we're behaving like teenagers

Once upon a time, there was no such thing as teenagers. The term simply did not exist. Instead there were children and adults, and the dividing line between the two was when school ended and employment began. Back then, people going through puberty had to identify themselves as one or the other. This meant that you took part in that specific group's interests and roles in society - as this was in the "children should be seen and not heard" age, the jump from child to adult must have been overwhelming.

Although teenagers didn't exist, puberty definitely did. So did acne, weird stages where your body looks like an accident in a stretching machine, and hormones. Before there were teenagers, the teenager-aged had no way to vent their discomfort. Their hobbies were limited to what children did or what adults did. They stood at the edge of childhood and had to balance there as long as they could until they were able to leap to the adult world.

Luckily, society developed and a youth culture was created for these in-betweeners. The origins of youth culture is plainest in the history of music. Music, like all art, reflects society and people. When people and their society started to realize that there was another group of people beside children and adults, a new genre in music started to take shape. This genre represented youth culture, gave it a vent, and most importantly didn't appeal to anyone else in the teenager's family. Of course, this genre was rock.

Rock & roll was formed in the 50's, where the economy was thriving - especially in USA and England. People became very rich in these countries, and the wealth passed down from parents to their younger members. Suddenly a large number of teenager-aged people had money that they could use on whatever they wanted. They could buy things, including records. In USA Elvis Presley sold hundreds and thousands of records, and in England Cliff Richards triumphed. Teenagers were the reason for their success, as both children and adults thought they were too wild. The first rockstars made a scene and went against the rules, and that was exactly what teenagers needed. When it comes down to it, teenagers didn't receive an identity - they bought it.