3B Module

Teenage Culture

Generation Y
1
Adolescence is usually described with words such
as fresh, naive, rebellious and impetuous. Teenagers
create their own environment and ‘everywhere they go,
they always take the weather with them’, as a famous
Australian song goes. They are cheerful, noisy, pushy,
curious, passionate and demanding. It is the age of
transgression; an age in which teens broaden their
horizons and try to find answers to existential issues.
On the one hand, adolescence is a very productive
period in terms of education and character formation
but, on the other, it places parents in the difficult
position of setting boundaries and limits. Teens can be
irresponsible, disrespectful, uncontrolled, outrageous

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

and infamous. They are too young to be politically
correct and they have a challenging attitude towards
rules and authority.

2
Getting the most out of a teenager is not a matter of
tossing a coin. They have great potential but they
haven’t had enough time to develop it. They are a
diamond in the rough. The way it is polished plays
a vital role at the end of the day. It is a time when
a strong sense of belonging and identification is
developed. They move in herds, follow the fashion and
repeat patterns. They wear the same clothes, pierce
their noses, lips and ears, tattoo their skin with the
same motifs, play the same games and sports, listen
to the same music, go to the same concerts, watch
the same TV programmes, read the same magazines
and interact in the same blogs and social networking
sites. Educating them means giving them tools to think
critically, to have their own points of view and to find
their own individuality. In essence, it implies building
their personality.
3
At this point in life, boys and girls want to win the love
and sympathy of their peers, especially those from the
opposite sex. They want to be popular, admired... top.
Everything comes down to what’s cool or uncool, in or
out. Thus, they become the most vulnerable consumer
group. Teenagers, the target of advertising, are bombarded
with all kinds of products – an upsetting situation in
which they fall victim to a perverse use or lose media
message. Girls are obsessed with cosmetic surgery and
will do anything to look like women on TV and boys are
cynically urged to consume products that guarantee
future fame and success. Even though they may find it
unacceptable, teenagers need the guidance, support and
shelter of their elders before they finally break the shell.

Activities
1 Read the text and find which title below corresponds to each paragraph.
a The most vulnerable consumer group
b How to get the most out of a teenager
c The most common characteristics of adolescence

English Toolkit 2 - Language & Culture

 3B Module

2 Read the text and decide whether the underlined adjectives have a positive
or negative meaning, can have both meanings or are neutral. Then fill in
the chart below.

Positive Negative Both Neutral

3 Have a look at the use of too and enough in the sentences in bold in the text.
Then match the phrases below that have a similar meaning.
a He’s too scared. 1 He doesn´t have enough strength.
b He´s too weak. 2 He doesn´t have enough good humour.

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

c He´s too fragile. 3 He doesn´t have enough courage.
d He´s too strict. 4 He doesn´t have enough energy.
e He´s too serious. 5 He doesn´t have enough flexibility.

4 Which of the following meanings below corresponds to each

of the highlighted phrases in the text?
a do the same:
b grow up:
c huge potential:
d flipping a coin to decide an issue:

5 Survey: the objective is to collect information about teen habits. Go around the
class or ask your friends outside the class to get the necessary information. Fill in
the chart below with their answers and include your own opinion.

Teen habits: Favourite... Peer 1 Peer 2 Peer 3 Me

a. …pop / rock band

b. …TV programme

c. …tatoo motif

d. …magazine
e. …blog / social
networking site

Discuss the results of the survey in groups: is the author right when he says that
teenagers ‘move in herds’?

English Toolkit 2 - Language & Culture