Teenist, I Think So! | Teen Ink

Teenist, I Think So!

November 4, 2009
By sandizzle BRONZE, Watertown, Massachusetts
sandizzle BRONZE, Watertown, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Walking into Hootenanny’s with a group of my friends, my fingers typing down onto the full keyboard of my cellphone, I can tell even without looking up from my intense conversation, that the workers are just waiting to kick us out. I walk to the opposite side of the store, feeling awkward with every step, trying to ignore the watchful eyes. Across the store my friend takes out his phone and snaps a picture of one of my other friends posing in a winter hat.

“No pictures in the store,” the employee barks.

“I didn’t take a picture,” he challenges raising his arms in front of him, a sign of surrender.

“I just saw you take a picture, delete it,” the tattooed man argues back.
We start sharing looks with each other, snickering and staring down the owner.

“You could leave now,” he responds abruptly. Following his rude comment we leave the store laughing it off.

Banning pictures in stores seems logical and harmless to most adults, but to a teen this is a major affront to our way of life. As kids mature into young adults and teens, their feelings change and they get more responsibilities. Along with this comes independence and privileges on the internet. Being part of the "in" crowd for us teens used to mean hanging out where the cool kids chilled--the mall, the friends house, the rave. But now all we have to do is be within cellphone range. Over the years the cellphone has become the primary mode of socializing with friends over text or picture messages, but let us not forget about the internet.

In the world of fourteen year olds, networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace are all the rage. These websites are places where you can keep in touch and stay connected with old and new friends, writing on other people’s walls and updating status to inform your friends about what’s new. Since these websites also allow for members to share pictures with others, it makes it all the more fun to do.

Publishing pictures usually gives quick response of opinions on clothes or anything really. It proved to actually help when choosing a dress for my bat mitzvah. At the mall with a couple of my best girl friends, we went to several stores to shop for the perfect bat mitzvah dress. We took about fifteen pictures with our phones and later posted them into an album on Facebook asking our friends to comment. I ended up getting an amazing dress. Telling a teen they can't take pictures is pointless, useless and stupid. Which is due to the fact that first of all telling anyone that they can’t do something will make them have the urge to want to do it, even more than before they were told that they couldn’t.

I ask myself why stores disallow photos. Do stores think that there might be a chance that pictures taken would be sent to other designers to copy. Think deeper, since the pieces are already shown and are labeled with the designer’s name, other clothing companies can't replicate the designs, because they would already be copyrighted. Chances are that if this rule didn't stand in the way, popularity of not only the store, but also the brand would increase. Being viewable on the internet, more people would discover it and buy it, which would increase the store’s income. Stores should urge teens to sell their products, not hinder them.


So what is at the root of the problem? Teen bias. Asking adults about this problem one replied, “That’s interesting because I always take photos in stores and no one ever stops me or follows me around the stores I go into.”


Teen bias overall is a huge topic up for discussion. Most teenagers experience teen bias, but the question remains, is it fair? Fair for teens to be treated differently than adults? Or to make rules that only apply to teens? Personally as a thirteen year old I think that teen bias is more wrong than people wearing Jonas Brother jeans (which is extremely beyond wrong). I believe that we, the kids of America, should be treated with the same respect adults receive in their every day lives. This includes being allowed to take as many pictures to our hearts desire.

The author's comments:
Cambridge Friends School

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This article has 7 comments.


on Jan. 25 2012 at 10:29 am
KatGrace BRONZE, Grovetown, Georgia
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
No, they aren't banning pictures in stores just to squash your fun. They didn't think when making those rules, "Oh yeah, let's do this to make kids unable to take duckface photos with their friends." Yes, there's a bias against young people. There always has and, unfortunately, always will be. It's not right, and it should be changed. But this no photo rule is not an example of that discrimination. The world does not revolve around you and your friends. You will not always be young. You will not always be thirteen. Fact: young people are stupid. We just are. It's a part of growing up. You'll see this more as you get older and look back on your life. Biologically speaking, the frontal lobe of the brain, which governs reason and decision-making, isn't fully developed until your early twenties. There are some legitimate reasons why people are wary around teenagers. We simply aren't done cooking yet. However, a lot of this ageism results from simply bigotry, with adults not realizing that young people are still people with thoughts and feelings and basic needs.

on May. 21 2011 at 4:17 pm
JoPepper PLATINUM, Annandale, Virginia
35 articles 0 photos 782 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Freedom is the ability to not care what the other person thinks."

"Not all those who wander are lost" --JRR Tolkien

"When you are listening to music it is better to cover your eyes than your ears." --Jose' Bergamin

You know how the adults literally drill into our heads that phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover" adults do that everyday at least a million times.  I think it's extremely hypocritical!!!!!!!!!! :P

on Dec. 18 2010 at 9:08 pm
Musicfeedsthesoul07 PLATINUM, Naperville, Illinois
25 articles 0 photos 95 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. " - Bill Gates

I know!

Like if I call some place with a question...and they hear that I sound like a teenage girl (My voice is kinda high pitched, even for a girl), they never take me seriously! It's like they are expecting me to prank call them or something.


jemter GOLD said...
on Dec. 18 2010 at 1:17 am
jemter GOLD, Oakley, California
14 articles 36 photos 33 comments
I know what you mean. It's like as soon as we became "teenagers", no one trusts us. Some people just put us in the general category of "Trublemakers", and some expect so much that it's simply unrealistic. I'm hating the lables that shape not who we are, but how we're seen. HATING them.

on Jul. 17 2010 at 2:00 pm
Scarecrow BRONZE, Vancouver, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A father is a banker provided by nature."






-French Proverb

It's not like you have the right to take pictures. It might be courteous for the buisness to let you take pictures, but they still own the stuff you're taking pictures of and the place where you're doing it. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

And as far as kids being treated the same as adults, perhaps you haven't noticed that we're rather different than adults. It's not "Teenist" to prevent us from driving, for example.


on Jul. 15 2010 at 6:19 pm
sweethearrrt GOLD, Portland, Oregon
10 articles 7 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
— Marilyn Monroe

i know what you mean exactly!!!!!!! good work :)

Bethani GOLD said...
on Jun. 25 2010 at 1:04 am
Bethani GOLD, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
10 articles 0 photos 508 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is perfect until you sit back and realize how boring it is without risks.

I've never heard of anything like this with the picture thing. good to know. i hate people like this. please check out my work.