EDITORIAL: The kids are all right
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Updated: November 20, 2009 3:44 PM
Many teens like to wallow in unhappiness.
To anyone who is a teen, recalls being one, or who shakes her head with dismay at the sullen nature of a son or daughter, this may come as no surprise.
But a recent study arguably confirmed the fact that teens may be different than the rest of the population when it comes to savouring a little deep funk.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany have found that, in contrast to people over 18, teens tended to seek to maintain a blue mood, on average, about 25 per cent of the time. Among older groups, the impulse tended to the opposite, with people looking for ways to banish the blues in favour of a mood that trips along to a chipper tune.
Though by no means definitive, there is much in this research that can be seen as positive. (This editorial writer, clearly, is not a teen anymore)
For one, it’s reason for parents to acknowledge their children’s state for what it is, and to give up the cajoling or hand-wringing.
In interpreting the study results, the researchers have speculated that this desire among teens to prolong the sad vibe could actually be an important part of social development. Wallowing in the negative feelings could serve to allow them to understand them better, process them, and to recognize that they can cope and life goes on.
The study also points to the upbeat news that as we age—particularly post-60—we tend to gravitate towards happiness more and more.
The negative note, of course, is that in the search for perpetual happiness many adults turn to a dependence on mood-altering drugs—prescription or otherwise—to alleviate the everyday sad feelings that accompany the travails of life.
Who knows? Maybe those teens are onto something. Maybe being so sad isn’t so bad after all.
Mood-wise, maybe there’s a middle ground between 16 and 60 that’s closer to the truth.
