This past summer, a friend and I attended the local event, 8 Great Tuesdays, where every Tuesday night a band is invited to play at Rebich Investments Amphitheater at Liberty Park in downtown Erie. These bands range from oldie tributes to original jazz and pop and listeners bring blankets and chairs to sit on the lawn as the sun sets.
However, that Tuesday night my friend and I would not get to hear any tunes.
We were both denied entry.
A new admission policy on the Erie Events website states, “In order to help ensure the continuation of a family atmosphere and also accommodate children, the Erie-Western PA Port Authority & Erie Events has adopted the following policy: Children under the age of eighteen (18) MUST BE ACCOMPANIED by a parent or guardian. Parent or guardian must complete the Responsible Adult form and MUST REMAIN ON THE PREMISES as long as the child is present.”
We were both 17 without our parents.
It honestly shocked me that I could drive a vehicle by myself legally, but was not able to watch a band play at a public park because I was not with a parent or guardian.
I realized that the places teens could go and enjoy 20 or 30 years ago are now extremely limited to the point that there is hardly anything available for teenagers, by themselves, to do anymore.
Another great example of this ban on teenage pastimes is at our local Cinemark Tinseltown theater located on 1910 Rotunda Dr.
Rules state that nobody under the age of 17 may attend a movie that starts after 6 p.m. if you are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. This does not just apply to R-rated movies, this applies to all movies shown at or after 6 p.m.
The new age policy at 8 Great Tuesdays said it wanted to ensure a family atmosphere, but it feels like it may have to do with a popular teenage stigma. Teenagers are largely characterized by their obnoxiousness, carelessness, and bad attitudes. It is common to see teens excluded and pushed away from businesses or events because it is believed that they may not tip well or that they will cause trouble. It is true that some teenagers may not have the best intentions, but it is completely unfair to punish all teens under 18 for the actions of a handful.
The term, “mall rat,” is also tied back to the teenager stigma. Malls are generally packed with teenagers on weekends and most weekday nights. This is because malls are the most accessible and agreeable place for teens to hang out with friends. Whether parents drop them off or if teens drive themselves, teenagers will hang out at the mall because it’s a place to spend time with their friends that does not have restrictive policies that exclude them.
I’m sure every teenager has heard the infamous line(s), “You spend too much time in your room/on your phone/playing video games.” What parents fail to realize is that this is all that is available for them to do nowadays.
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, teens had to adapt to new ways of learning and socializing, and the only way to do that was through technology. Students would go on their computers for four to five hours a day for school through online assignments and zoom calls, and then another four to five hours on other technological devices for entertainment. Obviously, we are very well adjusted to our phones and laptops by now.
A lot has changed since the pandemic. The world has gotten back to normal and everything has opened back up…just not for teenagers. For us, it feels as though we are still on lockdown, and what we’re missing is our own space to spend away from our phones so we can gain real-world experience. Unfortunately no one will let us do it in public.
