The growing divide between teenagers and older generations in the 1950s was collectively referred to as the generation gap and was primarily attributed to the impact that rock 'n' roll had on teenagers. Today's teenagers and generation take their teenage period for granted, as the term teenager was only coined in the 1950s. “Before the 20th century, adolescents did not exist” (Altschuler). Before there was an adolescent period in a person's life, people were still seen as children and teenagers from the age of 13 until they reached adulthood. This is one of the main reasons why parents of children of the 1950s were baffled by the idea that there was an adolescent period; they have never experienced one themselves. The parents of these new generation children were accustomed to listening to their parents' orders, and they expected the same from their own children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, parents began to associate their children's behavior with the corruption inherent in the music they listened to. They were never rebellious teenagers and were shocked to live in an age where parents try so hard, only to get no appreciation in return from their children. In my opinion, before the 1950s, children were accustomed to being oppressed and controlled by their parents' desires and demands. Rock 'n' roll provided a channel for these children to discover more about themselves, establish their identity, break free from parental control, and learn more about the world around them, which inevitably led to those who believe acts of rebellion. from them, such as early marriages, fights with boys, demonstration of disinterest in academic work, among other things. Before rock 'n' roll, there was of course the beautiful blues and jazz that rock 'n' roll was founded on. However, society before the birth of rock 'n' roll was so full of racial prejudice that they didn't even consider this music, and perhaps, if they had, they might have experienced what it was like to be a teenager. as well. The acts of rebellion that parents worried about were normal signs of a teenager living his or her own life. “Much of what was called juvenile delinquency was the normal exuberance of young people” (Altschuler). However, they failed to realize this since they had no adolescent phase of their own and had not even thought of rebelling against their parents, which pushed adolescents and parents towards a generation gap. While the teenagers couldn't understand why their parents were so against their musical tastes and general lifestyle (since they didn't do anything wrong), the parents themselves couldn't really explain what was so annoying in rock 'n' roll. Dick Clark's opinion was that “some adults are jealous or overcritical of their teenagers” (Altschuler), and this is completely understandable. The parents of these children grew up oppressed by all kinds of adults. When they went to school, they were scolded by their instructors for doing something out of the ordinary, such as talking to an acquaintance when they shouldn't have been (Altschuler), when they were at home, they had to follow strict regulations and rules, and if they didn't fact they would have been punished for it. As you can see, these people most likely did not establish their identity until adulthood, and perhaps were still in the process of establishing their"..
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