I’d say most teens work jobs in order to have spending money for outings with friends, any maybe to save for a car or something. Maybe sock away a bit of money for college. Their real basic living expenses (shelter, food, clothes, school fees) are covered by their parents.
So menial fast food, retail, and service industry jobs going away does impact their ability to earn some cash and learn responsibilities in a relatively low risk way. These jobs disappearing isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if reasonable alternatives emerge that accomplish the same thing.
It can go one of two ways. Maybe teens and students will get entrepreneurial and start their own small businesses. I know some high school kids down the street who started a lawn care business when they were ~12, and they saved so much money throughout their teen years that they both own their own pickup trucks outright, they now have employees, and they just continued growing their business instead of going to college. They are actually providing a service to the economy that people want and need.
The other way it can go is that all traditionally teen jobs go away and there becomes a whole generation of teens who exist solely on the patronage of their parents, which combined with the “keeping up” mentality prevalent in some areas, results in entitled little bitches. There are many kids who would be happy not to work while still expecting to be handed the keys to a late model car, and the newest iPhone. And let’s not forget the multithousand dollar production surrounding the “average” prom date experience or spring break trip. Or worse, these trends further exacerbate the rift between the haves and the have nots because naturally not everyone’s parents are going to be able to afford all this shit.
More than likely we will always need some retail workers, ice cream scoopers, golf caddys, recreation league baseball umpires, and pool lifeguards. Not all first jobs need to be literally McDonalds. I would like more young people to innovate and offer new products and services people actually need and want, because it is better for society as a whole. Otherwise, in 10 years we will look up and find 90% of the US economy is AI, shitcoin speculation, vape and CBD shops, and OnlyFans.
(From a US perspective)
I’d say most teens work jobs in order to have spending money for outings with friends, any maybe to save for a car or something. Maybe sock away a bit of money for college. Their real basic living expenses (shelter, food, clothes, school fees) are covered by their parents.
So menial fast food, retail, and service industry jobs going away does impact their ability to earn some cash and learn responsibilities in a relatively low risk way. These jobs disappearing isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if reasonable alternatives emerge that accomplish the same thing.
It can go one of two ways. Maybe teens and students will get entrepreneurial and start their own small businesses. I know some high school kids down the street who started a lawn care business when they were ~12, and they saved so much money throughout their teen years that they both own their own pickup trucks outright, they now have employees, and they just continued growing their business instead of going to college. They are actually providing a service to the economy that people want and need.
The other way it can go is that all traditionally teen jobs go away and there becomes a whole generation of teens who exist solely on the patronage of their parents, which combined with the “keeping up” mentality prevalent in some areas, results in entitled little bitches. There are many kids who would be happy not to work while still expecting to be handed the keys to a late model car, and the newest iPhone. And let’s not forget the multithousand dollar production surrounding the “average” prom date experience or spring break trip. Or worse, these trends further exacerbate the rift between the haves and the have nots because naturally not everyone’s parents are going to be able to afford all this shit.
More than likely we will always need some retail workers, ice cream scoopers, golf caddys, recreation league baseball umpires, and pool lifeguards. Not all first jobs need to be literally McDonalds. I would like more young people to innovate and offer new products and services people actually need and want, because it is better for society as a whole. Otherwise, in 10 years we will look up and find 90% of the US economy is AI, shitcoin speculation, vape and CBD shops, and OnlyFans.