The "Nature" of Teenagers

Having observed a particularly callous act of a teenager towards her parent, a 50-year old observed, with an indulgent smile, that it is in the nature of teenagers to hate their parents.  He does not even know that, although there were always, of course, people aged 13-19, they did not exist as a group until they acquired purchasing power.  In the 1930s they existed only in USA, the first country where large numbers of parents were well-off enough to give their children substantial pocket-money, and they were called "bobby-soxers" from the short white socks they all wore.  Here we just became adults the minute we left school, wore adult clothes, and were expected to contribute to the family budget.  Some of us hated our parents and even voiced that feeling, but, except for the very rich, we knew we had to contribute to family welfare, or go off and be independent.  There were no teenaged "passengers" and no question of settling back in with parents after some other project had petered out.  This led to greater self-respect and understanding of what society is about.  It is about everybody pulling their weight.