modernprimate:

Chris: What’s one thing that most people assume about kids your age that’s totally true?

Mark: Like I said before, it’s hard to generalize about something like a generation. I really can only speak to my experience. I live in a city that’s not very diverse, so the group of people in my social circle is not very diverse. I don’t know any goth kids and I don’t understand what it’s like to be a woman in situations, so I don’t want to say what it’s like for them, because I don’t know. That said, I do feel that social interactions at my age are very challenging. Friendships can utterly crumble in a week, people who you think are your friends mock you behind your back and worst of all, it’s ridiculously hard to read people’s emotions. It’s harder for me now to tell how people are feeling just by talking to them. Maybe it’s a combination of hormones and taboos against expressing your emotions. Often I feel the need to ask my friends how they are feeling, which, of course, is a big no-no in male teenage culture. Being sensitive or caring what people think is somehow a bad thing among my peers.

(via Kids Today, BTW | Modern Primate | man, that’s deep)

After getting to know my friend’s 13-year-old son a little better, I’ve changed my mind. Some kids are way fucking smarter than we give them credit for.