Virtually every teenager would rather prefer to confide in their friends instead of revealing their deepest secrets to their parents. In the same vein, teenagers discuss their problems more with their friends more than they do with their parents. There are several reasons as to why this is the case, including the natural instinct teenagers have to be closer to their peers and the often inaccessible nature of some parents due to their strict parenting styles. Let us consider more of these reasons together as a way of better understanding the topic; shall we?
A NATURAL INSTINCT: Teenagers naturally want to be able to decide what they want and how they want it without the unnecessary influences of others. But with parents, this is never quite possible. Therefore, in their bid to be independent with their decision making, teenagers find themselves pulling away from parents while gravitating towards friends. This way, they ultimately become closer to friends in whom they confide in more than they do confide in their parents.
IT CAN BE UNCOMFORTABLE CONFIDING IN PARENTS: Unlike it is the case with friends, confiding in parents can be such an uncomfortable thing to do. The possibility of being misunderstood and judged arises as well. Moreover, teenagers will fear that confiding in parents will only lead to criticism and chastisement, two things that will never happen when they confide in their friends. Therefore as a result, teenagers find themselves feeling more at ease discussing their problems with and confiding their secrets in friends.
TEENAGERS MAY FEEL LIKE FRIENDS UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES BETTER: This is considering that said friends may have recently experienced or might be experiencing the same issues. I know some people may wonder why not seek the help or parents considering that parents too were once teenagers. But the thing is that the challenges parents faced while they were teenagers are definitely different from the challenges teenagers of nowadays are faced with; thanks to change.
SOME TEENAGERS SIMPLY DO NOT WANT THEIR PARENTS TO WORRY: These teens feel like their parents already have a lot of things to worry about, teens like earning money and taking care of the bills at home, paying tuition and many more. So instead of compounding the issues with the little challenges of teenagehood, the teenagers would rather find a way to deal with problems. Let us take that as the teens’ little way of contributing to the family!
SOME TEENAGERS DO NOT TRUST THEIR PARENTS TO KEEP THE SECRET: Parents typical believe in correcting and setting examples. For this reason therefore, they may reveal to the rest of the family a secret one of the kids had disclosed in confidence as a way of telling the rest of the kids that such a thing was wrong. Therefore to avoid such embarrassments, teens prefer to take their secrets to their friends.
