A Teenagers Right to Privacy

As you enter into puberty, most being around the age of 12-14, you start to want to have more privacy. However, do these young teenagers “deserve” the same rights to privacy as an adult? Yes, I believe they do. I do not believe it is not a matter of age that gives you the right to privacy, nor maturity. While they can factor if they lose the right to it, I think all should at least START with it.

These teenagers are just starting their lives into young adult/adulthood, they’re going to learn things about themselves, about the world, and the things around them, while the parent spent most of their younger years watching nearly every move and action they made. They’re autonomous now and capable of thinking for themselves; I believe that this alone gives the right to privacy. However, some may not agree, because they are not “mature enough” and to that point I argue, how will they learn to mature, if they are not given any room to mature? If you coddle their every move like you did when they were a child, what will they learn? The answer is near nothing, they will learn only what you tell them. That does not equate to maturity, while they may know in theory what to do, they’d ultimately not be fully able to make a choice given the pressure of a quick decision into whatever it is the choice they need to make. Such as the stress of being employed while in school for example, I feel it is a necessary experience for one to have. To grow and mature as a person. And while they may not be mature when they first start puberty, or in the middle of it, they still deserve the privacy you have.

Referring back to puberty. Young teenagers springing into puberty start to feel differently, they have needs and wants that can’t exactly be done in the living room. These desires are normal and common among almost all teenagers, with a few outliers. And alleviating these desires is healthy for them, again to learn and mature. While a good portion of people think sex ed should not be taught to students/teenagers of that age, I believe they are wrong, because how will they learn the safety precautions and measures to take, if you never tell them. Because even if you don’t teach them, they’ll find out, and do it anyway. So in order for them to not make dumb mistakes, I believe they should have the privacy to learn more about, that side of them and learn for themselves as well as being taught how to do it safely. Because they will find out and do it regardless.

Some arguments to why these teenagers should not have privacy is that, “they’ll do something dumb” or “they won’t know what to do on their own” and while I agree, they 100% will, I feel they should experience those things, such as exploring places they shouldn’t, like abandoned places, maybe take a spray paint can to the wall, or end up with viruses on their computer due to certain websites. They are all a learning experience that will teach them what not to do, or at the very least, how to do it well. I don’t think the risk of doing something dumb, should lose your right to privacy. and that all teenagers should start with it at the very least until the individual proves they cannot handle it.

“Locked door” by Abhijith B.Rao is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.