The Social History of Teens Timeline

Teenagers exist in a unique, and relatively new, social position within the world. Teens largely drive the content of pop culture. They represent a particularly challenging age of social development and positioning. Finally, teens represent a very critical juncture between childhood innocence/freedom and adult knowledge/responsibilities. For these and many other reasons, I am not seeking to create a definitive and extensive social history of the teenager. Instead, I am seeking to give a brief overview of the modern teenager, their societal role, and their interests or culture.

1950s

In the 1950s, teens began emerging as a major stage of life development. The rising popularity of car culture, the thriving job market, and the increasing popularity of rock n' roll as an adolescent genre led to the emergence of an independent teenager (Cosgrove). After the Great Depression and World War II had greatly impacted the automobile industry, the 1950s gave way to an automotive boom and by 1955, 52.1 million cars were registered to American homes (Walsh). Driving became an important aspect of teenage life that allowed for increased freedom and autonomy. This is supported by the rising popularity of drive-in theaters which rose from 1,700 in 1950 to 4,200 by 1954 and became a popular staple of teen culture (Walsh). With the access to television and the car radio, teens developed independent interests as a statement of autonomy towards their parents. Thus, teens became a crucial consumer market for youth programming as well as rock ‘n roll music (Greer). Additionally, rock ‘n roll served as a critical space for interracial interactions, drawing fans of many races to diverse artists like Elvis or Little Richard, although many teens still attended segregated high schools (Greer).

1960s

In the 1960s, America saw vast social change and uprising. Teens of this era can be seen entering the activist arena within many movements including the Civil Rights Movement, the Student Movement, and the Women’s Rights Movements to name a few. While adolescent activism existed long before the 1960s, this decade brought about unprecedented widespread involvement. Events like the 1963 Children’s Crusade were among the many walk-outs during the Civil Rights Movement that high school students participated in to end segregation (“Youth in the Civil Rights Movement”). Many adolescents’ beliefs went against those of their parents but they were determined to enact change so teenage activists rebelled to participate in these movements (“Youth in the Civil Rights Movement”). Teenagers also rallied against sexist and outdated dress code standards nationwide (Barrett). Additionally, teens protesting the Vietnam War ultimately led to the Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case that affirmed free speech for students everywhere (Barrett). The 1960s represent an era where political protest mixed with adolescent self-assertion and rebellion.

1970s

As teens continued to fight against the Vietnam War, the rock ‘n roll scene expanded further. Some young teens ventured away from home and to Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. These girls became famous rock ‘n roll groupies as they followed, partied, and engaged with much older icons like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Jimmy Page (Healy). Magazines like Star published the inner-happenings of the teenage groupies, much to many parents' chagrin (Healy). Groupies, while frowned upon by many adults at the time and still controversial due to their underage status, embraced female sexuality and in some regards, normalized teenage sexual desire (Healy). While there were definitely problematic and concerning dynamics of power at play during this era, the groupies provided symbols of rebellion and sexual freedom that influenced teenagerhood at the time. The late 1970s also brought about the death of a previous teen icon, Elvis Presley. While Elvis had lost popularity with current teens, he remained an icon of the past and his death symbolized the loss of a major adolescent influence to many (“Elvis Presley Dies”).

1980s

Reaching unprecedented popularity in the 1980s, the mall became a sacred space for adolescents everywhere. Malls allowed teens of all backgrounds and interests to have a place for hanging out, meeting new friends, and occupying a Saturday outside the house (Jacobs). Many teens spent time in malls as both consumers on some days, and employees on others, and thus the mall became a critical portion of teen life (Jacobs). 1980s malls offered a space for many subcultures to merge including goth, punk, heavy metal, and pop teens (Jacobs). The 1980s also saw the beginning of the television channel MTV: Music Television. This channel gave teens everywhere access to new music, music videos, and other influential elements of pop culture like fashion ( “MTV Launches”). MTV “developed a reputation for pushing cultural boundaries and taste” and offered teens new media and trends ( “MTV Launches”). Additionally, MTV arguably changes the aesthetics of rock moving forwards. The death of icon John Lennon rattled adolescents and adults alike across the nation in 1980. Lennon, a member of The Beatles, had achieved status as both a teen and cultural icon. The Beatles’ music had been an influential staple to young adults everywhere during the 1960s, but they remained popular throughout the 1970s. As a result, both past teen fans and teens of the time were rattled by the loss (Zdanowicz). In the 1980s, as the punk movement moved away from New York and towards Los Angeles, goth culture began to rise. Goth culture truly developed in the 1980s and was influenced by punk and other subcultures and could be seen in both America and the United Kingdom (Nally). Since its inception, Goth has inspired many offshoots and subsequent subculture trends associated with rebellion, taste in music, literary interests, film, and dark fashion (Nally).

1990s

The grunge movement of the 1990s drew from punk, heavy metal, and rock as inspirations (Stafford). The movement brought about major changes in both the music and fashion industry and gave way to major stars like Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Home of grunge, the Pacific Northwest launched this music into the mainstream in the early 1990s with bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden (Stafford). Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would quickly attract teens to the movement after its MTV debut and the grunge staples of flannels and baggy jeans would quickly become fashion trends (Stafford). The movement and many of its bands focused on isolation or feelings of alienation which resonated with fans across the country (Stafford). The death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 began the decline of grunge and the loss of an icon for many teens (Stafford). At this point, however, the early death of rock icons had become somewhat of a rite of passage as shown by the phenomenon of the 27 Club with Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and many more.

2000s

The 2000s brought about the popularity and commonality of the cell phone which would change the ways teens interact moving forwards. A study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project showed that by 2004 45% of teens owned cell phones and by 2008 71% owned the device (Lenhart). The growing access to communication allowed teens more freedom in both who they spoke to and when they did it. Teens were widely beginning texting and were able to be in constant contact. Furthermore, texting allowed teens to asynchronously communicate which gave communication a new level of convenience and ease. As social media became increasingly popular with sites like MySpace, teens were susceptible to even more peer interactions. Prior to social media, teens already valued peer acceptance and approval. However, with the advent of sites like MySpace or Facebook, teens were suddenly constantly subjected to the availability of peer acceptance and comparison. Social media blurred the boundaries between social spheres of teen life whereas before teens had more separation between social and home life. Social media abilities like “likes” can easily become important to teens and the risks of comparison, judgment, and cyberbullying increase (Ehmke). Alongside the emergence of phones and social media, the pop-punk, emo, and scene subcultures rose to popularity amongst teens. These subcultures were now able to use social networking sites as a way of communication with other fans and followers (Fathallah). Thus, social media allowed fans to create online peer groups and connections. These subcultures were associated with distinct music, fashion, and feelings. Subcultures like the emo movement were greatly inspired by mixtures of past teen cultures like goth, punk, grunge, and indie-rock in both style and musicality (Miernik 183). These new iterations of subcultures appeared as nonconformists and shared lyrical similarities to the teen-angst focused bands of the grunge movement (Miernik 182).

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Works Cited:

Barrett, Dawson. “The History of Student Activism in the United States.” Teen Vogue, 18 Apr. 2018, www.teenvogue.com/story/the-history-of-student-activism-in-the-united-states.

Cosgrove, Ben. “'The Luckiest Generation': Life with Teenagers in 1950s America.” LIFE, 7 Dec. 2019, www.life.com/history/the-luckiest-generation-life-with-teenagers-in-1950s-america/.

Ehmke, Rachel. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.” Child Mind Institute, childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/.

Fathallah, Judith. “Emo: How Fans Defined a Subculture.” Project MUSE, University of Iowa Press, muse.jhu.edu/book/78236.

Greer, Martin. “Children in Progressive-Era America.” Digital Public Library of America, 2015, dp.la/exhibitions/children-progressive-era/childhood-postwar-america/teenage-culture.

Healy, Claire Marie. “The 70s Groupies Who Broke the Rules of Style and Sexuality.” Dazed, Dazed Media, 10 Aug. 2015, www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/25854/1/the-70s-groupies-who-broke-the-rules-of-style-sexuality.

History.com Editors. “Elvis Presley Dies.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-dies.

History.com Editors. “MTV Launches.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mtv-launches.

Jacobs, Harrison. “Vintage Photos from the 1980s Show America's Shopping Malls in Their Heyday.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 July 2018, www.businessinsider.com/shopping-malls-usa-vintage-photos-1980s-2018-7.

Lenhart, Amanda. “Teens and Mobile Phones Over the Past Five Years: Pew Internet Looks Back.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 27 Aug. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/08/19/teens-and-mobile-phones-over-the-past-five-years-pew-internet-looks-back/.

Miernik, Miroslaw Aleksander. “The Evolution of Emo and Its Theoretical Implications.” ResearchGate, 22 June 2015, www.researchgate.net/publication/278967008_The_Evolution_of_Emo_and_its_Theoretical_Implications.

Nally, Claire. “The Origins of Goth.” Museum of Youth Culture, 27 Apr. 2020, museumofyouthculture.com/goth/.

Stafford, Paul Edgerton. “The Grunge Effect: Music, Fashion, and the Media During the Rise of Grunge Culture in the Early 1990s.” M/C Journal, vol. 21, no. 5, 2018, doi:10.5204/mcj.1471.

Walsh, Margaret. “Gender and Automobility: Consumerism and the Great Economic Boom.” Automobile in American Life and Society, University of Michigan - Dearborn and Benson Ford Research Center, 2005, www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Gender/Walsh/G_Overview3.htm.

“Youth in the Civil Rights Movement.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/youth-in-the-civil-rights-movement/.

Zdanowicz, Christina. “Culture and Honesty Died with Lennon.” CNN, Cable News Network, 8 Dec. 2010, www.cnn.com/2010/IREPORT/12/08/where.lennon.died.irpt/index.html.