Teens' fear of the future is not as easily eradicated. The future is threatening because it's unknown. Youths' mystical, irrational behaviors are often subconscious attempts to shield themselves from the uncertainty of what lies behind that closed door to tomorrow. Don't expect teens to self-diagnose this fear, however. Fear of the future is a complicated condition with a myriad of symptoms that mask its presence, and it strikes teens in varying degrees. Rarely will they identify the grip it has on their lives, but it does impact the way teens either lean into or retreat from life. For those who perceive themselves as ready to cope with whatever the future holds, it may only be a blip on the radar screen; but for others, the fear of the future can become the behind-the-scenes director of their every action. Whether embraced or feared, it's the future that most significantly impacts teens' present.
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Most agree with educational psychologist Erik Erikson that the central task of adolescence is discovering one's identity. Among the existential questions they ask in their ongoing search—Will my life have meaning? Will I make a difference? Will anyone care if I live or die? What will I become?—necessitates risk taking. Teens must experiment with life, tackle new challenges, and test limits to learn how to think and how to act—to discover who they are. Their ability to think long-term and consider the consequences of their actions is hampered by their lack of experience and undeveloped reasoning skills—and unless they're allowed to make significant personal decisions, they won't find acceptable answers on their search for self.
Who they become in the future is dependent on who they are allowed to be in the present.
This isn't an endorsement to close your eyes if your students indiscriminately choose their own standards of behavior or recklessly pursue their own personal value systems, devoid of adult influence. When teens engage in risky behaviors, they expect parents and significant adults to intervene. Their behavior "is a way of finding out what adults think, feel and expect. It's a way for adolescents to try to fathom how they are supposed to act, think and create and maintain relationships once they become adults." When significant adults do not intervene, patterns of risky behavior may develop, and teens' search for identity can become frightening. The future appears nebulous or even nonexistent, and any dreams or hopes they may have held about their lives can begin disintegrating.
If adults intervene too often or react fearfully to risk-taking and experimentation, the impact on teens' identity formation also can be devastating. Consider Alisa's story. Her parents encouraged her to participate in gymnastics as a young girl. She showed great talent for the sport and began to win competitions at an early age. Alisa enjoyed gymnastics, and her coach began preparing her to compete in the Junior Olympics. She held the promise of continuing on to athletic stardom, but her enthusiasm began to diminish. In junior high, she expressed an interest in cheerleading, but her parents didn't approve. They worried that she might pull a muscle cheerleading and get knocked out of gymnastics competition. Alisa no longer wanted to compete; her training schedule kept her out of typical teenage social activities. The dream was no longer hers—it was her parents' dream and her coach's dream, and they refused to allow her to quit.
