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September 3rd, 2013
06:21 PM ET
Teenagers' Biggest Challenges
Pressures of acceptance, balancing schoolwork and sleep, planning for the future: These are all challenges that teenagers mention on Wednesday's show. Here's a place where you can comment and tell us what you think are the biggest challenges facing teenagers today.
One of the biggest challenges for teens is that of making friends. Sometimes it's really difficult for kids to connect with others.
I think that the biggest problem is bullying between friends.
Actually I think the biggest problem for teenagers is fitting in and making friends. If you don't make friends you get made fun of, but if you make friends with the wrong people you get in trouble and (or) still made fun of. So I think there is pressure under teenagers to make friends with people they like, who are cool/hip, and who are a good influence. Sometimes on social networks people say it's better to be alone, so you can't get hurt,but some people need the support of a friend. They need someone to tell all thire secrets to and someone to tell the good and bad things they did. So in conclusion I think making friends and fitting in is the biggest problem for teenagers (in school).
I know right?
I think the biggest challenges teens face to day are trying to fit in and trying to get everyone to like them; but the truth is not everyone will like you all the time and that is something that when people accept that fact they wont waste time trying so hard to impress people.
Managing everything gets hard. With all the school work that most high schools hand out these days how is anyone with a genuinely good GPA supposed to have a social life? School administrators seem to think that we have nothing better to do than slave away at the computer on school work.
I think teenager's biggest challenge is preparing for their future. Future is unpredictable, and so many students are worrying about choosing their dream and their career, here in Korea( South Korea ). In Korea, students are stressed about their grades because everyone thinks that people should graduate colledge at least, but even if they did go to famous colledge, some poeple can't get a job. So that's our social appearance. In conclusion, students don't have the time for thinking about their future and career. But in school, most of the teachers tell us to prepare for your future. We don't know anything about our career, then how are we going to prepare?
Finding you place in school. That what I feel is the bigest challenge
the biggest challenges for teens now a days are trying to fit in with every one at school. trying to figure out what to do after high school is kinda hard for us today
waking up! but really, more homework and responsibility for making sure you are getting all your work done. YOu might want to hang out with your friends, but you have to make sure school comes first
I think us teenagers biggest challenge is to deal with stereotypes and how people judge you. I'm 13 and i know how it feels to be judged. so we need to stand up for one another and ourselves. the golden rule states treat others the way u want to be treated.
I think one of the biggest peer pressures towards teenagers now a days is Drugs & Alcohol. They see there parents and family members drinking, and see the kids in their school that do drugs everyday and they think about what it would be like if they did that. But we all go through these problems in life. We all just got to deal with it and go on with life & hope it goes by quick.
The biggest problem with teenagers nowadays is dealing with not having a parent and not knowing how to deal with it. With the kids that face this problem its hard growing up without a particular mother or father figure in that kids life, this can cause problems with how this kid grows up. Socially and the choices he/she can make. Also effects how well this kid's ability to climb the social ladder because everybody knows that is important to anybody in high school. I say this because there are a lot of kids out there who don't have a mother or father either by death or divorce. I think we need to come up with more ways to help kids in these situations and guide them in the right direction.
you never know who your real friends are once you get into high school, everyone changes and sometimes you get left out.
Most students can't study schoolwork at home because there are other problems going around the neighborhood.
One of the biggest challenges that teenagers face is poverty. So many people are poor and can't afford the things they need such as a school lunch. There's this kid that I knew that would dig threw the trash just to find something that would satisfy his roaring stomach. It's very hard to study or work when your belly is growling. So in all a big challenge for teens is poverty.
The biggest challenge teens face is trying to fit in. A lot of teens are exposed to partying. their so called friends use peer pressure to reel them in and party. Teens do this because they want to be one of the cool kids. therefore, in my opinion one of the biggest challenges for teens is trying to fit in and trying to be a "cool" kid.
The hardest thing about being a teenager is probably keeping good grades without spending every second of every day worrying about them. It is hard to find time for both fun and work.
I think one of the biggest challenges teenagers face today is that they're to fragile. I think teenagers are to fragile because before you didn't see famous people and posters for anti-bullying up all over the place. Teens today just give up on life to easily. This is why I think teenagers should not expect others to fix their problems.
Fitting in with other students.
I think that the average student today faces trying to fit in with other people in school even if they are new to the school they will have even more trouble fitting in with a group.
I think the biggest challenges for teens is being judged for their features than getting to know them for their personalities. Also judging by how they look than who they really are.
I think its hard for kids now to try to fit in. Transitioning from junior high to high school can be tough on lots of people because there not used to being with new and different people.
For most teenagers it is really important to fit in, and trying to get good grades and have a social life is hard to deal with sometimes. With pressure from your parents and teachers it makes things even more difficult.
it will be hard to have a social life because of all of the homework and when you try to hangout with someone, you cant because you have school the next day and you waste your time doing homework or studying for a test.
One of the biggest things teenagers face is whats next, what are they going to do once there out of school? Are you going to continue school to high school then to college or are people going to drop out.
We feel that our biggest worry as teenagers is trying to juggle school work and friends. It is hard to hang out with your friends when we have homework. Teenagers should be focused on our grads and getting into a good college not who to sit next to at lunch.
Studying, school work, and grades. School is a big challenge in teenagers lives, they need to do school work but also have time for family and friends.
The challenges that us teenagers would have to face is getting ready to be on our own and doing work that's hard. We would have to face people saying that were not mature enough to be a teenager or they would say their maturer than us. We would also have to face lots of homework and teachers being on us 24/7. We would also have to think about what we want to be when we get older.
We think the biggest challenges facing teenagers today is trying to get good grades while having other things like sports and other after school activities. When you have sports you also need to think about school work so you can say on the team, and if your grades are not good you wont make it far and wont get into a good college.
for some kids social problems, getting out more might be a problem that effects lots of kids because they are very awkward in social situations.
We would have to face being on our own with no one by our side to help us.
I think it is hard on kids that come from junior high and going into high school because they are not used to their environment and trying make friends with kids that you have never seen or talk to before.
Judging. Even though some say it's bad, judging someone is the true first impression. Teenagers today want to fit in, and to do that is like getting past critique. Sometimes students even modify their personalities to fit in and that causes problems with trying to figure out who they really are and where they want to be.
i think teenagers are going to face through their body changes, sleep, and fitting in with others
Teens are now facing overwhelming responsibilities and abrupt changes in their lives that they need to face and deal with. The expectations are much higher than what they used to be, all in a short amount of time. This is the time where they have to prepare for the future, which wears them down greatly. They struggle to be accepted by their classmates, even getting to the point where they're doing what they don't want to do.
I think the hardest thing for kids now is trying to fit in and be themselves. There's always bullies out there that pick on certain people and make them feel insecure. Everyone has gotten picked on sometime in their life, and at that time you just feel alone and secluded.
I think one of the biggest issues for teenagers today is trying to study and do homework while also trying to make time for friends and family. Homework and tests are meaning more and more and you want to make an effort so you can get good grades and test scores so you can have a successful future. But that's difficult because you need time with friends and family.
The biggest challenge teenagers face today would be figuring out what we want to become when we get older. We want jobs tat we like and that pays well. We want to go to good colleges with low tuition. These things will be and ARE hard to find as you learn to live on your own, you'll need a head start.
I think that the biggest struggles teens face today is fitting in with a certain group, juggling school life & a social life & dealing with getting judged by other people around them.
I think that teenagers face a lot of great challenges in their teenage years. One of those being, trying to fit in with general society. Teenagers strive to fit in with other people and become popular in school. Another thing is that they want to do well in school and obtain good grades.
Some things that are difficult for teenagers to face are the fact of hearing certain things wrong with this world such as the war in Syria right now. They feel like they can't do anything to help with the situation
Balancing homework, friends, and getting enough sleep for school.
Bullying, homework, outside sports, and sleep are a few of the pressures teenagers go through during the school year.
i think some of the biggest challenges teenagers are facing would be balancing sleep with school work and pressure for acceptance
peer pressure
i think the biggest challenges we face in junior high is fitting in i mean people try sooo hard to fit in a crowd when they can just branch off and be their selves why come to school acting one way and go home acting another so my tip is just be yourself!!!!
teenagers are trying to fit in with groups that are not a good example for them.
Many troubles about fitting in is finding yourself and trying to find your true friends in life.
Peer pressure is a big challenge. If you're friends are doing something you know is wrong you could be pressured into doing it anyway. Teens should know how to handle this pressure and not get in with the wrong group of people.
We think that being accepted as an adult is a big problem for teens, since many people don't have trust in our generation we must prove them wrong.
Finding a roup of friends you can trust and what you want to do later in life is a challenge
Some things that teenagers find difficult are peer pressure and having big goals and certain people telling them they can't reach those goals so they give up on them. Don't give up on your dreams
I think that teenagers are pressured because all the bad influences in the world they should be focusing on whats ahead for there grades and be getting prepared for high school.
Teenagers These days have problems fitting in with others, or what clique to be in, but theirs always people who will judge you on everything you do so then girls/guys self-esteem go down so much you can't even be yourself for people to accept you for the way you are. Besides this you also have to deal with schoolwork + getting good grades, which makes this a very stressful time.
we need to focus on school, and do our homework when we get home. not playing video games and not messing with phones. do your work than go to bed early.
We think that teenagers biggest challenges are bullies. So many people get bullied and its a real tough challenge to get past. A lot of teens mess up and others begin to leave them out which makes them feel lonely or that they don't fit in which is the biggest challenge of all.
you should be you self and it dos not matter if you are in a group or not just be unique in your own way
In every age of the world, teenagers have felt like they're misunderstood and alone. We've always felt unaccepted by our peers, parents and grownups around us. This year we kids feel no different. Teens will always feel unaccepted and try to "fit in" to a clique or group, and try to belong somewhere. I think feeling unaccepted, or doing wrong things to try to "fit in" are the biggest problems today.
We think the biggest challenges for teens are keeping our emotions in line and bulling, and also another challenge is getting good grades and going through puberty
Teens have to worry about schoolwork, fitting in, friends, getting good grades, some have sports to worry about, and as teens get older, so do their parents and so their parents health is getting worse.
bullying is the biggest problem now a days because kids are being bullied so its hard for them to focus on there school work so its hard fort hem to focus.
One of the things my students are worried about is finding jobs. Also, they are worried about peer pressure and how it affects someones feeling. Lastly, they feel that grades are something that cause concern from them.
I think teenager's biggest problems are fitting in with school. Like going to high school, there are different kids and you have to get over bulling.
The biggest problem for teenagers is they want to fit in. Not every one will except you by who you are and so they think they have to change them selves.
our biggest chalange is us being excepted
The challenge most teens face is peer pressure and drugs. A lot of kids get pulled into stuff they don't want to do. With that the cops get pulled into everything and if you are a little child that can be very frightening. Teens need to understand we are our own person if someone controls that it could harm our mind and our body.
I think the biggest problem is schoolwork, fitting in, doing drugs, and being bullied. Everyone wants that 'special' group to hang out with at school and they might not concntrate on their schoolwork. Being bullied though also makes kids shy to do anything for themselves.
The biggest problem thats happen lately is the Syria attack because the military's gotta keep an on it.
I think the pressures we have is that fitting in is getting harder each and everyday. People become bullies in a split second. One second you're a friend, then you're a target. Put yourself in their shoes. See how you would like it. Peace out, girlscout.
I think the biggest problem is bullying. Teens are trying to go through the hardest school years and the added pressure of bullying is just making everything harder. school is only going to get harder and harder and bullying will just get worse.
Our biggest challenge seems to be trying to fit in and the pressure to succeed in school.
I think the biggest problem these days is that you have to worry about homework, practice, and fitting in and having friends at school.
I think teens biggest problem is bullying because it effects many people. Bullying hurts us and sometimes kills us. Teens don't know how to stand up for themselves, so we need to stop the bullying and supports others who are being bullied.
I think the teenagers biggest challenge is trying to fit in with your friends and other people in school.
I think trying to live up to everyones expectations is the biggest challenge for teenagers. I fell so much pressure from my parents and teachers to be the best.
I think the biggest challenge teenagers are facing today is getting homework done between having to go to bed and after school practices. I have to do that sometimes and it makes me really tired in the morning and for the rest of the day at school.
Challenges teens face are fitting in, being bullied, and schoolwork. Teens tend to get very stressed and that can lead to not focusing in school and eating problems.
The biggest problem teenagers face is trying to be accepted by peers.
I think teenagers biggest challenge is all the pressures of being a student. We have multiple things to balance such as homework and sports along with a social life.
School is a tough scene as a teenager. Theres all kinds of things to deal with like bullying, fitting in, and especially if your new to a school finding friends. At the end of the day what is important is being yourself, and being excepting to others.
School, sports, and fitting in. I think that kids should just be them selves and they will be noticed.
I think the U.S. government shouldn't get involved because if we do, we could start a war. We just need to solve the problem in a different way.
The biggest problem for teens is bullying, because kids bully all the time. Even when they get in trouble for it they will still bully you, like kids on sports teams they act like they are friends on the field but off the they will bully the people that isn't as good as them. All that does is just put the kids down and make them quit.
The biggest challenges are the rules I have to follow now. They're different now from when I was younger and I don't always agree with them.
Everyone expects so much more from me now that I'm older.
I think that the biggest challenge is the pressure to conform to things that go against what you believe in. We need to stand up for what is right.
There's more pressure now in school. The assignments are harder, longer and tougher than when I was younger.
It's harder now because people expect you to be more independent.
Life is more upsetting now. I get nervous because I have to be more independent in a larger setting.
I think it's easier now that I'm getting older to do the right things.
When I was younger, I could let everyone take care of things. Now that I'm older, I feel like I have to be more responsible, so I feel more pressure.
I think things are harder at school and socially.
The older I get, more is expected of me. Life is harder in every way.
most things get harder as u get older... most things get more complicated too
I don't think that there is any big problems if your a teenager doing what you need to do. That means paying attention getting your stuff done and no destractions. In the out come you wont have any problems because you'll be on top.
I think one of the biggest challenges facing teenagers today is the party scene, because every week teenagers are going to parties. getting wasted, doing all kind of drugs. also some teens don't even care about school.
hmmm, I've actually never met anyone like that..
The biggest challenges for teens now a days are trying to fit in with every one at school. Trying to figure out what to do after high school is kinda hard for us today.
A lot of teenagers have a lot of issues and obstacles in their way. I think the biggest one they have is peer-pressure. It makes them uncontrollable and unfocused about more important things in life.
The Biggest Challenges For teens is partying . Also Drinking. They also try to do good in school.
The biggest thing that is wrong with kids nowadays is trying to gain acceptance from other kids (or trying to be cool). Kids will do anything to just to fit in with everybody else, even if it means dropping out of school, doing drugs, and being straight up disrespectful.
well schoolwork is a big issue if you're in sports because you have to keep up on it so you can play your sports.
My biggest challange in school is all the work we have to do before we can do our sports. Like if you have 4 ppages of math homework you cant do you sport that your in. 🙂
I agree with the people CNN interviewed. But, to clear it up some more, elementary-schoolers deal more with the pressure of "being cool". I come from a polite and mannered family, yet my brother is now a 5th grader and he's been going on about "Y.O.L.O." and "Swag" and rainbows and unicorns for a year or more because it's what his friends do. His friends do the same thing, but they're worse when it comes to attitude toward other people. This behavior includes swearing (cussing) in public places surrounded by other peers regardless if adults are around, increased eye-rolling, lack of motivation – the child will request a reward and, present day, that means a lot of unhealthy food/expensive activities or devices/time not available/etc., refusal to education/physical activity/life lessons, demand for more independence and secrecy, and so many more, I wish I could write them all so you'll be convinced. But this doesn't just apply to people like my brother, it applies to all people. Manners are lacking. Society is getting "low" and careless. Suicide rates are increasing.
yeah. peer-presure is huge. it is all about yolo and unicorns and rainbows. seroiusly.
what does Y.O.L.O mean????
I swear there is no biggest problem. I have friends with extreme self-esteem issues and multiple people I know who deal/dealt with deppression, anxiety and/or eating disorders now or in the past. Bullying? Ha. What do you think makes some of their depression worse? Don't even forget the fact that some are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, trans*, genderqueer, do I need to keep going? Don't think about the extreme racism that happens practically everywhere even now. What about my kids who have attempted suicide in my grade?
But go ahead. Don't look up the Northern Ireland Troubles, because racism is only a problem in America, obviously.
My problem, which has plagued me since birth is yodeling. My parents, teachers, and friends all yodel. I do not have the lung capacity to sustain high levels of yodeling. Alas I am a swedish outcast.
Love,
Hans
I think that a teenager doesn't have just one big problem we have multiple little problems that create one big cloud of pressure hanging over our heads. And are parents don't understand what too much pressure means, they just keep adding on more. And when you are an the oldest child in your family you get even MORE pressure since your parents want to be the perfect role model and get good grades so all of your siblings turn out like you. So we don't have one big problem we lots of little problems, but the biggest little problem we have is probably getting good grades.
I believe that managing time is the biggest challenge for teenagers today. With the homework, sports, other after- school activities, friends, family time, and sleeping, it is very hard to fit everything in your schedule. So, if we do manage to get everything done, we will get to bed late, then the next day we will be tired and miserable, and this just drags on for the school year. But, many teens don’t manage their time, so a lot of stuff doesn’t get done, so grades start to plummet, time with loved ones decreases, we don’t get as much time to practice sports, and the stress just builds up. So, managing our time affects a lot of things, and can make middle school and high school very stressful.
I think self esteem currently is, and will be the main challenge teenagers face nowadays. Personally, I have always been interested in things other than most people of my age. I'd love to learn languages besides school but I just can't do it because I'm afraid of the response I will get from other people; for example being called a nerd, which has happened a couple of years ago and everytime I hear the word it remains painful to hear. Being cool and being accepted is a challenge. After I was being called a nerd, I joined a group of guys that were considered cool, but I just didn't really like it. Being negative towards other people from the very first second you know someone, bullying, et cetera. It was really hard to what I considered "lowering my status" to hang out with people considered less cool without having the same issues. I managed to do so, but it's just stupid.
I think the biggest thing is trying to fit into a clique or trying to be somebody else 🙂 that is the biggest thing to me !
I think one of teenagers' largest problems is trying to live up to their parents' expectations. Do this. Make that grade. Be friends with her. Focus on school. In reality high school is also about making memories and enjoying your time. You shouldn't spend all of your time on school work because when you're you of school there's not going to be books for you to hide in. You're gonna need social skills to achieve a successful career.
On the other hand some parents do not challenge their teens enough and reward them for a halfway-done job. Others do their very best and don't get rewarded at all.
um this is gonna sound cheesey but our parents motivate us because they care about our future. 'Homework first' is a pretty important rule!
My biggest challenge is being a big brother , which means I have to bve a good role model. And making good grades and doing good at football.
I think a hard thing for teenagers to fi tin these days, is who they hang out with and what are their intrests.
for me i am involved in theatre and music and i have a lot of friend who are involved in those things with me. People treat us like we dont belong , because we dont play sports,or we are not cheer leaders. Everyone should fit in , no matter what activits or scocial clubs we are involved in.
I think the biggest problems from experience is bullying, people gossiping about u, and basically just trying to fit in life.
I think that one of the teenagers biggest problem is just trying to show of to other people and try to fit in. But the thing about it is that you can make a change by just being you! 🙂
I have to agree with you on that one Jaylin.
All of the pressures of trying to make good grades, being responsible, controlling your actions and behavior. And trying to make a good impression on other people.
I feel like a teenagers biggest challenge is resisting creating habits that will hurt us much more later. Like if you give into peer pressure a little today it will leave you out in the open tomorrow. Our habits can make us or break us this is a crucial point in our lives where we will develop our views and our principals which will shape our personality. so as teens we just need to stop and think twice before we say, do or even think most things to keep great paradigms of ourselves.
honestly, the roots to all bullying, and hardships as a teenager comes because of family issues. if it were not for parents being strict we wouldn't have rebels. if it weren't for parents being too loose, we wouldn't have kids who do anything they want at home. also keep in mind that kids try to live up to parents expectations. some kids have problems at school because of problems at home. one bad thing can turn your whole day upside down right? they might want to project their pain on others, so that they can feel superior. and that puts the other person down. if parents straightened up a bit we wouldn't have problems like this!
I think the biggest problem for teenagers is balancing. For many teens, life is having to deal with pressure from school, from home, and from extra-curriculars, such as sports. When one or more of these items starts to carry more weight than others, teens can lose focus
My biggest challenge in life is fighting with my family about a lot of stuff.
Teenagers strive too hard to be their best. They always keep trying to reassure themselves that they are great, they are doing their best. Parents push them too hard, sometimes too far.
I think one of the biggest challenges is learning so much new stuff at once. Another challenge is being able to finish your homework and do all your after school activities.
I think that a teen's biggest challenge is dealing with fitting in. It all starts with one guy who doesn't have any self esteem because of a rough time at home. He then takes to bullying to try to get self esteem. "You're worse than me, I'm better", that's basically bullying; complimenting yourself while hurting others. By bullying, others lose their esteem, and bully as well. And it goes on and on and on, until people are at each other's throats. You're not cool, and then they get on to you. You got no choice but to fit in. Dealing with that is the worst thing ever, in my opinion.
I think that a teen's biggest challenge is the very rocky road that they travel to figure out who they really are.
I think a teen's biggest challange is fitting in and finding someone to accept who they really are. Our society today is judging other people, being someone there not trying to, wanting people to be perfect. But that will never happen, they need to understand that what's they are doing is either right or wrong because some people don't even have a clue what they are chosing to do.
They rely on what people think about them and they feel like everyone needs to like me or everyone needs to see me as someone totally different from me. And when they try to be different, they lose people or things that they might not know they lost until they need it and it won't come back. You've heard it millions of times but people never listen, be who you are ecause everyone else is taken, that's all our society needs right now.
I think finding true friends is the biggest challenge for teenagers, because you never know who your real friends are until times get rough.
If kids know their value from their parents, they will have a good chance of feeling good about themselves. If they know how much GOD values them, then they will have the best chance of feeling great about themselves.
i think teen's biggest challenge is to be positive and never give up. Teens think mostly about what bad things will happen to them and sometimes they will give up.Teens don't want to be bullied. They don't want to be treated like they mean nothing. They want to feel like they are a part of this world. They want to be happy and have fun and enjoy life but without a positive mind and heart those hopes and dreams disappear. Friends or no fiends with a hard heart you can live life to the fullest.
I think the one of the biggest challenges is trying to balance homework, after school sports practices, and part-time jobs while still having a life.
I am a 17 bisexual ,first generation ,immigrant,tall, society's defination for "pretty" and I am like any other teenager. I am dealing with family, friends,boys, girl school, universty, and the reality of becoming an adult. We are told that these are the best years a human being can have. All the possibilities are limitless. However the challenge is not just fitting in with everyone, it's identifying who you are. I have not but I have seen friends where they have done drugs, had sex at a young age and have a change in mindset. In our generation and society thats 'okay'. Honestly if you asked your child what problems they may have they will tell you nothing, but if a stranger came and asked me I would tell because who are you that is so important to judge me and how I am. society is just messed up and all we are trying to find is a way out.
I think the biggest challenge for teens is having abortions and having kids
I think that a teen's biggest challenge is diffrent for all ages.. Senior's it is getting ready for college. Junior"s it ACT's or SAT's. 10 grade it grades sports..., 9 grade it finding your place in high school.
All ages of high school and teens differ from one another.Some teens have problem from home that effect them in school. Witch is see by classmates and can effect relasonships. Many teens also have a problem with who they are or how they look...
I think that the biggest problem is balancing homework from 7 different classes with finding time to sleep and take a break every once and awhile. While also dealing with every day social pressure by trying to fit in.
I think the biggest challenge is fitting in. Also form first hand, having a learning disability. When you have trouble with something, you don't what to everybody finding out. I love to free write and now I don't what for people to see my writing. I was like that but, It's to a new level.
Teens need to focus on the future instead of making big mistakes now.
The biggest challenge facing teenagers is the fact that people in general (parents, sibling, friends, teachers, and society) put a label on what we should be and teenagers find themselves at a crossroads between trying to be yourself and trying to fit the standards already set for you. It can get a bit ridiculous.