Students in the 21st Century

Teenagers are a specific group that, like all groups, communicate group specific. There are often rules to follow that may or may not be written down. In this paper I will write about students in the 21st century. I will reflect on my observations regarding communication styles, socials\interpersonal behaviors, and topics of discussion, verbiage, attitudes, clothing and body art. I will also express my expectations and any surprises I encountered during my observation.

I took the opportunity to accompany a group of twelve teens to a job fair hosted by several high ranking law firms and then to see a movie. These firms hosted the fair and gave each student a ticket to a matinee movie theatre that same day. I was able to observe these teens interact with each other for several hours while I pretended to either read or use my cell phone.

Social\Interpersonal Behaviors

My observation began on the chartered bus that was transporting the students to the job fair. I noticed that the group of twelve students seemed to feel comfortable with each other because everyone seemed to contribute to the conversations. A number of students were enthusiastic and exuberant, a fraction were mild mannered and spoke softly, however, they were still given the opportunity to voice their opinions. There was also a group that spoke forceful and rather loudly. When they seemed to belabor a point, someone would shout teasingly "OMG, OMG", we hear you.

Topics of Discussion

Several topics were discussed while en route to the job fair and later while en route to the movie theatre. The major topic during the bus ride was how to "handle the lawyers" that would be interviewing them. The loud and more boisterous group agreed that they should be very vocal and let the lawyers know that they were very informed about the world of law. One student from the upbeat enthusiastic group actually got up and performed a standup comedy act, portraying the loud group. The entire group were in stitches as they laughed at the shenanigans. A spokesperson from the quiet group stated that they should quietly listen to the information that the lawyers were sharing. Once again the class comedian got up and performed a skit where the student was looking bewildered as if he did not really understand what the lawyer was talking about. After the laughter finally died down, the comedian stated that he felt that they should really do both listening and sharing opinions when asked. Oddly, the group agreed that this was the best tact because some of them might well want to "tackle the justice system in a couple of years". The topics discussed while waiting for the movie theatre to open was the selection of a movie. There were three movies to choose from and the group was challenged as to the one to choose. Out of the twelve students that were present nearly all had an opinion one way or the other. Some of the