- Jun 20, 2014
- 5,316
- 9,295
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- In Relationship
This section of the forum is restricted to members who are between the ages of 12 to 19, which in a way I think is positive because teens need a place of our own to interact with one another. There are already teen-exclusive areas of this section for more casual interaction, such as the ones for Christian Teens, Younger Teens, and Older Teens. To me there are disadvantages to the age exclusivity in this particular sub-forum of the teen section where teens come to discuss more serious matters.
There's very few active teens on this site, so if you seek out wise counsel and advice there's a limited expectation that another teen will see it and respond. Some of the most prolific members who used to contribute so much of their time and efforts here have now either aged out of Teens or are legal adults now and frequent the 18+ sections where there's far more activity.
The other issue is that sometimes the problem a teen is grappling with is more substantial, and other teens don't have the life experience to have the same perspective an adult would. I think only teens should be able to seek help here, but adults should be allowed to give it so long as it's age appropriate. I especially think 20 somethings who have only recently grown out of their teens but are very much in touch with the challenges of the stage of life could give valuable responses. But all adults have lived through their teens, and those who work in some capacity with adolescents like teachers or have experience interacting with us might have more wisdom.
Thoughts? This section is so infrequently used that it seems like a nonissue, but I was thinking of ways it could become more functional not just for current users but kids in the future who might come here hoping to gain some wise advice or have a caring soundboard. I was thinking of bringing this up to moderators in one of the threads to talk about rules, but wanted to post here first to see what other teens think of the idea.
There's very few active teens on this site, so if you seek out wise counsel and advice there's a limited expectation that another teen will see it and respond. Some of the most prolific members who used to contribute so much of their time and efforts here have now either aged out of Teens or are legal adults now and frequent the 18+ sections where there's far more activity.
The other issue is that sometimes the problem a teen is grappling with is more substantial, and other teens don't have the life experience to have the same perspective an adult would. I think only teens should be able to seek help here, but adults should be allowed to give it so long as it's age appropriate. I especially think 20 somethings who have only recently grown out of their teens but are very much in touch with the challenges of the stage of life could give valuable responses. But all adults have lived through their teens, and those who work in some capacity with adolescents like teachers or have experience interacting with us might have more wisdom.
Thoughts? This section is so infrequently used that it seems like a nonissue, but I was thinking of ways it could become more functional not just for current users but kids in the future who might come here hoping to gain some wise advice or have a caring soundboard. I was thinking of bringing this up to moderators in one of the threads to talk about rules, but wanted to post here first to see what other teens think of the idea.
