Angst of Today, Angst of Tomorrow

We often question whether angst is a defining feature of the coming-of-age process or not. It probably is. It is true that our youth culture is empowered with so many new things such as technology, mass media, etc. People would probably say that teenagers live a better and happier life because they have everything they need right in front of them. Yet, are we happy? Happiness doesn’t rely on materialistic things.

For example, Heather O’ Neill’s Lullabies for Little Criminals shows us a young girl growing up in an adult world, where she does drugs and prostitution. She is making money to live her life instead of actually living her life. It is clearly implied that happiness is not involved at all in her sexual activities.

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Not to forget about myself, as a current student, anxiety is greatly felt through my studies; midterms, assignments, readings, essays, you can name them all. Parents put stress too by asking us to show them good grades. Some people feed themselves with coffee and stay awake until three in the morning for their exams. After three hours of sleep, they get ready for school. We, ourselves, hope for a good future and thus, we want good grades too. When libraries are full, and you can't find any empty spot to study, you know that everyone is struggling and is doing the same thing as you: stu-DYING. With so much pressure, you can’t say that we aren’t anxious!

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Obviously, puberty can cause angst too. We pay more attention to our physical appearance. We fear for not being accepted socially or culturally, we fear our looks. A lot of people suffer from eating disorders solely because they find themselves ‘fat’, ‘ugly’ or culturally rejected. Mass media plays a huge role also. Models appearing on fashion ads seem to be all so pretty and skinny. Women envy them and conduct behaviours that cause angst. Now, can we say that they’re happy?

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Angst is present in today’s coming-of-age process and will still be. Adults think students live an easy life with no struggles, while it is not necessarily true. Two generations live in two different worlds and thus, the definition of angst will not be the same. One thing for sure, angst will stay a defining feature in the coming-of-age process.