A new study says today's teenagers are growing more slowly than previous generations. Research San Diego State University looked data on teenage behaviour the past 40 years, 1976 and 2016. It looked surveys on 8 million teens from seven different countries. Researchers said that compared to teenagers from the 70s, 80s and 90s, today's teens, "are taking longer to engage both the pleasures and the responsibilities adulthood". Professor Jean Twenge said: "The whole developmental pathway has slowed ." She said today's 18-year-olds are living more like 15-year-olds used to live. She said teenagers are taking far fewer risks than they did .
The researchers said today's teenagers are taking longer to do things their parents and grandparents did. They are older when they go their first date, less likely to have a part-time job, and are less likely to drive. Professor Twenge said this is a, "slow life strategy". Researchers also found that more teenagers are spending longer living their parents instead renting their own room or apartment. One the reasons these behaviours is how much time teenagers spend online. The Internet is keeping teens social media, looking videos or playing games instead living the "real world". Another reason was parents who try and do too much their children and protect them too much.
