Show Up and Grow Up – Social Business Creation

The Problem

Numerous teenagers struggle to navigate independently upon entering what we refer to as “the real world” due to overprotective parenting.

Only 45% of young adults say that they are completely financially independent from their parents (Minkin et al., 2024). They rely on their parents so much to the point where they haven’t developed the necessary skills (for example, financial autonomy) in order to live on their own.

However, it is not entirely the teenagers fault. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center in 2024, over 70% of parents believe that their child’s successes and failures directly reflect their parenting (Minkin et al., 2024). As a result, this is pushing Gen-Z parents to be overly very involved in their child’s life.
Along with overprotective parenting, the increasing use of smartphones and access to the internet is making teenagers helpless in the adult world.
Fortune reports that teenagers are spending close to 9 hours per day on their phones or devices, excluding time spent on screens for schoolwork (Rosenberg et al., 2022).
- 2022: 95% of teens had smartphones
- 2011: 23% of teens had smartphones

More specifically, the internet has made this problem even worse. Nowadays, teenagers are spending more time browsing the internet on their smartphones than actually learning through first-hand experience.

2022: 46% of teens used the internet constantly
2014-2015: 24% of teens used the internet constantly.
- (Rosenberg et al., 2022)

Location

Since technology has spread worldwide, the problem is present everywhere in the world. However, it is predominantly present in North America, but we will be focusing specifically on teenagers in the Montreal area.

Who is Affected?

The problem primarily affects teenagers ranging from the age of 13 all the way to the age of 18.

After conducting field research, it was concluded that this problem is a very severe one. Interviews with a sector of the target audience (five 17 year old girls) revealed that many teenagers in this generation lack essential skills required for independent living.
Similar findings were drawn from interviews conducted with their parents, further validating the observations regarding teenagers’ lack of essential skills for independent living.
The parents expressed deep concern about the deficiency in basic skills amongst their children and the teenagers of this generation, and strongly advocated for initiatives to address this issue.

Expert in the Field

Research done by Dr. Jean Twenge

Who is she?

An American psychologist that focuses on the speed of development of generations.

What Did She Conclude?

Dr. Twenge concluded that this generation is a lot more depressed and pessimistic.
Being in these sorts of mental states can lower motivation and energy levels, making it difficult to take care of oneself and manage daily tasks effectively.
She also concluded that teenagers of this generation devote more time to digital media and less time to face-to-face interactions with others.
- Without any face-to-face interaction, teenagers don’t develop essential problem solving or people skills which are crucial for independent living and surviving in the real world.

As teenagers approach adulthood and prepare to live independently, the urgency of developing these essential skills becomes increasingly apparent, calling for immediate action to address the issue.

The Idea

“Show Up and Grow Up” will be created to directly address this issue.

What is “Show up and Grow up?”

An after school program that will teach teenagers the necessary skills needed to live independently.

What would teenagers learn?

Interviews were conducted with the target audience to determine the key topics to be addressed in the after school program. Interviews were also conducted with the parents, given that they are the ones financing the service.

The topics that “Show Up and Grow Up” will cover are the following:
- cooking, cleaning, household chores, outdoor work, financial management, job seeking, time management, harms of the internet, presentation skills, and communication skills.

Why this way?

Field research conducted with the target audience helped us create and refine this idea.

After asking valuable questions to students ranging from early teenagers to young adults, it was concluded that implementing an after school program in high schools would be the most logical idea.
Young adults expressed disinterest in the service due to the associated cost, indicating that they would have to pay for it themselves.
On the other hand, high school teenagers showed more receptiveness to the idea since the financial aspect would be mostly covered by their parents.

United Nations Sustainable Goals:

The United Nations sustainable goals were established to ensure the welfare of the planet and its inhabitants.

“Show Up and Grow Up” aims to satisfy the goal of “ensuring healthy lives and promoting well being for all ages” through creating hands-on interactive activities for young adults to be able to learn life skills necessary to achieve a healthy life, physically and mentally.

Why this goal?

Adolescents have had more and more difficulty transitioning to adult life due to lack of knowledge on basic tasks and in-person interactions.
The inability to progress leads to great stress in teenagers that can lead to low self-esteem and sadness.
With hands-on interactive in person seminars on how to become an adult, teenagers can learn to socialize and gain the abilities needed to evolve to adulthood without mental duress.

Works Cited

Minkin, Rachel, et al. “1. Key Milestones for Young Adults Today versus 30 Years Ago.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 25 Jan. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/key-milestones-for-young-adults-today-versus-30-years-ago/#:~:text=and%20living%20arrangements-,College%20enrollment%20and%20completion,30%20to%2034%20(44%25).

Minkin, Rachel. “Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 25 Jan. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/01/25/parents-young-adult-children-and-the-transition-to-adulthood/.

Rosenberg, David, et al. “Teens Are Spending the Equivalent of a 40-Hour Work Week on Their Devices. Here’s How to Help Them Find the Right Balance.” Fortune Well, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2023, fortune.com/well/2023/10/24/teens-too-much-screen-time-find-balance/.

Schwartz, Casey. “Jean Twenge on ‘generations,’ about the Silents to Gen Z and beyond – The Washington Post.” The Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/04/20/generations-jean-twenge-boomers-gen-z-millennials/.

Walton, Satchel. “Review: The Stats Are in, and Gen Z’s Vibes Are Off.” Review: The Stats Are in, and Gen Z’s Vibes Are Off -, 10 Sept. 2023, www.dailytarheel.com/article/2023/09/lifestyle-book-review-generations-jean-twenge.