Are Teenagers Really Narcissistic? The Truth Behind Adolescent Behavior and Social Media Influence

Teens Or Self Absorbed Hedonists?

Teenagers are the most adaptive and private members of any age group. They quickly create and break friendships, join fashions, and demonstrate fierce allegiance to any political or popular ideology.

Teenagers adore their freedom of choice because they often feel like the center of their universe, which can make them appear conceited.

Nonetheless, they act in adolescent ways for a purpose. They are continuously attempting to maintain their sense of identity in order to keep up with their rapid mental and physical growth as well as changes to their friends and others in their environment, which is why they have a narcissistic attitude.

Teenagers live a life of pleasure and little self-control, or so it seems. Yes, sometimes they engage in activities with impulsivity, and a lack of responsibility and little to no regard for the consequences.

Teens also like withholding information and faking ignorance. But are they really the famous hedonists we have made them out to be? Not really, deep inside their true self is a kind, funny and optimistic human waiting to be discovered.

Prone To Risky Behaviors?

Here’s a little about the teen decision making process:

Teenage is the age of many firsts and as a result, the pull of novelty in decision making is high. Otherwise, at what age would one experience their first love, their first paycheck, their first car ride as a driver, and ultimately their first taste at independence?

Novelty, along with danger, and unpredictability sharply increases the rewards and the feel-good hormones called Dopamine that occur in anyone’s brain. And these dopamine spikes, inside a still developing prefrontal cortex (the rational part of the brain) can contribute in a major way in their decision-making process.

Lastly, teens find safety in groups. Teenage is an age when the brain is highly sensitive to social influence. Surveys have shown that teens are on their cellphones, mostly because their friends are too and there’s nothing much else that they find stimulating in the real world.

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How Teens Begin To Rebel

As children turn into tweens and teens, they start to get their first sense of freedom. They like the idea so much so that they start seeking independence. They want to understand the effect of their leverage and pull in society with those around them. Along with this, they also quickly realize that they have to start meeting expectations and obligations.

As a result, they become overwhelmed with responsibilities and start procrastinating. Of course, procrastination leads to anxiety. And then they start resisting, lying and retrieving into their own shell.

A Case for Seeking Help

Teens, both boys and girls, don’t actively seek help in high school or college. The stereotypes go like this. You don’t engage with teachers because you don’t want to be seen as someone who didn’t get a concept or understand something that was taught in class. You don’t engage with counselors or school social workers because you don’t want to be seen as weak and soft.

But, even as adults, we all know that we need help sometimes. And teens definitely need help. How else will they navigate what high school is throwing at them? They must be taught to understand that there are strategies to deal with:

* Bad breakups
* Fights with mom and siblings
* Surviving getting disbanded from a close group of friends
* Parents divorcing
* Moving to a new high school
* Addiction to tech etc etc.

If we don’t teach our children what stress looks and feels like, and when it is smart enough to quit figuring out on their own and seek help, who will?

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