[qqssccfftt]

> For almost the entirety of human history, 12 was old enough to get a job and look after a family.

Pretty sure the point of progress in society is to avoid repeating historical ills just because we did them in the past

> The anomie that teenagers experience is a result of them having nothing meaningful to do.

This is only true when you define "meaningful" as "wage slavery".

[Izkata]

It's more that puberty is when kids biologically become adults. We'd adapted to getting at least some additional responsibility around that age, and are now going against what our own bodies tell us is correct.