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Explain It Like I’m Five

Developmentally Appropriate Conversations About Vocation with Young People

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF ADOLESCENCE

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EVENT & TIMING

WHY IT MATTERS

Industrial Revolution by late 1800s

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Agriculture meant farm work from a young age. Less education. Direct transition from child to adult. Movement of people from country to city centers.

G. Stanley Hall introduces the idea of adolescence in 1883. Coins term in 1904 and for the ages of 12-14

Influences developmental studies and educational theory into today. Space between childhood and adulthood.

Child Labor Laws introduced in 1938. Middle and end of Great Depression.

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Children made up a significant percentage of factory work at low wages. Opens door for public education. “Let kids be kids” idea takes root. Average education level = 6th

Longer education period extends adolescence to age of 18. 1940s-1950s. World War 2 military service and expansion of young adulthood, marrying (slightly) later

Public education expands, literacy and education levels up. High School diploma becomes expectation. Universities grow in popularity and influence. “Greatest Generation”

Economic boom post WW2 drives adolescent consumption and marketing

First time there is a significant amount of teenagers with expendable income. Corporations advertise and help create youth culture. Glamorization of youth.

Youth-focused culture established with Baby Boomers never really lets go. 1960s onwards adolescence expands.

Specializations for youth consumption continue to expand. Developmental sciences expand definitions of adolescence, continued expansion of education

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Developmental Brain Science

  • Prefrontal Cortex
    • Complex behaviors like decision-making, planning, and social behavior.
    • Teens can struggle with impulse control and risky behaviors.
    • Often not fully developed until the mid-20s.
  • Limbic System
    • Emotion and reward processing
    • Develops earlier than the prefrontal cortex.
    • Can lead to heightened emotional responses and risk-taking behaviors in adolescents
    • Fully developed emotional ranges and intensity but not the full capacity for regulatory control.
  • Amygdala
    • Part of the limbic system, mainly responsible for emotional reactions.
    • Enlarged and active amygdala can lead to more emotionally driven decision-making.
    • Fears and threats are also first processed by the amygdala, so perceived threats to faith or belief systems can illicit emotional responses.
    • Neurons connect at synapses.
    • The brain creates more synapses than it needs.
    • During adolescence, pruning occurs where excess connections are eliminated, enhancing brain efficiency.
    • Allows for refined thought processes and decision-making abilities, but at the cost of losing some information and developing thought “shortcuts.”
    • 2-10 years, then again from puberty-early 20s.

Synaptic Pruning

    • Neurons are insulated by a fatty substance called myelin.
    • Starts in the brain stem and cerebellum and moves towards the frontal lobe.
    • Improves the speed and efficiency of information processing within the brain.
    • In adolescence, it supports improved executive functions.
    • Birth through early 30s. Pre-Frontal Cortex last.

Myelination

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Basics on Gen Alpha

  • Born from 2010-2024. Projected at 2 billion+! Oldest are now 13 going on 14.
  • Mostly the children of Millennials
  • Average age of first smartphone = 9 years
  • 79% on social media, 44% watch video content on smartphones weekly. "Alpha have only ever known a world of the blurring of AI and the human.”
  • COVID cemented online interaction as a norm.
  • 43% of Millennial parents say their kids have had a virtual playdate or hung out with friends in virtual spaces. Ideally, those online ties translate into "meaningful, ongoing and hopefully in-person relationships"
  • Anxiety about social issues overall, including the climate, is rising in Gen Alpha. Difficulty disconnecting from torrents of information, causing "higher risk for burnout for the things that are important to them”
  • In a survey, 87% of 13-15 year olds agreed that it is up to their generation to stop climate change from worsening, per YPulse.
  • Members have expressed care in ending racism and alleviating poverty, regardless of their own experiences.
  • "Alphas can bring a sense of empathy because they are connected globally to the issues of their world"

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Basics on Gen Z

  • Born from 1996-2010. Oldest are now 28, youngest are 14.
  • Mostly the children of Gen X
  • 6+ hours, on average, actively connected online
  • Pervasive idealism and an attitude of “inclusive consumption” – an expectation of social stances from organizations where they spend their time and money, which they resonate with.
  • Inflation, student loan debt, housing cost challenges.
  • Trend of “access” rather than “ownership”
  • Internet information first, personal connections second, experts third.
  • Online curation as an expectation.
  • Massive media consumption
  • Micro-generational split based upon age/grade during COVID lockdowns.

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The Trinity of Maturity

Identity

Belonging

Purpose

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Contact

Chris Wilterdink

cwilterdink@UMCdiscipleship.org

615-340-7058

UMCyoungpeople.org

UMCdiscipleship.org

Facebook.com/umcyoungpeople

facebook.com/UMCdiscipleship