March for Our Lives, Tide Pods, and the overdue evolution of how we talk about teens

If there's one demographic that pop culture is obsessed with, it's the seemingly monolithic entity that we've come to know as Teen™.

Whether it's Gossip Girl (rich teens in the city), Pretty Little Liars (devious teens in a murder mystery), Glee (teens who sing), Saved By The Bell (wholesome teens going to school), we as a culture just can't stop asking: What are these kids up to?! Follow along closely, and you're likely to get whiplash from the severe ways each caricature careens back and forth.

But there's no period that has contradicted itself more when it comes to the portrayal of teens than 2018. From viral internet stunts to student protests, this year has shown us that the way we talk about teens has finally started its long-overdue evolution. Read more...