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by qrbLPHiKpiux 2523 days ago
Piggybacking off of your comment, regarding click bait.

In the news where I'm at, if a 19 year old does something good, they refer to him/her as a "Teenager."

If this same 19 year old does something bad, "MAN ARRESTED FOR..."

Never understood it.

3 comments

In our societies obsession with punishment as a means of dealing with wrongdoing it is easier to justify punishing a man than a teenager, so I think we subconciously prefer to frame it that way to justify wanting to enact punishment.
It isn't always good, though.

"Teenage Pregnancy", for example. Most folks picture someone young. 15-16, perhaps. Most folks don't stop to consider that a very sizable portion of "teenage pregnancy" happens to 18 and 19 year olds, which while young isn't that uncommon either.

This itches me a bit tad as well. I immediately assume the author is trying to belittle or judge the person, it's a bias or some kind of semi-conscious compensation and revenge process.