Maybe they can go to the malt shop later? And then the sock hop?
What even is a teen center ?
My small town (<3000) had one in the 90s, we had a dance floor with music Friday and Saturday nights, a projector for movies and a concession stand, and a mini golf course downstairs. In my later teens I helped convert an unused part of the second story into a haunted house/maze for Halloween.
The building was originally a warehouse built back when the town had industry around the turn of the 20th century. It was brick built so still in great shape even today and it’s been abandoned again for 20 years now
Its different from a teen left-justify
My public library has one and has a bunch of teen books, manga, video games, board games, they just got some arcade machines, and they got some 3d printers. They got events going on from time to time for the kids as well.
Libraries is literally the Atlas image holding up the last vestiges of community.
I fucking love libraries
No no, don’t you remember? The snooty rich jock’s father shut down the teen center after the outcast new kid failed to beat him in a 1-on-1 street hockey game.
went to teen center in the 80’s. Its not that old. I bet they are more prevalent in cities.
40 years
yeah its been awhile since I was a teen. Another bloke said one existed for him 2010 though so we are down to a decade or so depending on location.
My home town had one, last I was there. So for sure 2010.
Maybe. In the late 00s-early 10s we had places like that in the suburbs I grew up in, but there was no appeal to them. Mind you my friends were stoners. We were all more of the discussing life and ideas in a public park sort. What I really wanted was a park that didn’t kick you out at night. We still went, but if you’re already hiding from the cops why not bring a beer.
oh yeah loads of teens did not go to the teen center in my day. It was a loser place but me and my friends were the uncool types that went there. free pool, arcade game or two, some other stuff. not like we went every weekend though.
Yeah we weren’t cool either, but we were the kind of uncool that doesn’t go to such places. I guess we were a little cool, considering we were the kids who’d have bonfires and shit and stay up all night
I would say staying up with bonfires probably put you pretty high on the cool meter. What was the percent participation with academic or fine arts clubs within your group? That was a pretty good gauge of uncoolness in my time.
Marching band for two years before I quit to get an internship at an engineering firm. The real problem was I was socially awkward and weird and spent the first half of the time weird looking.
oh yeah. marching band definitely qualifies.
A small city close to me has one, it looks like it’s relatively successful too. They have an active Instagram and are open after school pretty much every day.
wow. im not sure if the one when I was young was open every day. it might have been but I think we only went on weekends by and large. they had a pool table (other things but this was the draw for me and my friends).
“After that, let’s met up at the malt shop, listen to some doo-wop songs on the jukebox, and go see a movie at the drive-in.”
Dude, I fucking hate people. Drive-ins ftw, I don’t need to hear about how Rebecca on the 7th floor is such a bitch for sucking Andrew in the break room when she knew that Elix (spelled with a silent k) wanted him first, and the group of four are all on Instagram and Facebook starting drama, on their phones, in light mode, with no end in sight as the movie is about to start.
When me and my best friend still went to the movies, we’d always have this kind of shit happen, and we had a routine where one of us would loudly start talking about how we didn’t think dinner was settling right and we might shit ourselves, or retelling how a couple rows down (where the annoying people are at) is about where my ex blew me and the mess was still there last time we checked, or we’d just start letting out some (not so) silent-but-deadly farts. Whatever it took to make sure the movie was enjoyable, we’d go pretty far with things, but it worked 100% of the time, the group would always move away.
Not having to do that, having the a/c exactly as we want it, the volume at the level we want it, would be so much better. Really, less interaction with people in general would be a wonderful thing…
We should bring all of that back. Well, maybe not the doo-wop.
To be fair, most high schook text books are clones of previous edition, they just update pieces to be relevant with the current era.
The teen center was shut down after “The Incident”.
When I was in middle school around 1990, my family lived in military base housing, and there was a “teen center”. It had a TV, stereo system, some arcade games¹, and a snack bar. It hosted dances on weekends; with one night designated for the middle-school crowd and one for the high-school crowd.
¹ “Red wizard shot the food!”
It’s a health textbook, of course it’s stuck in the 1950’s
Is this suggesting alternatives to doing drugs?
Drinking alcohol. After saying “‘just say no’ may not be enough” or something like that.
All of the suggestions are things kids could just bring alcohol to anyway lol
Ah they failed to include the best trick “nah I’ll drive” it doesn’t keep your friends sober but it does keep them alive.
I graduated in 2013 and we had a teen center, it’s still a thing. I assume as long as theirs teens there will be adults wanting to get them off the streets
That sounds real nifty. I do so enjoy a good sock hop. I just hope they don’t play any of that devilish rock music.
Have you heard? They got one of those “computer” things there now. I don’t think they are going to catch on, so we should check it out as long as it’s there.
My son and his friends used to hang out at the teen center when they were in JR high. Mid 2000s.
We have a teen center where I live currently.
Same, although they call it a Youth Center. Publicly funded spot where I guess things happen although I’ve only ever been there to unvote.
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