In commerce, this generation is seen as an important target. Cellular
phones, contemporary popular music, movies, television programs,
video games and clothes are heavily marketed and often popular
amongst adolescents. In the past (and still in some cultures)
there were ceremonies that celebrate adulthood, typically occurring
during adolescence. Genpuku (translated as coming of age) in Japan
is an instance. Upanayanam is a coming of age ceremony for males
in the Hindu world. The bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for
girls are the rites of adulthood in Judaism.
African boys also have a coming of age ceremony in which, upon
reaching adolescence, the males state a promise to never do anything
to shame their families or their village. This was also continued
among African-American slaves in the early days of slavery before
the practice was outlawed. Teenagers have also
been an important factor in many movements for positive social
change around the world. |
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