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Close Friendships are the Lifeblood of Teens

The Barkada

– Filipino for one’s gang or closest circle of friends is central to most, if not all, of their experiences as teens growing up. These groups of friends’ form the strongest and most reliable source of support forteens in any given situation, whether in good times or bad.

Observations/Insight:

When entering teenhood, teens are constantly searchingfor the right people to belong with. They know that being in a group is vital,perhaps necessary, to thrive as a teen. Having a barkada is important because thesocial security it brings enables teens to be more confident and more open ineverything they do. A teen without a barkada is like committing social suicide. Tough times have made the barkada tighter, drawing towards each other as asource of strength and resiliency. These troubling times may affect their lifestyle,but true friendships are crisis-proof .

The Teen Paradox – Individualistic yet Affiliative

Although teens always strive to find their place among their peers, they hold adesire to be somebody that stands out.Proof Points: Seeing a person’s music interest already gives teens an idea of what his personality is like (e.g Rock – down to earth, transparent.Emo – emotional, angsty; Hip-hop – party animal, adventurous) Through blogs, teens get to express themselves more intentlythrough their words and the sheer volume of Filipinos thatread blogs give them a huge channel to voice out themselves to.Observations/ Insights: At the end of the day, teens want to feel noticed and feelimportant. Being accepted by their peers is the first step to introducing themselvesas someone worth paying attention to.

What is Cool among Teens?

Expressive, not overdramaticConfident, not arrogant,Loose, not shallowReal, not plasticOriginal, not poserFlexible or as local slang would refer to as,

jamming