Teenagers are stupid. It’s a fact of life. I was stupid when I was a teenager. When I have kids and they grow up, they’ll be stupid when they are teenagers too. Teenagers are stupid because they’re at a point in their lives where they are transforming into adults – they’re not kids anymore. So they are relying on life experience to make decisions (and they don’t have a whole lot of experience, if any). They want to be treated as adults, but they fall into a bunch of traps that every teenager falls into.
But when did adults start becoming as stupid as teenagers? I can give a teen a pass on being stupid sometimes because they don’t know any better, but big portions of our adult lives are being wasted because we’re being stupid. Also, keep in mind that I’m just as guilty of some of these things - I’m not pointing fingers. But we need to shape up, because adults don’t need to be in these traps:
Stupid Media Fad Obsessions (Twilight, American Idol, etc.)
Notice I said “obsessions”, not “interests”. I am not one to judge – if you like Twilight, great. I don’t really get it, but that’s fine. I like Phineas and Ferb. It’s cool. But what scares me is the number of grown women in my office that talk about how they are going to marry Robert Pattinson and how they spend all their free time reading/watching Twilight. When I go to a Christmas concert at my former high school, I shouldn’t have to see a 40+ year old women wearing a sweatshirt with Edward’s face on it.
People, you look ridiculous. Enjoy a movie, that’s fine. If you like a little mindless entertainment, no big deal. But let it stop there. Focus more on reality. Let the teenagers swoon. Take down the posters and stop buying the “Team Jacob” t-shirts. You’re being stupid.
The same goes for shows like American Idol. Stop texting in votes and living and dying by the results. Enjoy the contest and leave it at that. In the past, there have been plenty of obsessions, but the teenagers were the ones that stuck with those. As adults, we know better. It costs too much time and money to work your life around this crap.
When I signed up for Facebook six (!) years ago, it was only open to college students. You needed a college email address, and the whole point was to network with other college students. It was great to keep in contact with friends you went to high school with who were going to school farther away. Then they opened it up to high schoolers. Then they opened it up to the general public.
Then the parents joined in.
All of a sudden, Facebook became a place for people of any age to waste massive amounts of time. Instead of getting together to play games, people sit on Facebook for hours playing games with people that live less than 20 minutes away.
Hey, Facebook is not real life. It’s a place to share some photos and crack a few jokes with friends. If you are wondering whether or not you spend too much time on Facebook, just count how many things you’ve commented on or “liked” in the past week. If you can’t count how many, you’re on it too much. Facebook has become a giant, cluttered mess. We would all do ourselves a service by taking a break from it for a day or two at a time.
Phones
Ever been talking with someone and they pull out their phone to check their email or send a text? It’s annoying, isn’t it? (Guilty.) Remember when you hung out with somebody and you actually paid attention to them? The same goes for apps. People sit next to each other at bars and sit on their freaking phones, playing around with their little doodads and whatnots. I do it sometimes – I have a Blackberry Curve with plenty of stuff on to play around with. But the “constant contact” that we have with each other is causing in-person relationships to suffer. Stop giving up your life to these things.
These are only three, but there certainly are more. If you want some good ideas on how to live life like an adult, read 25 Men Who Cultivated Both Mind and Body. You don’t have to be a man to be inspired by these guys that spent their time keeping themselves in shape and furthering their minds. Let’s give more workouts to our brains and the rest of our bodies. You’ll be healthier and happier as a result. Leave the stupidity to the teenagers – act your age.
Tom is an entrepreneur and freelance writer, working out of his apartment full-time, or wherever he feels like taking his laptop. He doesn't take long European vacations or blogs on the beach. He's an Average Joe that took control of his life. He wants you to do the same.
