The New Age of the Teen-age The 1950’s were a time for new ideas, events, and characteristics to spark up. A lot of these new values and subjects arose due to World War 2. For instance, the men went off to fight and the women were at home working, providing for themselves and their families. Women started to get good at these new roles and by the time the men came back from war, the men had some competition to get their jobs back. When the men returned back home a huge marriage boom occurred followed by a huge baby boom. These babies grew up to be the teenagers of the 50’s also later known as the rebels. In discussions on rebellion, a controversial issue has been the rejection of middle class values of the 1950’s and early 60’s. On one hand, parents argue that these values were sacred and should be kept that way. On the other hand, teenagers argue that these values were out dated and did not want to follow such rules. My view is that the teenagers had there mind set on change and had every right to rebel the way they did. The parents of the 50’s were all about values and roles. According to the article What We Really Miss about the 50s, “It is believed that the 1950s provided a more family-friendly economic and social environment, an easier climate in which to keep kids on the straight and narrow, and above all, a greater feeling of hope for a family’s long-term future, especially for its young.” One can see that families were closer and with their

social lives. The parents had dealt with an emotional past from previous years including the war and the 50’s were a time to settle down and become more family oriented. There was no room for misbehaving since there was zero tolerance for that. Sundays were viewed as special. Most people went to church and or mowed his or hers lawn and talked to his or hers neighbors since back then everyone was close to the people they were surrounded by. Children were free to play outside and roam around because no one really had to worry about any tragedies from happening. Families were introduced to a new topic of television. Television was becoming more and more a part of everyday life, more families had them in their homes and AM radios were becoming more popular as well. Families would gather around their televisions to watch the news and that created more times for bonding and sharing of personal issues. Parents were especially thankful to raise their children during this time period because it is often said that the 50’s were the simplest times to live in. As the 50’s started coming to an end so did the characteristics of the teenagers. New music, trends, styles, and activities persuaded the minds of the teenagers and became more interested in them and less interested in the morals they have been told and taught. By focusing on morals seem to be set in stone, the parents ignore the deeper problem of new trends and fads of the new decade. The early 60’s brought up a new age of teenagers with a brand new attitude. A major influence to cause this shift was the new age of music. The rise of rock ‘n’ roll signified a wide expansion of teenage culture. The very famous, iconic, Elvis Presley helped contribute to this new crave. Teenagers would conform to him and start to act and dress like him. According to Jeff Greenfield, “rock ‘n’ roll was everything that middle

class parents feared: elemental, savage, and dripping with sexuality, qualities that respectable society usually associated with depraved lower class.” Thanks to rock ‘n’ roll and the rebel culture associated with the music, teenagers had more freedom and choice of who they wanted to be no matter how they were raised at home. Beside the music industry, the movie industry also had a great impact on teenage rebellion. Both of these industries grew and created a significant boost in the economy. The teenage market grew $9 billion dollars richer from spending on records, movie tickets, clothing, cigarettes, and so on.