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| Why do teenagers get discriminated
against by adults? Because they are disobedient? Because they have no respect
for anyone else but themselves, or is it just because they are teens? Is
it true that teens get treated poorly and unfairly because of their age?
Many teens seem to think so. I believe that it all comes down to stereotypes.
Adults stereotype teens.
I live in a small city in Newfoundland and here teen discrimination is a serious problem that many teens have to go through just about every other day. In a survey of fifty teens from my school and other schools, fifty students claimed to have been discriminated against at some point in their adolescent lives. It hardly seems right that fifty of these teenagers have been treated poorly and unfairly by adults when in fact on The Charter of Rights and Freedoms it is stated that everyone has the right to equality and freedom from discrimination. Many adults appreciate the good things that teens are doing theses days, like helping to save the environnement.But there are a few who only see teens through negative stereotypes and treat us unfairly. For example, a teen or a group of teens could be shopping at a department store with absolutely no intentions of stealing anything, but all attention from the employees is focused on them because they assume the teen or teens are simply there to steal something from their store. It is just as likely that there could be a normal fifty year old man in the next aisle stealing aspirin but no employee would pay any attention to him because, he is not a teen. But, there are cases in which for example a person dressed like a homeless person and acting strangely would certainly draw the attention of the employees, but then they’d being discriminating someone based on looks. Also, being asked to remove your backpack or hand bag before entering a store surely can’t be fair. I know that in some stores this is only a precaution taken to prevent them from having anything stolen but, if you’re a teenager, you’re far more likely to be asked to remove your purse or backpack in a store then anyone else would. People at both ends of the age spectrum face employment challenges. The youth unemployment rate has been much higher than the adult rate. For young people, finding a job in which they can use their academic training is difficult, and for some it is impossible. But this is not always the case. I know a person who was hired for a job and later fired because the boss told her that they needed someone older with more experience. She wasn’t doing anything wrong with her job so she claimed that it was an act of discrimination based on age. She wrote her employer a letter stating her problem with his/her decision and was later told that she could go back to work, but she simply refused with saying that she had a better offer elsewhere. Not only do teens feel they are being discriminated because of their age but, most age discrimination complaints received by The Organization for Economic Co-operation and developpment came from older people. In one women’s case, she had responded to a staffing advertisement and had passed the selection test but ,was told by one of the supervisors that the company did not like to hire anyone over the age of fifty because they were more likely to be injured and collect Workers’ Compensation benefits. Last year in total, the commission received 191 complaints of discrimination on the basis of age. Another example of a situation that bothers me tremendously are rude salespeople. Have you ever been in a store waiting in line to be served and have the employee look right past you to serve the adult behind? Well, it is not too pleasant! It almost makes you want to start screaming at them and stating that they have no right to do this because you were there first. But, in the long run screaming wouldn’t solve anything. By acting rationally and saying something like ‘ Excuse me, but I believe I was here first!’ would help a great deal. If the cashier still ignores you then turn around to the adult behind you and ask them politely to let you go ahead of them. It’s the screaming teenager stereotype that causes discrimination in the first place. These kind of situations have happened to me and to many of my friends numerous times. I think that adults need to have an open mind towards teenagers and not be so quick to judge them.
-Stephanie L.
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