Because adolescence is a time of rapid growth and change in the human developmental process, at this time in their lives, adolescents are particularly susceptible to outside influences upon their behavior and perceptions of their lives. The main influences upon the perceptions of adolescents are generally considered to be their parents, siblings, peer groups, and mass media. Here, we will not only examine how these particular influences can alter the perceptions and behaviors of adolescents, but also examine how adolescents can bring their perceptual distortions closer to an objective reality.
Mass culture is full of negative stereotypes of adolescence. It seems as though the media has painted an overwhelming picture of adolescent youth as unruly and rebellious; it paints a picture for the general public of a culture full of youths that smoke, use drugs, and have promiscuous sex. In some cases, statistics support these opinions; in others, it seems that the media has painted a much more grim picture than the one that exists in reality. Nevertheless, there have been a few theories proposed in order to begin an understanding of these negative views that society holds towards the adolescent stage in human development.
According to G Stanley Hall, negative stereotypes of adolescents are brought about by a combination of ôStorm and Stressö (1904) This theory attempts to explain that young people have these problems due mainly to their developmental stage. Thus, hormonal changes and societal pressures act upon the psychology of the youth and make it difficult to act in a way that would appease those around them. Society sees adolescents as difficult, and this causes them to play up to this image and actually become difficult, reinforcing the negative stereotype which already exists.
There is, of course, opposition to this theory, particularly from Herbert, who describes it as ôa veritable ædemonologicalÆ theory of adolesce...