As the younger generation get older it seems that society expects more and more out of them. This causes adolescents to feel like they have failed when they are not meeting the expectations.

Society tells students that they need to do certain things in order to be considered “successful”. Teenagers must achieve a high GPA, be involved in extracurricular activities, finish their homework on time, apply to colleges, eat healthy, go outside for 15 minutes a day, get eight hours of sleep. This does not include managing a healthy social life. The ultimate question comes down to this: is there too much expected out of teenagers or do teenagers take on too much?

Society has made it seem like students who are not accomplishing the items listed are not going to go far in life. We frown upon peers who aren’t challenging themselves by partaking in an overrated idea of the “teenage experience”.

It is the standard that we need to stay busy that causes students to feel pressured into taking on more than they can handle. This pressure causes teenagers to feel obligated to take on more. Though pushing yourself to do more is a good thing, it can easily become unhealthy when sleep, eating habits, and social contact suffers.

With the amount of homework students are given for each class and the after school activities they are involved in it makes it nearly impossible to get a healthy amount of sleep. Adolescents need to have a minimum of eight hours of sleep a night according to the Sleep Foundation. Without sleep and a healthy breakfast it becomes hard to function properly. Teenagers often skip breakfast in an attempt to catch up on sleep.

Society must be more helpful with teenagers’ stress. Instead of telling them to take on more than they can handle we should congratulate each other for challenging ourselves. We need to build a healthy environment with reasonable standards for our youth.