Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, because

of more rapid cultural change during the modern era differences between the two
generations increased in comparison to previous times, particularly with respect
to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, culture and politics. This may have
been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation during the 196
0s, which gave it unprecedented power, and willingness to rebel against societal
norms.
Csikszentmihalyi and Larson (1983) used phone pagers to gather data from adolesc
ents at random intervals. When beeped, teenagers were supposed to write down in
a booklet what they were doing, what they were thinking, and how they felt. Some
of the teens fit the "rebel" stereotype or expressed hatred for parents. Howeve
r, most diary entries were not so dramatic. The researchers found that teenage m
ood swings were no more common or severe than adult mood swings. Teenagers with
mood swings were no more unhappy or troubled, on the average, than those with mo
re level emotional lives. It was true that negative thoughts were ten times more
common than positive thoughts when teenagers were with their families, but most
of these "negative thoughts" were of the "I'm bored" variety. More rare were ex
treme comments such as, "I can't stand it-my mother is crazy" (Kohn, 1984).
In country settings, teenage life most often centered on "home, school and churc
h." The most common problem among rural adolescents was a sense of "isolation an
d withdrawal." Teenagers in these areas often expressed an intention to "get awa
y" after high school. They saw few economic opportunities in their hometowns, an
d only a few had plans to continue a family farm or business.
These studies are all from the 1980s, but little has changed in twenty years, re
garding the overall picture for American teens. Teenagers still resemble parents
more than peers, country teens still differ from urban teens (and still tend to
move away from small towns, seeking jobs). Urban teens are still more likely to
encounter gang influences, and middle class suburban teens are still highly com
petitive. If anything, the second half of the decade of the 2000s is seeing a ma
turing of teen culture in the United States, with teen pregnancies down, college
application rates up, and political awareness and intentions to vote on the inc
rease: all positive signs.