The angst, anguish and ambitions of the teenage years

Stresses the importance of examining the changes that children go through in moving from “tweenagers” of eight to 12 years to the more difficult stage of teenagers, and also that teenager characteristics change between generations. Outlines some of these changes and concerns, and characteristics of teenagers such as daydreaming, the search for identity, and the high degree of techno‐literacy and communication skills ‐ featuring for example mobile phones. Describes a research study carried out for the Carphone Warehouse by Kids and Youth: this compared parents’ and teenagers’ views on why teenagers would contact a helpline, and other issues concerned with communication between teenagers and their parents. Observes that teenagers are not only consulted by their parents on marketing decisions over products like the internet and mobile phones, but they are becoming more altruistic and politically involved compared to earlier generations.