At the age of 15, I was the typical teenager: doing minimal effort at school, hanging out with friends, trying to impress girlfriends. There were no computers, no cellphones, no Internet to play video games – we hang out at the arcade, feeding coins to the game machines. We had time to go on trips on the weekends, go catch a movie or have parties. Healthy stuff.
Today’s teenagers are just too busy to claim that their leisure time is separate from work time or that there is a world of separation between them and adults. The Internet has created persistent expectations and rather firm stereotypes, bringing easy access to a myriad of goodies – directly to one’s bedroom. If you’re 15 and you have no cable access and a spanking new PC, you’re an outcast. Geeks are in and even chicks dig them these days.
The problem lies with young teenagers of both genders that attempt to overstep their age boundary and indulge into the commercial world of adulthood. One would argue that teenagers, being exposed to a variety of active environments these days, can actually mature faster and are therefore able to function more competitively in an effective fashion. While this might hold some water, studies show that the human brain between the ages of 12 to 20 undergoes an extreme fluctuation of its chemical secretion levels. Both boys and girls can act irrational, utterly emotional, unpredictable and with knee-jerk reactions that can sometimes be dangerous to themselves and to others.
Excluding children prodigies, which seem to evolve extremely well under the supervision of adults, young teenagers are simply too moody to successfully engage in the worldwide professional arena. There are certain qualities that are gained from life itself and cannot be taught in a family or at school. Such elements are crucial when engaging in business transactions with others, especially adults. Responsibility to one’s financial obligations, the weight and importance of one’s word, the ability to deliver timely what was promised, the ability to predict or rebound from the unexpected. These are qualities that one gathers in life, as we mature, from interaction with others through aging.
In today’s business environment, everyone with computer access and a few guidelines can attempt to form an online business. While exceptions are there, the overall rule appears to be that most teenagers are not to be trusted with managing tasks which involve a need for secrecy, the handling of large amounts of funds, delivering timely or in full. Teenagers simply don’t possess the experience and will to deliver all that, every single time, as they need exactly that – time – to stabilize their minds, to solidify their persona. And time is what separates young children from teenagers and young adults from mature individuals.
Should one avoid dealing with teenagers in an online or real life business transaction?
Whatever happened to the romantic entrepreneurial image of lemonade stands? The answer is: adults that engage in business transactions with teenagers must be aware of the consequences. In most western countries, a person under the age of 18 cannot – by civil law – be held responsible for their actions; their parents or guides are responsible for that. When an unscrupulous teenager fails to deliver and defrauds you in a domain sale, for example, good luck with trying to establish a case against them in the juvenile system of law; unless they ended up hacking the Pentagon.
I am all for supporting and rewarding the excitement of the youth as I have been one myself; if I had the opportunity to teach business ethics to a group of young people I would definitely attempt to encourage them to learn by listening more and acting less as adults and more like their own age. The best years of our lives predate adulthood and we cannot claim them back once we live them as adults.
Now, let me go back to playing my classic video game.
I must say this was a damn well written post. Extremely interesting.
Well written Acro, but same things again.
You yourself are stereostyping teenagers as nuisances, scammers, etc…
(At least that is the implication from the post).
I really feel you should add an extra paragraph explaining ‘this is is the case with many teenagers, but not all’ and then a final paragraph: ‘loads of adults (possibly even a similar amount) act in the same way’
JMO
Thanks
TC
Tom, actually despite the strong sentiment, my article is well-balanced and does not put every young person in the same “bag”. But the fact remains that for reasons explained already in my article, these young persons are not biologically mature enough to sustain the rhythm and requirements of a business environment in a manner consistent with the rest of the adults. I understand that you, as a young person who strives to succeed early in life, are eager to prove me wrong 🙂 The world is your oyster, take it slow.
Very well written Acro. I do see the point in what you’re saying and no matter what people say, the older the person you’re dealing with is, the more experience he/she has and usually the more smooth of a transaction.
I’m not saying that all youngsters are scammers and unprofessional, but 16-year olds _do_ think different than a 25-30 year old person. The step to pulling a scam, for obtaining quick money, is way shorter for a “kid” than for an experienced business man.
Thank you Stian 🙂
Please note that the focus of my article is not scams but rather, whether one should engage into business transactions with non-adults, where the risk of an unsatisfactory transaction is considerably higher.
If it wasn’t for the business experiences I had as a kid, I wouldn’t have had the success in other areas before I came to domaining. And here I expect even greater success, but thats not the point eh:)
Also, if it wasn’t for the fun, the mistakes, the chasing girls and getting frustrated with; if it wasn’t for the chance to let my hormones run wild, and let “knee-jerk” reactions take me where they did… then I would never have figured out that I had a thing or more to learn about standing on my own 2 feet in the big world.
The anonymity of the internet can provide an illusive shelter, letting younger ones with more to learn, feel as if they are indestructible titans of industry. The thing is, in this game of ours, anonymity doesn’t really serve you well in building a reputation or demonstrating consistency.
The biggest point for me in your article, which I should have thought of (!!) before, was the lack of legal accountability for a minor. Damn, I can admire any kid with the gumption to start a business, with the support of their folks especially or some worthy mentors.
If they come unstuck tho and cannot handle the responsibility they have toward owning their actions and their outcomes, then its time to pause and reflect.
Good Post. In the USA, persons under 18 are assumed to be unable to LEGALLY enter into any binding contracts. I wonder what that will do to domaining when a dispute arises one day.
Will the adult buyer be able to get his $xxx,xxx.xx back and be able to keep the domain he bought?
Will the youngster be able to keep the money and a domain when he scams somebody?
There are several variations possible here. Not just the ones I mentioned. Watch Judge Judy someday for some eyeopening awards, BASED on precedents.
You’re a very good writer Acro! I thought it was very intelligently written. I agree with your points too.
I’m not dismissing the legal issues but seems only fair to the young domainers to mention that Grassroots.org has received support from two young domainers recently. One 17 year old sent us a cash donation. One 21 year old donated 30 domains (which we will auction off at the next SnapNames/Moniker auction). I’m not a domainer but some of them seem pretty decent (like hitclicks.com). I was thrilled to see the young ones giving back. Hopefully it means they will continue to find ways to give back as their businesses grow.
Hello everybody, my name is Damion, and I’m glad to join your conmunity,
and wish to assit as far as possible.