Joining the conversation

Acknowledging the constant criticism that teenagers face in the midst of discovering activism

Go back to your room. This conversation is not for you.

I turn back and stare, wondering whether I should say something back. My jaw slightly drops, my voice comes hurtling through the back of my throat. It is seconds before I catch myself and purse my lips together, halting the whirlwind of thoughts.

Years of being excluded from these conversations has conditioned me to lock myself in my room during these supposedly exclusive “grown-up” talks. With the click of the door behind me, I jump on my phone, where a world of conversations await me, where others, just like me, retweet and trend hashtags about, well, “adult talk.”

Maybe in the eyes of my parents I’m still a baby, struggling through sentences and oblivious to the world of politics and angry white men in suits. Older generations stare in disgust as their children are taken over by the “disease” that is millennialism. Even in the eyes of many baby boomers, we’ve come down to a generation unable to afford housing, children and wedding rings, instead choosing to splurge on unnecessary expenses like avocado toasts and Coachella.

There seems to be a trend that people of older generations look down upon younger ones. My parents frown over my brother’s obsessive use of his Nintendo Switch and my preoccupations with new boy bands. But isn’t this how it almost always is? The parent generation rolls its eyes at whatever their kids are obsessed with, taking away some of the joy that comes with doing things that interest us for a change instead of becoming clone copies of our parents.

Unfortunately, what many don’t realize is that the problems festering in today’s society are largely due to the lack of care or treatment normally supplied by previous generations. Their nonchalance has left us with a larger burden to handle, and with 12 years until the supposed demise of the earth and everything we know (largely due to climate change), there are all these problems and so little time to deal with them. But when action is being taken by our generation, when we do use our voice, many tend to criticize us and think that we’re in the wrong, because oh my god we’re just little kids, incapable of opinions.

We take this criticism as fact, however, and start believing that we truly don’t have the power to enact change or solve these issues. We hear time and time again about youth not even bothering to protest, because what power does only one person hold? Let alone someone who’s still a teenager, someone who hasn’t lived as long as per say, a baby boomer.

Oh, but we do.

We’ve slowly started breaking out of this mold, however, and we should follow the examples of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS protesters, the many youth protesters in the women's marches across the country and more, disregarding and overcoming the power dynamics and judgements adults hold over us.

16-year-old Greta Thunberg has quickly risen to become the frontrunner of the climate change

movement, especially in Europe. Thunberg has skipped school 25 times to participate in these protests. However, rather than gaining attention for her activism, older generations reprimanded her for her delinquency and truancy, taking away the value behind her protests and calls to action.

With the presence of social media and the prevalence of handheld devices, teenagers have access to a plethora of platforms through which they can share their opinions. Social activism has become a defining characteristic of our generation and finding ways to educate more people about current events has come in handy with topics like gun violence or media representation.

Beyond expressing our opinions with a hashtag or a slogan in our Instagram bios, we have the power to translate our words into action through a simple action ー voting. This year, millennials will overtake baby boomers in terms of the being the largest generation with the power to vote, according to the Pew Research Center.

If we want our voices to be heard, if we want to become a generation that’s not known just for its inability to pay off student loans or buy houses, then we should start to vote, raise our voices and educate others. We are more than just a generation obsessed with the Internet. We can formulate our own thoughts, opinions and make valid judgements. We are not kids anymore, unable to speak. We live in a new age, with evolving morals and values, and it’s time that we stood up for them.

Maybe next time, I’ll turn around and join the conversation.