A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence - Raby

Ouotes. 

Framing teenagers as being at risk allows adults to distance themselves from the actions of teenagers today: the social milieu was fundamentally different in the past, so their teenagehoods cannot be compared, and the causes of problems are assumed to be located in other peoples’ families (as well as media, schooling, and peers) rather than their own. (435). 
I think this statement is very true in someways, but not in others. I do agree that saying teenagers are so different and so on, allows parents to act like they are very different from their kids, but they I don't think their teenage experience was truly that different. I believe that everyone is awkwardly put into this stage of life, and we all experience it. Being that you both went through/are going through, you can compare it. I remember my parents comparing their teenage experiences to mine to try to help me out with anything, and even though they were different, it was the same in a way. Its a tad hard to explain. 

Many commentators currently frame teenagers as a social problem for parents and for the rest of society. Here teens are a risk to others, difficult, trouble makers and potential disrupters of households and social peace. Griffin suggests that girls are more likely to be considered at risk while boys are more likely to be treated as a social problem (1993, p.127). (435).
I agree that teenagers are difficult and such, but I don't believe it is just because they are teenagers. I think that because of the media and all the stimuli that teenagers see, it's being shown to them they should be a problem to everyone. I believe we do cause some kinds of problems, some more problems than others, and part of this is because of all the change we do experience. I also kind of do believe that Griffin is right in saying that girls are more at risk and boys are the social problem. Boys are more likely to act out publicly than girls. 

On the one hand, the teenage respondents seemed to gain pleasure from various aspects of teenagehood. On the other, all of them easily cited negative stereotypes often held about teens. The most recurring stereotype mentioned was that teens are 'bad' - some of them elaborated  by providing a series of other negative terms, such as rude, uninterested, apathetic, messed up, trouble makers, and scary. (441).

Where do we learn to give teenagers these stereotypes? Why are teenagers bad? Is it because they're "different"? I think most people can agree that they have been called one of these things while they were a teen. The teens that Raby interviews say that there are only some people who have this reputation, but the people that they hang out with don't, or that all the teen violence that is out there causes the reputation. Why is this reputation only associated with teens though, when there are plenty of adults that could be described the same way?