079: Dealing With Teenage Apathy

It’s easy to see how one could assume that today's youth doesn’t care as much as teens once did. Over the years, Roy has discovered several, at times overlapping, reasons teens become apathetic. Many parents and other adults will comment or complain that teens don't care about school, church, or their future as much as they believe they should.

In this episode, Roy explains that the truth is that today's teens are disenchanted with the world today. At the root of much of this apathy is disappointment and disenchantment with people, institutions, God, and even themselves. This disillusionment is often the result of unmet expectations, and many times, teens are hurt, let down, and abused well before they are aware of their expectations.

Roy has found that teens do indeed care, but are exhausted from caring so much. They struggle to find hope in the midst of the complex emotional landscape they may be experiencing. Roy believes adults can help in various ways, including acknowledging the reality of what teens are feeling, engaging teens in what they care about, and helping teens to help teens find healthy ways to recreate.

Roy has established Today's Teenager as a non-profit organization dedicated to covering the expenses of therapy sessions and other mental health services for teens and families that would otherwise be unable to afford them. Visit todaysteenager dot com for more information.

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