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HaleyRedmond
Mrs.Harmon
APEnglish1stPeriod
19November2013
WhyAreKidsGrowingUpTooFast
InanarticlefortheWallStreetJournal,KayS.Hymowitzsays
Marketerscallthem
"tweens":kidsbetweeneightand12,midwaybetweenchildhoodandadolescence.But
tweensarebecomingmoreliketeens,leaningmoreandmoretowardteenstyles,teen
attitudesandteenbehavioratitsmosttroubling.Thisshowsthatkidsaregrowingupwaytoo
fast,showingriskbehaviorsatayoungerage,andoverallactingolderthantheyreallyare.
Thisrapidchangeinsocietyiscausedbytechnology,peerpressure,andparentalinfluence.
Technologyisabigfactorinwhykidsaretryingtogrowuptoofast.Rideout,Foehr,
andRoberts(2010)reportedU.S.childrenaged818useacomputerforaboutonandahalf
hoursperday,withamajorityofthistime(59%)devotedtoinstantmessagingandemailing,
socialnetworking,andvideosharing(Shin633).Manykidsontheinternetgetonsocial
mediasitesandwhentheyarebehindcomputerscreens,theytrytoactlikesomeonethey
arent.Beingbehindacomputermakeskidsactolderandinwaystheywouldhavenever
thoughttoifitwasntfortheinternet.KidsonFacebookarepostingpictureshalfnakedjustto
getattention,postingvideosoffightsorkidsgettingbulliedjusttogetlikes,andharassing
otherstudentsjusttoreceivesomeattention.Everythinghascamedowntopopularityonthe
internetandjustabouteverykidwilldowhateverittakestohavethemostfollowersor
friends.Cellphonesareanotherbigpartinwhykidsaregrowinguptoofast.Theyare
callingandtextingeachotherawfulmessages,sendingpornographicimagesofthemselves
andothers,andfindingplacestohangoutsotheycanmaketheirnextdrugdealorfindanew

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spottohavesex.Withoutthistechnology,kidswouldnotbesoconcernedwithwhattheir
peersaredoingandtheywouldnotbetryingtocompetewiththemsomuch.
Anotherbigfactorofwhykidsaregrowinguptoofastisbecauseofpeerpressure.
Thiscausetiesinwithtechnologytoobecausekidsaretryingsohardtobecoolfortheir
peersthattheywillletotherspressurethemintodoingsomethingtheywouldntnormallydo.
Fiveyearsago,itwasraretoseesomeoneasyoungas12walkarounddressedinthe
thingstheyarenow,pregnantthewaytheyarenow,andactingthewaytheyarenow.But
today,itsnotuncommontoseesixthgradersgettingSTDsorpregnant.Thisisbecause
whenpeersaretalkingabouthowtheyvehadsexandtheyliketosmokeanddrink,and
listentothemcallothersdumbfornotdoingit,mostpeoplefeelthepressurethattheyneed
todoitaswell.MichaelColeandYrjoEngestromstateTweensareinaperiodof
developmentduringwhichtheyaredrawntocloserassociationwiththeirpeersandstartto
pullawayfromthepreviouslycomfortingandsecurerelationshipswithparentsandother
adults(ChicagoJournal307).Tweenswanttorebeltheirparents,finallybefree,andfollow
whatalltheirfriendsaredoing.Thelegalageforsmokingis18andthelegalagefordrinking
is21forareason.Childrenthatarethatyoungdoingthingslikethatorevenworse,doing
drugs,havemoreofachancetobeharmedbecausetheyaresoinexperiencedand
defenseless.Kidsfeelsopressuredthesedaystodothosethingsthough,thattheydontcare
howharmfulitcouldbe.
Anotherfactorinwhykidsaregrowingupsofastisparentalinfluence.Everyyear
peoplestarthavingchildrenatyoungerages,causingthemnottohavemuchofachildhood
oftheirown.Then,whentheirkidsarefinallysomewhatoldenough,theparentsthinkthey
canhavetheirwildstagenowbuttheyoftenforgetthattheirkidswillbeabletoseethem.
Wheneverkidsseetheirparentsdoingthingssuchasdrinking,smokinganddoingdrugsthey

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thinkitisacceptabletodobecauseparentsaresupposedtobetheonestheylookupto.
Otherparentsgivetheirkidspermissiontodoalmostanythingtheywant,muchliketheyare
adults.Thiscauseskidstogooutanddothingswiththeirfriends,neverthinkingtosayno
becausetheirparentsnevertaughtthemanydifferent.Beingaresponsibleparentsisamajor
factorinkeepingchildrenontherighttrackinlife.Buijzen,Rozendaal,Moorman,&Tanis
(2008)saidResearchhasshownparentalbehaviorandinteractionscanweakenthelink
betweenchildrensexposuretomediaandundesirablemediaeffects(Shin635).
Becauseoftechnology,peerpressure,andparentalinfluence,kidsaretryingtogrow
uptoofast.Althoughtherearemanycausesandeffectsofthisterribledeclineinsociety,
therearealsosomesolutions.Onesolutionwouldbetomakeanagelimitforsocialmedia
andmakeitstricterthanwhatitisnow.Anothersolutionwouldbetobestricterinschoolsand
ontheparentsofdelinquentchildren.Thiswouldnotonlyhelpthisproblem,butmanyother
problemsaswell.

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WorksCited

Meyers,EricM.,KarenE.Fisher,andElizabethMarcoux."MakingSenseofanInformation
World:TheEverydayLifeInformationBehaviorofPreteens."
TheLibraryQuarterly
79.3
(2009):30141.Print.
Faber,Ronald,JisuHuh,andWonsonShin."Tweens'OnlinePrivacyRisksandtheRoleof
ParentalMediation."
Tweens'OnlinePrivacyRisksandtheRoleofParentalMediation.
56.4
(n.d.):633.
AcademicSearchPremier
.Web.18Dec.2013.

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