We joke about it a lot, but hereâs a reminder that minors, teens in particular, can be abusive, both toward their own peers and even adults.
Teens can send death threats.
Teens can be manipulative.
Just like adult abusers, they target those they have power over, typically the mentally ill or disabled. Whatâs worse is that teens are impressionable, and can easily convince other teens to join in the harassment. This is how you get enormous crusades against singular individuals across multiple platforms, perpetrated largely by teens and young adults.
(Note that sometimes these crusades are against dangerous individuals, but not always, which is why callout culture is so heavily criticized.)
As adults, yes, we should be more lenient on teens than we would be on people our own age, but that doesnât mean we should excuse harmful behaviorâand we certainly shouldnât be teaching an entire generation that their peers cannot also be their abusers.
Know the signs, no matter your age or theirs.