Discuss the concept of adolescence as a social construct Essay

Adolescence describes the transitional gunpoint in a teenagers lifetime, from childhood to adulthood, where an soulfulness evolves physically, psychologically, emotionally, cognitively and socially. It is a defined social stratum that is expressed finished immaturity and unpredictability and allows an somebody to learn and line up their gumption of self and unmarriedity. The idea of adolescence came into perspective after children were expected to narrow on adult roles as soon as they were mature profuse to, divergence straight from puberty to adulthood. As society changed and moulded, so did the ideas almost life stages, which is unambiguous in Eriksons theory.Adolescence is the perfect example of our unexampled societies social construction. A social construct is a sociological theory based upon categorised groups in modernised agricultures, devised by social constructionists who view knowledge of reality as naturalised. Adolescence was invented because of these so cial constructions in westernised cultures which depend entirely on the society in which it is used. Although the concept of adolescence is usually used and referred to in westernised cultures, it does non exist in most exploitation countries as they arent exposed to the resources which educates them about it. Instead of going through adolescence, teenagers in developing countries go straight from childhood to adulthood and eat no time to develop interests or a sense of identity.Erik Erikson established a theory about the life stages of a human, starting from babyhood and ending at maturity (65+). Through the use of a aging table, Erikson was able to emphasize a wide and cohesive trim of life skills and abilities that function together within an individual. Although he discussed all of the life stages, he focused on the adolescent period more exhaustively as he felt that it was a crucial stage for an individual to develop their identity. The identity versus role confusion is a crisis which is typically evident during early to middle adolescence. It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stableness between developing asense of forming a unique identity while still existence accepted and fitting in with society.Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new self with others. However, if an individual is ineffectual to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which prat result in a lack of understanding, leading to disjunction from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they go out be unable to become emotionally mature adults, match to Eriksons theory. This period of an individuals life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations.A westernised culture that reports the life stage of adolescence are the Indigenous Aboriginals of Australia. The aboriginals embrace adolescence by zesty in a tradition cognise as Walkabout, which passes a male child from childhood to adulthood. Although this tradition has been around for centuries, some Aboriginals in todays society still partake in it but have set some of the regulations. Walkabout refers to the journey an adolescent boy undertakes, alternating from a fixed back playful child to a responsible and mature man. throughout this deeply spiritual and reflective stage of an Aboriginal boys life he will experience a greater tie-in to the flat coat and nature, which ultimately becomes a part of their identity as a man. At the beginning of time the ancestors created paths for the men to follow while going on Walkabout, leading them through songs and ceremonies that connected them to important waterholes, food sources and landmarks.These paths were kno wn as songlines and essentially enhanced their cultural and spiritual connection with the land and their ancestors. After 6 months of living in the wilderness and exploring who they are as a person, they return with a sense of wholeness within themselves and with human around them enabling them to pass through adolescence and into adulthood. sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Saharan desert and is one of the most challenging places for an adolescent to screw. Most of the teenagers that live in Sub-Saharan Africa arent given the opportunity to experience adolescence as they tend to go straight from being a child to being an adultand taking on fully fledged adult responsibilities. The wellness and safety of an adolescent girl in this area can be placed at risk, as they are often forced to put away childhood before theyre ready, limiting their chances to grow as a person, gain an instruction and a sense of identity.Being a unfledged girl in Africa, it is not only unfortunate, b ut also precise park to fall pregnant and have a baby at the age of 16 or younger. Due to this, many girls have to hand school and are forced into the world of adulthood. Enduring motherhood at a young age can make a girl particularly vulnerable to violence and most girls that live in Sub-Saharan Africa may experience abuse at least once in their life. Sexual violence and pressured sex is common, especially among female adolescents and young women. young mothers are more likely to experience complications or death delinquent to pregnancy and childbearing. In Australia, teenagers experience what its like to go through adolescence by developing a sense of identity, achieving independence, developing a authoritative state of mind and discovering skills for future life stages.Although all these things can positively impact the period of adolescence, some teenagers may use this to their advantage and can endure in some dangerous behavioural activities. The most common adolescent ac tivity that most Australians experience, is schoolies. Schoolies marks the end of tertiary education and adolescents embark on this by going on a spend with their friends of choice, partying and experimenting with alcohol and even drugs. From youth to adulthood, schoolies week is seen as a transitional period of an individuals life which marks the transition from the discipline of school to the bury of freedom that they partake in. In conclusion, adolescence is a period of ones life where an individual can embark on new experiences, gain a sense of identity, learn about themselves and discover who they are as a person. Although not all people go through adolescence, it is a major development period for a persons life and if they choose to embrace this positively it will benefit them for the rest of their lives.