[Staci]

Why do teenagers feel they have the right to tear through a store, opening packages, playing with things, throwing things around, making a general mess, and then leave? I have noticed this on many, many occasions.

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Name : Staci, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Occupation : retail, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Leanne]

I think it is dangerous to say ‘teenagers’ feel that this is ok, since it implies that all teenagers do. But i think that those (teenagers and the adults i have seen do the same) who DO feel that it is ok may not have had parents who emphasized respect for others property and picking up after them selves, but who knows, they could be having serious family problems and are acting out, or any number of things. maybe it is a trend or maybe these particular people each have their own reason for their actions. I worked at a sporting goods store and was appalled by the number of adults who did just this and allowed their children to do the same. Leanne 100% Bi-racial

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Name : Leanne, Gender : F, Race : I'm a mutt!!, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : pleasant hill, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : artist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Melody]

I feel your pain! I work for a company that does home parties for adult women, and you would not believe the things these people do to my merchandise. And they’re not teenagers–these are grown women! Guess where the teens learn this behavior?

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Name : Melody, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 40, City : Kansas City, State : MO, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Margaret Nell]

I cannot help but belive that teenagers think they have the right to be disruptive and destructive because they have not been taught that they do not. The generation of parents that reared my generation drew a hard line on what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Political correctness did not enter into the equation. It was Classical Conditioning at its best: Inappropriate behavior was met with the same unpleasant response until the behavior stopped. By the time one became a teenager,the mere thought of rude behavior brought about a feeling of dread and regret. Unfortunately, my generation dropped the ball. We thought Dr. Spock knew more than our own mom and dad. And we’ve raised a generation of children who believe that computers are teachers and not the mere tools that they really are. I fear for the future.

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[Sara28320]

I work in retail and I haven’t noticed a correlation between age and messy shopping habits. Maybe Ive only worked in stores that cater to adults, but I think there are messy shoppers in all age groups.

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Name : Sara28320, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Wilmington, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Student/ Retail, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ernest,]

Teenagers know very well that the behavior you describe is unacceptable. The problem as I see it is an almost total lack of respect for both people and property. You can see it in the way teachers are treated by students and parents by their children. You at your age would likely not see how young people have changed over the years but believe me, they have.

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[Angie24968]

I think it has something to do with the way they were raised. I can’t count the number of times I have seen ADULTS who are in the check out line and have the clerk ring up an EMPTY soda bottle, or an open bag of this or that because they wanted to keep their kids occupied while they shopped…or worse yet, they themselves could not contain themselves while they shopped. I can’t see where as a child you would not see this example and not think that any given retailer or grocery store is fair game. It disgusts me, and I would never subject a teller to having to touch something I had in my mouth…or worse yet something my kids had slobbered all over. The teens were probably children once allowed to slobber or devour foods that had yet to actually be purchased. As I see it, if you have not paid for it, you do not yet own it, and you are stealing!!!

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Name : Angie24968, City : Vancouver, State : WA, Country : United States, 

[Bev-Y]

My honest opinion is that many (not all) teenagers today are never taught manners. Many just do not care are extremely spoiled. My generation (baby boomers)were raised differently. Most parents were much more strict. If a parent doesn’t get a check on the kid by the time he/she is two or three, then they more than likely will have big problems by the time they become teens.

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[Glass]

I am a teenager, and I personally have never done, or seen anyone else with the exception of much younger children do anything like that. I do not believe many teenagers feel they have the right do anything like that at all. Perhaps there are some who just don’t care. There is a large difference between believing something is OK, and just being completely apathetic to it. I can certainly understand however why one wouldn’t care at all. It’s not my store, so why should I care? That probably sounds pretty selfish, and perhaps it is, but my philosophy is I do virtually nothing unless there is something in it for me. I find compassion, generosity and remorse to be perfectly useless unless they are being used to achieve a specific goal. Apparently, most humans are endowed with a feeling of accomplishment and/or well-being upon acts of selflessness. This, to me, is a completely alien phenomenon, along with emotion, sociality and faith.

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[eric25189]

it comes down entirely to maturity. just as young children will leave a mess behind them, many teens do the same. this is because they are still not fully developped mentally, and lack the maturity to think about their actions. its not that they feel they have the right to make a mess, its just that they dont realize that they are making things difficult for someone else. Also, id like to say that the question here sounds more like an attack than a real question, and if it is, you have obviously missed the entire point of this forum

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[Brandon]

Staci, that’s a great question. I remember learning in high school about the development of morality, in which the final step of the process is acting morally simply because an individual feels the need to look out for the needs of complete strangers, regardless of whether there is a personal benefit. That concept didn’t fully make sense to me; I was busy going out at 2 am with my buddies, driving cars into trash cans the night before trash pickup day in the suburbs. I don’t believe that I had fully developed the ability to see the viewpoint from the receiving end of my actions. The fun came from the fact that we didn’t want to get caught, not from the idea that we were victimizing people. My friends and I eventually had a conversation in which it dawned on us that we felt bad for the people who had to pick up in our wake. Realizing the effects that our actions were causing was ultimately the reason that we moved to less destructive forms of entertainment.

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[brandi23157]

i don’t think it is fair to single out teens here… i have seen people of all ages, races, whatever go through things in stores and generally just leave their path a mess. i don’t think it has to do with age, rather how that person is used to living their life and if they were raised to clean up after themselves.

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[Rick Dunham]

For the most part, most teenagers go as something to do when you’re bored. Sometimes it’s even mentioned to go to a store for the very purpose of getting kicked out. This is all done when there really isn’t anything else to do. Keep in mind that most kids aren’t always the ones portrayed hanging out at a store. We have many valuable qualities and are just about ready to enter society and make a genuine contribution.

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[Sara]

I think the problem starts at a younger age and is carried over. I used to work for a department store and was horrified what I saw and heard parents do and say. On a daily basis I saw parents point toward the toy department and say ‘go ahead and play, I’ll come get you in awhile.’ It’s bad enough allowing/encouraging children to ‘play’ with things that aren’t theirs, but to allow them to be alone in a store, in this day and age!? I don’t get it. As for teenagers…I think part of it is looking ‘cool’ to their friends and anyone else who’s around. If their parents did what I mentioned above, it may just be plain old ignorance.

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[H-Mac]

As a high school teacher, I have noticed that two of the reasons that teenagers don’t pick up after themselves are that: 1.) No one ever taught them that it was necessary or 2.) Other people constantly telling them what to do makes them do the exact opposite. So which way do you go? Its a lose-lose situation. Chalk it up to hormones!

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