Adolescent Responsibility | Andrew Pendergast | TEDxYouth@Omni

An analysis of the needs of teenagers from society in order to influence a responsible next generation.

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.

(Applause)

Hello, everyone.

As previously mentioned,
I'm Andrew Pendergast,

as you've probably already guessed.

Today I'm going to be talking
with you about something

that potentially concerns a large number
of you in this room today,

and from what I've gathered
from conversations and observations,

the remainder of the world:

Responsibility,
particularly in adolescents.

Alright, we're going to be doing
some crowd participation here.

So, raise your hand if you believe
that you're a responsible individual.

Alright, now keep your hand
up if you're an adolescent.

Alright, you can put your hands down.

Now, put your hands up

if you believe that, generally,
adolescents as a whole are responsible.

(Laughter)

That's what I thought.

We'll see if that changes at all
over the course of this talk

as we delve further into the necessity
of adolescent responsibility,

and how we can take steps towards that.

Now, responsibility is defined as, one,
the state or fact of being responsible.

Don't you just love how
our dictionary works?

Two, an instance of being responsible.

Three, a particular burden of obligation
upon one who is responsible.

Four, something for which
one is responsible for.

And five, reliability or dependability.

Now, essentially all these definitions
can be condensed into two basic meanings:

firstly, being accountable for something
that one has been given league of,

and secondly, being
reliable or dependable.

Generally, society accepts the
first definition of responsible:

answerable or accountable for something
within one's power or control.

Seeing as this is the definition

that we as a society
have chosen to define responsible,

this shall be the definition I will
be using for the remainder of this talk.

So, let's get started.

Is responsibility
a truly universal concept?

Now, one would believe
that accountability was necessary

in the first civilizations
for them to grow.

If somebody didn't do
what they were supposed to do,

how in the world could
the society advance?

As children aged into adolescence,
they were given a real responsibility

in their community that would aid
in the development of said community.

This taught them both, how they were
to be responsible by their elders,

and gave them a more
concrete understanding

of the concept of responsibility.

Now, before we dig into
how we can actually get to a point

where we have entirely
responsible adolescents,

I've noticed that society generally
has come to the conclusion

that there's a possible option
for a failure of a responsibility.

I think we need to clear that up.

Going by the definition of responsible,
which is being answerable or accountable

for something within
one's power of control.

If somebody's given a job
and that job is a success,

sure, plain and simple,
they've completed their responsibility.

Now, let's say that job's a failure.

As long as they're
being held accountable for it,

they're still being responsible.

I've noticed how society has generally
thrown this to the wayside,

so I'd like you to keep that in mind
for the remainder of this talk,

and when you go back out
into your daily lives.

Now, responsibility takes many
different forms for each person.

Obviously the responsibilities
of a student and of a worker

are going to vary greatly.

However, the key concepts
that underlie responsibility

are common for each person:

trust, expectation, and comprehension.

So, we've defined the necessary aspects
for responsibility to exist and flourish

for both, adolescents and adults.

As previously stated, there's the trust

that one will uphold the aspect
of the agreement that applies to them.

Expectation for those given responsibility
is to be held accountable,

and comprehension of the situation
and elements involved.

As responsibility is built on the contract
that one will be held accountable,

the trust that one person will uphold
their portion of the agreement

is the epitome of the social phenomena
called responsibility.

Now, for responsibility to really exist,

there must be an expectation
for the one given a responsibility

to be held accountable
for what they have been requested to do.

One major aspect of this
is that consequences must be present

for expectations to truly
hold any meaning,

and therefore, for
responsibilities to be upheld.

Lastly, a comprehension of both,

what the expectations of the one
who is given the responsibility are

and the trust that exists

between those in the social contract
of responsibility must be present.

These three key aspects
for responsibility to exist

must be kept in mind,
particularly as I dissect

the needs of the adolescents
in order for us to develop

into the fully responsible
members of society

that we are growing up to be.

Now, adolescents require
certain stimuli from society

in order to assist
in the development of responsibility

through the entirety of brain development.

For instance, as previously mentioned,

as adolescents begin to develop
their prefrontal cortex,

wherein lies the capacity
of decision-making,

they strive for an increased
amount of responsibility

so that they can fill their brain

with the complete understanding
of responsibility,

giving them a more dynamic view
of this newly formed concept.

This can be observed,
as I'm sure you've all noticed,

as early adolescents wish for
increased amounts of freedom

in return for the responsibility

that they will be held accountable
for their actions.

And if an adolescent wishes not to be
held accountable for what they do,

they simply have that freedom removed.

That's where the consequences come in.

This prepares the very foundation

for the successful implementation
of responsibility

into young adolescent life.

In addition to the increased amount
of freedom and consequences

that adolescents must be given
to nurture responsible members of society,

these adolescents, in order to form
a strong basis for responsibility,

must be given a meaningful
position in society.

This results in not only the creation
of the sense of community involvement

that is an apparent necessity
in the development of an adolescent mind,

but also offers the adolescent
a better vantage point

from which they can
understand responsibility

and how it plays into everyday life.

Overall, although these examples
do not entirely complete

the needs of adolescents,
this essentially condenses the list

into three specific elements
that can be internally separated

in order to allow for a more complete
understanding of these needs.

Once again, these are trust,
expectations, and comprehension.

Now, early adolescence is a
particularly crucial period

in the development of autonomy,
including responsibility and self-control,

As seen in a study
done in Michigan in 1987

with 174 adolescents and their guardians,

the development of responsibility
in the tested adolescents

was directly correlated between gender
and parental employment status.

This study demonstrated that in families
with one parent who was not employed,

the adolescents had a tendency
to be more responsible.

This concludes that the concept
of responsibility

is taught from elders of society,
as I previously hypothesized.

This experiment also discovered
that females of early adolescence

generally were more responsible
than their male counterparts.

This can be attributed to the fact

that the female brain
develops slightly early in adolescence--

slightly earlier
in adolescence than males,

and thus, the sections of the brain

that are involved in the development
of a sense of responsibility

are more complete than those with males.

As responsibility in adolescence
has been partially defined

through the scientific aspect
of the concept,

the quintessential component
of the development

of adolescent responsibility
is the adolescent itself.

As the adolescent grows,
they will begin to crave responsibility.

But what can adolescents
really be responsible for?

Now, I can imagine
that in all of your lives

you have things for which
you were responsible,

namely, your family,
your job, and yourself.

Those are the aspects of society

that a full-grown member
can truly be responsible for.

Now, adolescents are
responsible for themselves.

That's just the biological imperative,

that one will live as long as one can

so that one can pass on
their genetic makeup

and influence society as they see fit.

You may notice that a good portion
of adolescents do not have jobs.

Now, seemingly,

that would take the second point
of responsibility in society go to moot.

Education replaces
the responsibility of having a job

and must be treated the same way
as if you had a job.

The family unit and the social unit
are where the responsibilities

of an adolescent
and an adult differs greatly.

The responsibilities of an adult
in social situations is simple:

Be aware of those around you
and influence them as you see fit.

Similarly, the social
responsibilities of adolescents

revolve around the caring
for those around you

and influencing them in the way
that you view to be correct.

However, this responsibility
in adolescents

has much more impact
as the development of self-identification

is most prominent during
this stage of development.

Now, for an adult, the responsibilities
of a family is also simple:

Keep those whom you love
and/or share your genetic makeup

safe from harm,
and teach them to be self-reliant.

Now, this is where it
really begins to differ.

For an adolescent,
their responsibility in the family unit

is to learn from their parents

and assist those around
them to do the same.

At face value, this may seem as though

there's very little difference
in the responsibility of the adult

and of the adolescent in the family unit.

However, as the adult
is responsible for other people,

the adolescent is dependent
upon other people.

Yes, the adolescent is responsible
for him or herself,

but he or she is also cared for
by another being,

being taught responsibility
in the process.

This is the sole reason

that adolescents are able to develop
into responsible members of society.

The differentiation between adult
and adolescent responsibilities

in the family unit,
at the very essence of it,

allows for responsibility
in society to exist.

This allows for the
nurturing of responsibility

through the ageless relationship
of master and apprentice.

As an adult teaches an adolescent
the concepts of responsibility,

the adolescent develops
a better understanding

of said concept,
and in turn, reaches for more.

This allows for a continuous
development of responsible adults

through the teaching of adolescents.

Specifically, the nurturing
of responsibility in adolescents

requires certain elements:

the constant teaching and reminding
of the concept of responsibility

through both, action and discussion.

Two, the increase in responsibilities
in the life of the adolescent,

as they develop a concrete
understanding of responsibility

and acquire the necessary elements

to obtain more responsibility
in their lives,

and the cooperation
of both, adolescent and adult,

resulting in the mutual comprehension

of the necessity of the teaching
of responsibility

to adolescents for society as a whole.

Through the simple adhesion
to these necessary aspects

for the development
of responsibility in adolescents,

the development of a sense
of responsibility in the next generation

and in every generation thereafter
will be improved,

resulting in the allowance
for societal growth.

Now, let's focus on the second aspect

necessary for the development
of responsibility in adolescents:

the increase in responsibility
given to adolescents

as they continue to acquire more
knowledge pertaining to responsibility.

We're able to specifically locate examples
for each and every adolescent

in their life through which
they can be responsible for.

I, for instance, enjoy the responsibility
of getting my school work done,

keeping myself healthy,

and insuring that I am performing
to the best of my abilities

in each endeavor that I perform.

This doesn't paint a mold
for each adolescent in society,

and to locate the exact
instances, listen to this.

It takes time, patience,
and experimentation with the results

of different responsibilities
and the outcomes thereof.

Stemming directly from that,
both adolescents and society

need to partake an active role

in the development
of responsible adolescents.

Society needs to abide
by these necessary elements

for responsibility to grow and be present
in the journey of responsibility

for each and every adolescent in society.

Adolescents need to be aware
of this assistance

that they're being offered,
and take advantage of such assistance

in order to develop an increased
sense of responsibility

that they will pass on
to the next generation.

Adolescents also need to attempt

to increase their own levels
of responsibilities

within their family units
and their social groups,

allowing for a dynamic
growth of responsibility.

I believe that each member of society
has an important role

in the development
of responsible adolescents,

and though there is a large amount
of work to be done,

the development
of responsibility in adolescents

is a necessary
and obtainable aspect of society.

Though you may view us
now as a shadow of today,

tomorrow we will be the light
of the future.

Thank you.

(Applause)