The Teenage American Dream | Surina Borbor | TEDxValenciaHighSchool
Summary
TLDRThe American Dream is redefined by Generation Z, who seek personal freedom, fulfillment, and engaging careers over traditional success. This generation faces challenges like automation and climate change, yet values life skills and networking for independence. Second-generation immigrants, like the speaker, feel the pressure to uphold their parents' sacrifices while forging their own paths. The script highlights the need for teens to be prepared with practical skills and career exploration to achieve their unique version of the American Dream.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The traditional American Dream is often associated with a suburban lifestyle, including a nine-to-five job, a stay-at-home spouse, children, and a dog, all within a structured life path.
- 🔄 Generation Z views the American Dream as personal freedom, fulfillment, and control over their lives, with an engaging career, rather than adhering to a monotonous, traditional lifestyle.
- 🌍 The speaker's experience in New Mexico revealed that teens value a stimulating career, personal relationships, and making a difference in the world, with less emphasis on traditional milestones like marriage and children.
- 🤖 There is a prevalent anxiety among teens about the impact of automation and climate change on their future careers and the world at large.
- 🏡 The speaker's parents exemplify the contemporary American Dream, having immigrated from Iran and achieved homeownership and stability through hard work and education.
- 📚 Second-generation immigrants may feel a sense of obligation to fulfill the dreams their parents had for them, which can create pressure to follow a conventional path of success.
- 📉 There has been a significant decline in marriage rates among American adults, shifting the dynamics of financial and personal stability for young adults.
- 💼 The rise in education requirements and skyrocketing housing prices have made it more challenging for young adults to achieve financial independence and move out of their parents' home.
- 🔙 The term 'Boomerang Kids' describes young adults who return to live with their parents due to financial unpreparedness, a phenomenon exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 🎓 Despite being highly educated, Generation Z and Millennials may still lack basic life skills necessary for personal and financial independence.
- 🛠 The importance of teaching life skills such as cooking, cleaning, time management, and financial literacy is highlighted, as well as the value of early exposure to various career options in school.
Q & A
What is the traditional image of the American Dream described in the script?
-The traditional American Dream is depicted as having a suburban neighborhood, a father working a 9-to-5 job, a stay-at-home mother, kids, a dog with a common name like Nala or Cooper, and an iconic white picket fence. It is associated with conventional success, material wealth, and a structured path to adulthood including moving out, getting a job, getting married, having kids, and buying a house, all before the age of 30.
How does Generation Z view the American Dream differently from the traditional view?
-Generation Z tends to view the American Dream as having personal freedom and fulfillment, control over their own lives, and an engaging career rather than adhering to the traditional milestones of adulthood.
What opportunity did the speaker have that allowed them to gain insight into the teenage American Dream?
-The speaker had the opportunity to go to New Mexico to interview for a foundation that provides scholarships for American students to attend international boarding schools in different countries, meeting teens from various backgrounds across America.
What are some of the career aspirations mentioned by the teens interviewed in the script?
-Shadia from South Dakota does not want to be forced into a 9-to-5 job until retirement. An anonymous sophomore from California wants a creative job that cannot be outsourced by robots. Andrew from New York is interested in environmental engineering due to concerns about climate change, and Amara from Ohio wants to shape her own future without adhering to any specific standard.
What underlying anxieties did the speaker pick up on from their peers regarding the future?
-The speaker noticed an underlying anxiety about automation and climate change among their peers.
Can you describe the speaker's parents as an example of the Contemporary American Dream?
-The speaker's parents are immigrants from Iran who came to America in search of a better life. They worked hard, learned English, got a college education, and became homeowners with two daughters and a Golden Retriever named Nala.
What is the term used for young adults who return to live with their parents after trying to be independent?
-These young adults are referred to as 'Boomerang Kids' because they come back to live with their parents after attempting to be independent.
What percentage of American adults were married in the 1960s compared to 2021?
-In the 1960s, 72 percent of American adults were married, which had decreased to 52 percent as of 2021.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the living situation of young adults?
-The COVID-19 lockdowns worsened the phenomenon of young adults living with their parents, with 60 percent of Americans aged 18 to 25 living with parents or grandparents at the height of the pandemic.
What advice does the speaker give to teens regarding their future and the pursuit of their own version of the American Dream?
-The speaker advises teens not to be afraid to carve their own path, to not get too attached to any one image of the future, and to learn life skills such as cooking, cleaning, time management, and financial literacy.
What is the speaker's perspective on the importance of life skills and career exposure for teens?
-The speaker believes that life skills and early exposure to a variety of career options are crucial for teens to find what's right for them in the future and to achieve personal and financial independence.
Outlines
🌐 Redefining the American Dream
This paragraph discusses the evolution of the American Dream among Generation Z. Traditionally, it was associated with a suburban lifestyle, a 9-to-5 job, and a structured path to adulthood. However, today's teens, like Shadia, an anonymous sophomore, Andrew, and Amara, envision a future with personal freedom, creative careers, and the ability to shape their own destiny. They express concerns about automation, climate change, and the desire to make a difference in the world. The speaker, a second-generation immigrant, feels a sense of obligation to fulfill the dream their parents sought when they immigrated to the U.S., yet acknowledges the shift in aspirations among the current generation.
📚 The Challenges of Modern Adulthood
The second paragraph delves into the challenges faced by young adults in achieving independence and the modern American Dream. It highlights the decline in marriage rates, the necessity of higher education for better job prospects, and the soaring housing prices that contribute to the 'Boomerang Kids' phenomenon. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this, with a majority of young adults living with their parents or grandparents. The speaker emphasizes the importance of life skills and early exposure to various career options to prepare teens for their future. The paragraph concludes with encouragement for teens to forge their own paths and not be confined to a single image of success.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡American Dream
💡Suburban Neighborhood
💡Nine to Five Job
💡Personal Freedom
💡Fulfillment
💡Engaging Career
💡Automation
💡Climate Change
💡Second Generation Immigrants
💡Boomerang Kids
💡Life Skills
Highlights
The traditional American Dream is defined by conventional success, material wealth, and a structured life path.
Expectations of the American Dream include moving out, getting a job, marriage, having kids, and buying a house, all before the age of 30.
Some adolescents view the traditional lifestyle as dull and fear its monotony.
Generation Z seeks personal freedom, fulfillment, and control over their lives as part of their American Dream.
The speaker interviewed American students from diverse backgrounds to understand their vision of the American Dream.
Shadia from South Dakota does not wish to be confined to a traditional 9-to-5 job until retirement.
A Californian sophomore desires a creative job that is not susceptible to automation.
Andrew from New York is motivated by environmental concerns and wishes to pursue a career in environmental engineering.
Amara from Ohio values shaping her own future without adhering to any specific standard.
Sylvia from California emphasizes the importance of personal fulfillment and non-traditional paths to success.
There is an underlying anxiety among teens about automation and climate change.
The speaker's parents exemplify the contemporary American Dream through their immigrant success story.
Second-generation immigrants like the speaker may feel a sense of obligation to fulfill the dreams of their parents.
The transition from adolescence to adulthood has become less clear-cut with delayed marriage and increased education requirements.
The term 'Boomerang Kids' refers to young adults who return to live with their parents due to financial unpreparedness.
COVID-19 lockdowns have exacerbated the phenomenon of young adults living with their parents.
Despite being well-educated, Generation Z faces challenges in achieving personal and financial independence.
The importance of life skills such as cooking, cleaning, time management, and financial literacy is emphasized for teens.
Early exposure to various career options in school can help teens find their path and prepare for the future.
Encouragement for teens to carve their own path and not be afraid of a changing world.
Transcripts
foreign
so you've all heard of the American
dream
there is the traditional idea of it the
image it might conjure in your head
you've got a Suburban neighborhood a
father that goes to work at his nine to
five job
a mother that stays home to take care of
the kids and the housework
a dog probably named something like Nala
Cooper sorry to anybody who has a dog
with either of those names
maybe even the iconic white picket fence
these stereotypes Define the American
dream through conventional success
material wealth as well as an element of
structure in terms of reaching the
Milestones of adulthood
by that I mean is expected of pretty
much everybody to move out and get a job
right after graduating get married have
kids and buy a house all before your 30s
and all pretty much in that order
but if you were to ask an adolescent
today what their ideal future is not
many are going to describe that life to
you and some might even scorn it as dull
or fear the monotony of a traditional
lifestyle
Generation Z tends to describe the
American dream as having personal
freedom and fulfillment control over
their own lives and an engaging career
but in the current world that seemingly
straightforward goal may seem daunting
to many teens
a few weeks ago I got this amazing
opportunity to go to New Mexico to
interview for this Foundation that gives
American students scholarships to this
network of international boarding
schools in different countries around
the world
it was an amazing experience and I got
to meet teens from all around America
and all different walks of life
I realized that it was the perfect
opportunity to gain some insight into
what the teenage American Dream really
is
so I talked to them
I'm going to show you what just a few of
them had to say when I asked them about
their ideal future
shadia from South Dakota said I want to
be able to achieve things but I don't
want to be forced to work a nine to five
until retirement
an anonymous sophomore from California
stated I wanted to go into a creative
job I don't want to get outsourced by
robots
Andrew from New York said I want to go
into environmental engineering because
I'm afraid of climate change destroying
my hometown
I want to leave America and travel the
world with my person and have zero kids
Amara from Ohio
I want to shape my own future I don't
want to adhere to any specific standard
said Sylvia from California
since then I've been asking my friends
and classmates the same question what's
your ideal future and the prevailing
sentiment among them was that they
valued having a stimulating
non-monotonous career
having a stimulating non-monotonous
career getting married and having their
own person but not necessarily having
kids and making a change in the world
I also picked up on an underlying
anxiety about Automation and climate
change
my parents are a shining example of the
Contemporary American Dream a reputation
that we as a country wear with pride
Coming to America from a war-torn
country in search of a better life
my father immigrated here from Iran
after the extremist Islamic regime over
through the Shah
he taught himself English got a college
education and when he met my mom back in
Iran she brought her back with him and
she did the same for herself
both of them worked hard to ensure a
good life for their kids
now they're homeowners they have two
daughters and a Golden Retriever named
Nala
but what about those second generation
immigrants like my sister and I
following the rise of immigration to the
U.S in the 70s
our parents sacrificed so much to give
us the happy successful future
associated with America
no threat of Saturday school or
detention could motivate me to stay on
track for Success like seeing the
atrocities happening to women and girls
in my home country and thinking that
could have been me
even if a traditionally successful life
didn't necessarily appeal to me I'd
still feel like I owed it to my parents
to fulfill the dream they had when they
loved everything they had ever known to
find a better life for us
I'm sure many second generation
immigrants share this sentiment it feels
almost wasteful to abandoned
conventional success for a different
path
this pressure aside the current
generation still tends to stray away
from the life path of our predecessors I
mean there isn't just one cookie cutter
life path success right
in the past the transition from
adolescence to adulthood was a clean-cut
one I mean most people got married and
started a family much earlier in life
marriage is strongly linked to more
financial and
personal stability
it used to be the most reliable way of
cutting the court of dependence between
young adults and their parents
in the 1960s 72 percent of American
adults were married
as of 2021 it was down to 52 percent
and nowadays more education is needed to
land a job that provides a living wage
housing prices are skyrocketing all of
these factors are making it more and
more unrealistic for a young adult to be
able to survive on their own without a
lot of support from their parents
these adult fledglings who are
financially unprepared to leave the nest
are referred to as the Boomerang Kids
because they come right back
the covid-19 lockdowns only worsened
this phenomenon at the height of the
pandemic 60 percent of Americans age 18
to 25 lived with parents or grandparents
if you were to ask a teenager today do
you think that when you're 25 we want to
be living with your parents most of them
are going to say no
it's not that the younger generation
isn't educated enough to hold their own
Generation Z is the least likely
generation to drop out of high school
the most likely to go to college and
Millennials are the most educated
generation ever
gone are the days of referring to 23
year old losers living in their parents
basement because they're too lazy to get
a job or go to college
now it's the norm you can do everything
you were told to do everything you're
supposed to do and still not achieve the
future that you were promised
as a high school student
I see my peers around me working their
hardest to get into a good college or
university
as College admissions get more and more
difficult and selective I watch as all
the stress is placed on high grades and
test scores
but life doesn't stop once you graduate
even the most well-educated adults can
still be lacking in some of the basic
life skills it takes to survive on their
own
this leaves teens with pressure to
succeed academically but little reward
for when they achieve that goal they
aren't prepared
so how can we teach young Americans to
be able to reach personal and financial
Independence
achieve their own version of the
American dream
parents of teens or Boomerang Kids don't
ignore the importance of life skills
like cooking cleaning time management
financial literacy while familial
connections can be advantageous learning
the interpersonal skills needed for
networking is also important
and in school it's proven that early
exposure as early as Elementary and
Middle School to a variety of career
options can help them find what's right
for them in the future
and teens don't be afraid to carve your
own path we're in a changing world after
all
don't get too attached to any one image
of the future you may have
and hang on tight thank you
[Applause]
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