Generation Tech
Plugged-in teens expect a century of possibilities
Sunday, May 31, 1998BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mark Pyle, 18, top center, surrounded by kids he helps teach at Sunday school.
(Yoni Pozner photos)
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The Class of 1998 seems to have it easier than many classes that went before.
They'll graduate high school when no wars are raging, the job market is good and the economy is stable, and racial and gender equity issues seem to be improving.
So it may be no surprise to learn they're more complacent -- a University of California, Los Angeles, survey showed that today's teens feel less connected with politics and academics than ever before and are less committed to social activism.
But they are also more optimistic -- most expect to own their own business someday and be happier than their parents. And they list more straightforward influences -- pop music and computers.
Yet experts say teens of the so-called "Generation Y" face more stresses than ever -- HIV, AIDS and other deadly diseases; environmental threats; a resurgence of designer drug use, and rising depression and teen suicide rates.
The unprecedented growth of this population -- teens are expected to number 30 million by 2010, the most in U.S. history -- has sociologists and marketing experts galloping to gauge the values of the coming generation.
Some call them Generation Y, those following the twentysomethings known as Generation X. Others prefer "Millenials" for their important role in the next century.
But maybe the best term for today's teens is Generation Tech.
This is the generation that was born just a year before IBM introduced its version of the personal computer, proof to the world that the new machines weren't just a fad.
These teens are entering a technological world that did not exist 15 years ago, said Joel Milgram, a University of Cincinnati developmental psychologist who studies teens.
"The biggest difference between this generation and the generations that went before them is that they're extremely well-educated, particularly in the technology sense," he said.
Kimberly Reynolds, 17, valedictorian at Hughes Center in Cincinnati, said teens can get all the information they need without leaving home.
"We have it a lot easier than our parents' generation because we have computers," she said. "You don't have to go to the library at all -- you can just get on the Internet and have everything done in minutes."
Optimism among teens has been spawned by a new technological world, despite skeptics' worry that such problems as media violence, environmental threats and AIDS mean a gloomy future for teens.
Those problems concerned even the Tristate's brightest students, valedictorians in the Class of '98, who talked to the Enquirer this week.
"I'm nervous about our future," said 17-year-old Robert Ross of Fairfield Township. "Our parents were rioting over peace issues, the war in Vietnam. We're rioting over closing bars an hour early. It scares me. My future may be very different than my parents' generation. We'll see."
But teens understand how limitless the possibilities are for the future, Dr. Milgram said.
"I think life will get better, and I hope technology will help us solve problems," said Kyle Smith, 18, Turpin High School.
TEENS SPEAK OUT
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The Enquirer asked several Tristate valedictorians to characterize what makes them different from previous graduating classes.
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Bill Baird, 18, valedictorian at Hamilton High School, agreed: "I've been on the Internet for several years now, and I think it could unite the world in a way that's never been seen before."
More than 98 percent of teens age 13 to 17 believe they'll have good-paying jobs as adults, and about 6 in 10 say it's likely they'll be rich someday, according to a 1996 poll by the George H. Gallup International Institute.
Most expect to be better off when they're their parents' age, according to Youth Voices, a poll done by the Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Policy Alternatives.
And 70 percent of teens -- and 87 percent of Gen Xers -- expect to own their own businesses someday, according to the Boston-based Young Entrepreneurs Network.
Sunil Hari, 18, Lakota East valedictorian, runs a business stringing tennis rackets in his home.
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Sunil Hari, 18, of West Chester, already does. The valedictorian of Lakota East High School's graduating class, he runs a small business stringing tennis rackets in his home. He hopes it will prepare him for opening his own medical practice someday.
"It's the only way I figure I'll make any money for myself," he said. "When you work for a corporation, the corporation decides how much you'll make, how much you'll work, what you'll do. You always have a boss over you. I just like striking out on my own."
At the same time, young people overwhelmingly believe that their generation faces more change and uncertainty than their parents' generation, the Youth Voices poll indicated.
They're optimists
They prefer Day-Glo oranges and greens to the black and flannel donned by their older peers. They'll skip school and plunk down weeks worth of allowance for the newest pair of Nikes.
And they are deadened to violence, enraptured by television and think about sex constantly -- or so the stereotypes say.
But experts say today's teens are more ambitious, principled, idealistic and focused on relationships than people think.
"Everyone sees this big slacker attitude like: 'I'm going to sit on my parents' couch in the basement and watch MTV all day and night,' " said Suzanne DeMass, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Policy Alternatives, which conducted the Teen Voices poll. "But that's really not the case."
James Wagoner, president of Washington, D.C.-based Advocates for Youth, agreed: "Too often, young people are viewed through a societal prism of trauma and violence, handguns in schools, teen pregnancy, HIV, murder rates among juveniles -- because that's what captures the news. Adults have the vision of a generation out of control. But young people are committed, ethical -- they're a tremendous resource for society."
A nationwide poll of 13- to 17-year-olds last month by the New York Times and CBS News indicated that teens are worldly, having been exposed to an increasingly uninhibited culture.
But most say they trust their government, admire their parents, believe in God, abstain from alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana and believe they can get rich even if they start out poor, according to the poll.
Mark Pyle, 18, the valedictorian of Finneytown High School's Class of '98, says his life has been shaped by Evangelical Community Church where he teaches Sunday school.
"I feel loved there," he said. "Two years ago, I went to Family Camp in Michigan. I just met all these great families. I realized then my life goal should be to minister to kids because they are the future."
Most teens predict a brighter future for themselves than their parents encountered.
Kimberly Reynolds, 18, valedictorian at Hughes Center in Cincinnati, with one of three Web sites she created for the school.
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"We have a lot more resources available to us now," said Amanda Honeycutt, 18, a co-valedictorian at Norwood High School who plans to attend Xavier University or Northern Kentucky University this fall.
"Unlike my parents, I can pay for college through scholarships and hard work, and get a job I enjoy, not just one that pays the bills. When my mom was my age, a woman could only be a teacher or a nurse, but I can do anything I want to."
A world of problems
Experts warn that some social trends are waiting to trip up optimistic teens.
A spate of school shootings -- most recently in Springfield, Ore., on May 21, when a 15-year-old shot two classmates to death and wounded others -- has sharpened the nation's focus on teen violence.
IN THEIR LIFETIME
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1980: Jimmy Carter is president. There's skyrocketing inflation, rising unemployment and problems abroad. Mt. St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 15. Ronald Reagan is elected in November. John Lennon is gunned down outside his New York City apartment building.
1981: Ronald Reagan survives assassination attempt. AIDS is identified. IBM introduces personal computer. U.S. Supreme Court gets first female justice. Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles, heir to the British throne.
1984: Geraldine Ferraro becomes first female vice presidential candidate.
1986: Space shuttle Challenger explodes, killing seven. Health officials break silence on AIDS, urging condom use.
1991: U.S. goes to war with Iraq, and Iraq retaliates with missile attacks on Israeli cities.
1992: Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton beats George Bush for president. Racial tensions prompt riots in Los Angeles.
1994: O.J. Simpson is arrested in the murder of his former wife and her friend.
1995: Mr. Simpson is acquitted. Oklahoma City federal building is bombed. The Million Man March is held in Washington, D.C. Richard Nixon and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis die.
1997: Princess Diana, her boyfriend and their driver die in a Paris car wreck. Dolly the sheep is cloned.
1998: Bill Clinton is president. The economy is stable, employment is high, and relations abroad are good. Volcano is erupting on Montserrat. Six students have gunned down classmates in U.S. schools.
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Almost three-fourths of American teens worry they'll be crime victims, according to a 1996 survey by the George H. Gallup International Institute.
Almost half of teens age 13 to 17 say they're likely to be mugged, and 33 percent believe they may be shot or stabbed in their lifetimes, according to the survey.
"Teen violence seems to be getting worse," said Woodward High School valedictorian John Listach, 18, of Bond Hill. "The killers are getting younger and younger and they don't have reasons to kill anymore. Next we're going to hear about someone in kindergarten bringing in guns to kill somebody. It makes me worry about my safety and the safety of my friends and family."
Statistics show those fears may be justified.
While the youth crime rate has dropped since the early 1990s, juvenile arrests for violent crimes are expected to more than double by the year 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Some experts blame violence in the media.
"Teens of today are seeing a lot more realistic violence," said Eileen Cooper Reed, director of the Children's Defense Fund's Greater Cincinnati Project. "We grew up with Hopalong Cassidy, and they grew up with Terminator 2. That definitely has an influence."
Other experts worry that other trends spell a dismal future for teens:
While overall illicit drug use among American youths is down, heroin use among teens doubled between 1991 and 1996. Last year, a quarter of U.S. teens polled said heroin is easy to obtain, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Political interest is waning. A quarter of teens believe staying aware of politics is important -- compared to a high of nearly 60 percent in 1966, according to a 1997 UCLA poll of incoming college freshmen nationwide. Teens are less likely to discuss politics and less willing to try to influence the political structure, according to the poll.
Teen suicide is up slightly from the early 1990s, with 2,227 teens killed themselves in 1995, the year most recent statistics are available, compared to 2,165 in 1991, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The percentage of teens who smoke has risen steadily since 1991, when 28 percent of high schoolers admitted they smoked at least occasionally, according to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. By 1995, the rate had risen to 35 percent.
While more teens say they use contraceptives, many are having sex at earlier ages and while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, according to the CDC. That means more new HIV infections among young people, despite a drop in the overall proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The CDC estimates that a quarter of new HIV infections in the United States occur among people under age 21. AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death for people age 15-24, and the fourth leading cause of death for black females age 5-14.
Teens' lack of commitment to community may translate into less social activism.
The rate of students performing community service is climbing, with 73 percent of high-school seniors volunteering in their communities in 1997, according to the UCLA study.
But pollsters attributed the rise to schools that promote or require community service, noting that only 19 percent of students polled said they'd probably volunteer during college.
Not all experts agree with those findings.
"With the education so many of them are getting today, they will be questioning citizens in the good sense; they'll be ethically minded," Dr. Milgram said.
And some predicted as bright a future as teens themselves anticipate.
"Any generation you look at has had to deal with pretty unexpected changes; they've had to turn negatives into positives," said Ms. DeMass of the Center for Policy Alternatives. "I don't see any reason why this generation would be any less resilient."
John Hopkins, Sue Kiesewetter, Kerry Marsh and Bernie Mixon contributed to this report.
Local Headlines For Sunday, May 31, 1998
250,000 fossils on the move
Activist moves up political ladder
Alums planning super-reunion
Arts advocates share vision
Baesler, Bunning race has D.C. agog
City welcomes Summerfair
Coalition may renovate Emery Theatre
Domestic dispute ends with killing
Drake Center wants to expand
E-check test can be hazard
Este Ave. to be new home for displaced produce companies
Fernald waste to ride the rails
Generation Tech
Man crushed under bus tires
Merchants: Beggars be gone
New tires may hinder police stop tactics
School's closing angers parents
St. Ursula adding a school building
Suspects elude police search
Ten Cincinnati teachers fail to win peer approval
This home not the House
Tiny device keeps track of his heart
Voinovich rating drops after Issue 2
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