Teenagers are perceived as a dark, moody, and selfish group. More likely to roll their eyes than roll up their sleeves, they are viewed by most adults as lazy snowflakes, wanting and waiting for the world to revolve around them.

As the parent of two teen boys (to be honest, my wife is the parent, I'm more of the guardian, daily co-habitant, and butt of all jokes guy), I can attest to some of this and verify that their daily existence happens in four stages:

Wake up
Put in AirPods
Ignore/make fun of dad
Go to bed

Every time I complain about it, my wife likes to remind me that the people we interact with are not the people that other people experience. Apparently, when these two knuckleheads leave the house, they magically transform into happy, polite, engaged, and hard-working humans.

How do I not see this?

As someone who works with teens, I know them to be a happy lot generally, and there's evidence to prove it.

A recent study showed that in 2021, 81 percent of young people said they were happy. Down from 91 percent in 1997, a substantial majority are still happy and satisfied with life. When asked about life fulfillment, most respondents stated that it stemmed from having something to which they belong and contribute.

So why the slide? What happened in the late '90s and early 2000s to start the downward trend?

Cell phones.

In the recently published book, The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Study on Happiness, authors Robert Waldinger & Marc Shultz stated a simple and profound conclusion: Health and happiness come from good relationships nurtured in person over time.

With increasing regularity and intensity, as a country, we are putting educational goals at the forefront, which can impede relational goals. Every day, students move from class to class, each with different students, working independently, with just seven minutes passing periods and twenty-five-minute lunches to form connections and nurture friendships. They often return home with increased homework demands and decreased free time, forcing students to find other (electronic) ways to connect.

The pandemic only made it worse.

Remember the key to happiness? Nurturing relationships!

A recent study showed that the average American teen spends 10 hours on their phone daily, equating to 3,650 hours, or 152 days, a year. If you consider eight hours of sleep, that is 62% of their (awake) time spent connecting with people remotely or, in some instances, not connecting with anyone at all.

Music provides an artistic and creative outlet and nurtures relationships by forcing students to interact with the same people every day, before and after school, for years. This is as true for students as it is for adults.

I am frequently asked if I miss teaching, and my response has always been the same, "I miss working with the same kids every day. The relationships, the inside jokes, and seeing them grow."

I always knew WHAT I missed. Now I understand WHY I missed it.

Because it made ME happy!

I always knew that music was good for kids. This is a reminder that it is good for us too.

Something to think about.

Have a great week.

- Scott