Are More Teens Than Ever Now Vacationing In Ocean City, NJ?
It seems like I can't go one day without seeing a complaint about all the teenagers causing a stir in Ocean City this summer. Sure, teens will be teens, but why does it seem like they're a nuisance more often than not nowadays?
You can ask anyone and they'll have a theory different from the person before. Some will blame the parents. They'll say that the kids aren't growing up knowing right from wrong and that's why they're causing so much trouble. I saw a post on an Ocean City-based Facebook group that claimed homes were being egged. That's not too crazy, though, right? Sure, nobody wants to have to clean up that mess, but worse things could have happened. Typical rebellious teen behavior, for sure. Can you really blame the parents for that, though? Teens know they're not supposed to go around egging people's homes. They're just bored.
I have my own theory regarding why there seem to be more teens than ever before wandering the streets of Ocean City these days with "nothing to do." Hear me out...
Ocean City prides itself on being "America's Greatest Family Resort." It really is the perfect summer town for families. That statement is true.... for families with kids 13 and under. Now, why does it feel like there are so many teenagers taking over the city these days compared to years past? I'll give you the answer to that question: blended families.
I'm not knocking blended families. I come from one, as a matter of fact. If you're unfamiliar with what a blended family is, it's basically two families combining due to an initial divorce followed by a new marriage. Nowadays we're seeing more than ever people starting over when they get remarried when it comes to having kids. They basically have a whole new round of littles. They have children that are super close in age, but then there are the one or two kids from the previous relationship that are quite a few years older than their half-siblings. Obviously, the new blended family wants to take a vacation with ALL the children. So, what does that mean? That means you have 12-15-year-olds on vacation with their mom or dad, stepparent, and 3-5-year-old half-brothers and sisters. Do you get what I'm saying?
My personal opinion is that due to so many blended families vacationing in Ocean City, there are more teenagers here than ever before. I could definitely be wrong, but I don't think I am. These teens came here with their families when they were little. Now, they're here AGAIN because they have really young brothers and sisters from either mom's side or dad's side. They've been here and done that. Long story short: they're just bored.
Boredom can sometimes equal bad decision-making. So, before you're quick to judge the teen or the parents, just realize we're looking at a different demographic landscape than we were 20+ years ago.
I don't have a solution. Maybe the city should invest in more age-appropriate activities for kids 13-18. Other than that, I've got nothing. I don't see this problem going away anytime soon, though.
Source: Facebook
