Coming of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us delves into the often misunderstood period of adolescence, using a decade of expert research to expose myths and reveal the genuine reasons behind teenage behaviors. The book covers various aspects of adolescent life, including peer pressure, risk-taking, sex, love, bullying, and friendship. It highlights that apparent recklessness is often calculated, teenagers are socially conservative as well as rebellious, and that self-consciousness and sensation-seeking are normal and useful. The author, Lucy Foulkes, emphasizes the extraordinary capacity of adolescents for resilience, empathy, and mutual support, and how these experiences are crucial for self-discovery[1][3][4].
In this collection of essays, Amia Srinivasan addresses various aspects of sex and politics, including the politics of desirability, sexual racism, and the limitations of consent as a moral framework. The book critiques mainstream feminist discourse for its reticence to politicize desire and examines issues like student-teacher relationships, the incel movement, and the impact of colonialism and white supremacy on standards of attractiveness. Srinivasan's essays are characterized by their complexity and their insistence on dwelling in the discomfort and ambivalence of these politically charged topics.
Adolescence is the most dramatic and formative period of our lives. Once puberty kicks in and we move to secondary school, our peers take centre stage, and we begin to experience peer pressure and risk-taking. In these pivotal years, adolescents experience sex, love, bullying, friendship, social media and more. According to psychologist Lucy Foulkes, adolescence profoundly shapes who we become as adults, and yet as a period of life, it’s so often dismissed or misunderstood. And even though adults want to protect them, it’s important that as a society we don’t try to prevent teenagers from having the challenging, exhilarating experiences that helps them understand who they are and how to navigate the world.
In November 2024, Foulkes came to Intelligence Squared to share surprising insights from her recent book 'Coming of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us', gathered from her research as an academic psychologist at the University of Oxford. She will explain why, in contrast to psychologist Jonathan Haidt, she disagrees with blanket bans for smartphones as a solution for improving teen mental health. She will discuss why self-consciousness, risk-taking and sensation-seeking are crucial features of the teenage developmental phase. And she will reveal why being popular can be just as hard as being lonely, and why friendships at this age shape us for life.
Foulkes was joined in conversation by journalist and broadcaster Pandora Sykes.
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