pertaining to me

 

:iagree: I don't think it's really a "teenager" issue, it's more about a cultural problem.

I can't tell u how angry it makes me when i go to the movies and i can't hear a thing in the movie because some people are
- eating popcorn/candy as loudly as possible (are they that hungry that they absolutely need to pay a movie ticket so they can finally have dinner??)
- having full conversations on the phone
- talking to each other about just anything
- commenting on the movie out loud ("omg did u see that? i bet he's the killer" - interesting opinions u know).

It happens so often that I've come to the conclusion that i'm the one who's not normal for wanting to watch a movie when i'm at the movies. I mean these people don't go there for the same reason that i do, and i am clearly outnumbered.

Luckily enough, there are different types of movie theaters. I now avoid the big multiplex cinemas, or the ones that sell food, or the ones that are in malls. Those are just not movie theaters, they're bars, for eating and chatting with friends.
And indeed, they are not just for teenagers. Older people go there too, so they can phone their friends.

So u see, movies are not artwork for most people, they're just products u can consume the same way u buy a cellphone or popcorn. It's difficult to fight against that.

But i agree that people tend to lose their manners in general, so i guess we can still try to educate them, in different contexts.
In my area i find that older people can be rude as hell and expect others to obey in silence. It's only recently that i've built up the courage to say something when a 40yo lady cuts a line at a store (and pretends she didn't realize 10 people were waiting behind her), and i'm glad everyone always seems grateful when u say something. If u see someone whos doing something wrong, and if u tell them that that's wrong, u're paying everyone a favour. Maybe at first they will tell u to f* off, but after ten people tell them the same thing maybe something will sink in.

 

forgive me people LOL

 

Get Busy Child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn95H30m0D8

 

You Are Forgiven My Son...:angel:..*anoints itsallgood's forehead with holy water*



Cheers Glen.

 

aw angel Glen

 

I am not sure how much better our manners were at the same ages. When you tend to get a group of teens together, they, at times are going to fall into that group mentality. When dealing one on one it does not tend to be the same.

At the same time there are a lot of "adults" who take great delight in voicing about the younger generation and all their faults. I often wonder if they lose sight of who should be leading by example. Very little is gained through negative comments and perhaps a few positive ones might just make a difference.

For the most part, we all outgrow it.

 

Yes.

No.

 

Did someone really complain that people were eating popcorn too loudly?

You people need to take it easy.

 

When I was teen in the 1980s in Germany we did some bad things like mobbing, being mean, racist, things like going to the house of a kid we didnt like and terrorizing that family, throwing stuff...but there was not a lot of physical violence, In the 4 schools I have been I remember only one fight but that was more about measuring the power, then war games in the snow which were quite fun. Nowdays they have severe fights more often.

 

Teenagers here drive me crazy.

That being said, yes.. I have four weeks until I turn 18.
The most relevant example I can think of is the underclassmen at my high school.
The other day I asked a girl why she had been absent for so long, and she said that she had gotten suspended, because "UGH My teacher was being such a bitch, she told me to stop talking in class, so I told her to get out of my face, then she told me to go to the Dean's office and I called her a bitch and spit my gum at her."

Really?? WTF. And this is a completely typical scenario at my school.

But other hand, it is really about the type of student. There are different levels of classes, from remedial to advance placement, with a couple levels in between. Those in AP, such as myself, never have a problem with being disrespectful. We are there to learn. We understand not to talk when the teacher is giving a lecture.

But if you walk into one of the lower levels of class, it is horrid.

Now this opinion may seem a bit.. prejudice toward students 'below' me in academics, but that really isn't the point. It isn't about academic intelligence, it's about social intelligence and maturity. There IS an obvious difference as well.

I don't have many friends my age. Mostly, if someone my age or younger wants to hang out with me in a public place, they act inconsiderate and obnoxious.

I think when it comes down to it, it is the novelty of being out of the house on their own for a lot of teenagers. "No supervision, Let's act like hooligans!"

As people mature and age though, hopefully they learn how to function normally in public.. lol

 

teens will always be the same
theres always the rowdy ones who don't even clue in to how you should act in public and how to be respectful to other strangers.
every generation is different, we just happen to have cellphones (which most teenagers nowadays are completely glued to)

That sounds like a bad time though,

 

So many excellent replies. I wish I could respond the each one, but I'm on a mobile device and it would take ages. But I agree with most of you.

 

Why didn't you just tell them to shut their mouths during the movie? That's what I would have done (well, a bit more politely. I am Canadian, after all).


And it's not only teenagers who have bad manners! I hold a door open for a stranger at least once a day, and I hear a "thank you" maybe 10% of the time.

 

Wow. I never see that kind of behaviour in the theaters around here. Never. I open doors for young people and old people and they all open doors for me,with the usual "thank you". Maybe I don't get out enough,but most people I run into are quite pleasant. Some teen agers are rightfully full of piss 'n vinegar with the idea that it's us against them when it comes to adults,I guess. People have been griping about teen agers forever. I remember the end of the world coming for adults when rock 'n roll first came out. When "they"realized "they"couldn't stop it--they got Pat fuck Boone to sing some down and dirty R & R songs and clean 'em up. Thus "Roll with me Annie"became "Dance with me ,Henry". Amazing!! The world didn't fly apart! The grownups eventually adjusted and we eventually grew up. (kind of). It's part of the deal--each generation thinks the next one will take us all straight to hell. Of course--this one surely will.

 

:sunny: Never felt better LOL

 

sit at the back row and spit nibs at them


thats what they're there for