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Post by rainbow on Jan 22, 2018 2:02:48 GMT 10
Do you often hear people mix these words up in terms of their meaning?
I always used to think that an adolescent was a teenager, however, I'm now realizing that there is a difference between the two. I've always heard 12-year-olds referred to as adolescents but not teenagers, however, I've heard a 13-year-old been called both of those names. The two terms are kind of similar, but they mean different things.
Also, there have been many definitions and age ranges for an adolescent. One definition says "A person between 13 and 19 years of age; an adolescent." But one other definition says "(of a young person) in the process of developing from a child into an adult." It seems like there is no specific age range or definition for adolescence and instead, most people just go by the 13-19 age range, even though adolescence doesn't always mean being a teenager.
What do you think? Do they mean the same thing to you?
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Post by prodanny288 on Jan 22, 2018 2:20:24 GMT 10
An adolescent is anyone going through puberty, a teenager is someone between the ages of 13-19.
The reason there isn’t a clear definition for adolescent is because the start of puberty is different for people. It’s not cut and dry like the word teenager which is defined by age.
A teen can be an adolescent, but a 12 year old adolescent isn’t always a teenager
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Post by rainbow on Jan 22, 2018 3:14:13 GMT 10
An adolescent is anyone going through puberty, a teenager is someone between the ages of 13-19. The reason there isn’t a clear definition for adolescent is because the start of puberty is different for people. It’s not cut and dry like the word teenager which is defined by age. A teen can be an adolescent, but a 12 year old adolescent isn’t always a teenager I wholeheartedly agree with this. Maybe that's why the definition for adolescent didn't give a specific age range, and instead put "the development process from child to adult" AKA puberty. However, the other definition seemed to be mixing up the two words together, and that's why people get confused.
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Post by prodanny288 on Jan 22, 2018 3:38:51 GMT 10
An adolescent is anyone going through puberty, a teenager is someone between the ages of 13-19. The reason there isn’t a clear definition for adolescent is because the start of puberty is different for people. It’s not cut and dry like the word teenager which is defined by age. A teen can be an adolescent, but a 12 year old adolescent isn’t always a teenager I wholeheartedly agree with this. Maybe that's why the definition for adolescent didn't give a specific age range, and instead put "the development process from child to adult" AKA puberty. However, the other definition seemed to be mixing up the two words together, and that's why people get confused. They’re both correct because an adolescent can mean a teenager if 1. They’ve hit puberty and 2. Between the ages of 13-19.
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Post by rainbow on Jan 22, 2018 3:44:03 GMT 10
I wholeheartedly agree with this. Maybe that's why the definition for adolescent didn't give a specific age range, and instead put "the development process from child to adult" AKA puberty. However, the other definition seemed to be mixing up the two words together, and that's why people get confused. They’re both correct because an adolescent can mean a teenager if 1. They’ve hit puberty and 2. Between the ages of 13-19.I see where you're coming from. However, not all adolescents are teenagers. Like you said, puberty isn't set in stone and it can begin as early as 8 for girls and as early as 9 for boys (I think that's how it is)
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Post by prodanny288 on Jan 22, 2018 3:49:48 GMT 10
They’re both correct because an adolescent can mean a teenager if 1. They’ve hit puberty and 2. Between the ages of 13-19.I see where you're coming from. However, not all adolescents are teenagers. Like you said, puberty isn't set in stone and it can begin as early as 8 for girls and as early as 9 for boys (I think that's how it is) I’m not trying to say that an adolescent equals teenager. What I’m saying is that if someone is going through puberty AND they’re between the ages of 13-19 then you can pretty much use the term adolescent and teenager interchangeably.
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Post by rainbow on Jan 22, 2018 3:53:27 GMT 10
I see where you're coming from. However, not all adolescents are teenagers. Like you said, puberty isn't set in stone and it can begin as early as 8 for girls and as early as 9 for boys (I think that's how it is) I’m not trying to say that an adolescent equals teenager. What I’m saying is that if someone is going through puberty AND they’re between the ages of 13-19 then you can pretty much use the term adolescent and teenager interchangeably. Oh, I read that wrong then. I agree with this. For me, I like using teenager to refer to anyone between the ages of 13-19, and an adolescent as for anyone going through puberty, so I can avoid confusing the two words together.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Jan 22, 2018 8:32:02 GMT 10
prodanny288 described it perfectly. I think many people simply don't have a good understanding of what the two terms are and how they are applied. I've heard people use the two terms interchangeably, namely just to describe someone who is a teenager. Even though, I've never heard anyone call an 18 or 19 year old an "adolescent" before. It seems to be reserved for people who are 13-17 year old.
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Post by X2M on Jan 25, 2018 11:23:14 GMT 10
I agree with Prodanny. Oh, and I wanted to add, folks have formally used the term adolescent more than the word teenager. If someone were to read up on the history, the latter word wasn't widespread in usage until the 1950s. If one were to translate it into another language, the second word still comes up as an adolescent with an e, and some styles don't even turn the word itself leaving it as how people spell it in English.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Jan 25, 2018 21:04:14 GMT 10
I agree with Prodanny. Oh, and I wanted to add, folks have formally used the term adolescent more than the word teenager. If someone were to read up on the history, the latter word wasn't widespread in usage until the 1950s. If one were to translate it into another language, the second word still comes up as an adolescent with an e, and some styles don't even turn the word itself leaving it as how people spell it in English. Yep, that's true. Mind you, the term "teenager" is used more frequently in contemporary pop culture. I guess that's part of the reason why people are confused over the two terms. Both terms are significant and can be used interchangeably.
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Post by longaotian on Jan 31, 2018 9:59:42 GMT 10
prodanny288 described it perfectly. I think many people simply don't have a good understanding of what the two terms are and how they are applied. I've heard people use the two terms interchangeably, namely just to describe someone who is a teenager. Even though, I've never heard anyone call an 18 or 19 year old an "adolescent" before. It seems to be reserved for people who are 13-17 year old. Well that's wrong. WHO defines an adolescent as anyone between the ages of 10-19.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Jan 31, 2018 10:03:54 GMT 10
prodanny288 described it perfectly. I think many people simply don't have a good understanding of what the two terms are and how they are applied. I've heard people use the two terms interchangeably, namely just to describe someone who is a teenager. Even though, I've never heard anyone call an 18 or 19 year old an "adolescent" before. It seems to be reserved for people who are 13-17 year old. Well that's wrong. WHO defines an adolescent as anyone between the ages of 10-19. I know. What I meant by that, was that I have only ever heard people refer to 13-17 year olds as "adolescents".
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Post by longaotian on Jan 31, 2018 10:15:48 GMT 10
Well that's wrong. WHO defines an adolescent as anyone between the ages of 10-19. I know. What I meant by that, was that I have only ever heard people refer to 13-17 year olds as "adolescents". Yeah I've heard both 11 year olds and 19 year olds been referred as that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2018 11:27:23 GMT 10
I'm an adolescent but not a teenager   I agree with Prodanny. Oh, and I wanted to add, folks have formally used the term adolescent more than the word teenager. If someone were to read up on the history, the latter word wasn't widespread in usage until the 1950s. If one were to translate it into another language, the second word still comes up as an adolescent with an e, and some styles don't even turn the word itself leaving it as how people spell it in English. Yeah, in French "teenager" would translate as "adolescent", or "ado" for short. It refers to 13-18/19 year olds.
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